To improve a frame rate in a solid-state imaging element that compares a reference signal and a pixel signal.

The solid-state imaging element includes a differential amplifier circuit, a transfer transistor, and a source follower circuit. The differential amplifier circuit amplifies a difference between the potentials of a pair of input nodes and outputs the difference from an output node. The transfer transistor transfers charge from a photoelectric conversion element to a floating diffusion layer. The auto-zero transistor short-circuits the floating diffusion layer and the output node in a predetermined period. The source follower circuit supplies a potential to one of the pair of input nodes according to a potential of the floating diffusion layer.

In an embodiment a pixel arrangement includes a photodetector configured to accumulate charge carriers by converting electromagnetic radiation, a transfer transistor electrically coupled to the photodetector, a diffusion node electrically coupled to the transfer transistor, a reset transistor electrically coupled to the diffusion node and to a pixel supply voltage and a sample-and-hold stage including at least a first capacitor and a second capacitor, an input of the sample-and-hold stage being electrically coupled to the diffusion node via an amplifier, wherein the transfer transistor is configured to be pulsed to different voltage levels for transferring parts of the accumulated charge carriers to the diffusion node, wherein at least the second capacitor is configured to store a low conversion gain signal representing a first part of the accumulated charge carriers, and wherein the first capacitor is configured to store a high conversion gain signal representing a remaining part of the accumulated charge carriers.

A dynamic vision sensor may include a pixel array including at least a first photoreceptor and a second photoreceptor, the first photoreceptor and the second photoreceptor including at least one first pixel and at least one second pixel, respectively, the at least one first pixel and the at least one second pixel configured to generate at least one first photocurrent and at least one second photocurrent in response to an incident light, respectively, and the first photoreceptor and the second photoreceptor configured to a first and second log voltages based on the at least one first photocurrent and the at least one second photocurrent, respectively, processing circuitry configured to, amplify the first and second log voltages, detect a change in intensity of the light based on the amplified first log voltage, the amplified second log voltage, and a reference voltage, and output an event signal corresponding to the detected value.

Image sensors are provided. The image sensors may include a substrate including first, second, third and fourth regions, a first photoelectric conversion element in the first region, a second photoelectric conversion element in the second region, a third photoelectric conversion element in the third region, a fourth photoelectric conversion element in the fourth region, a first microlens at least partially overlapping both the first and second photoelectric conversion elements, and a second microlens at least partially overlapping both the third and fourth photoelectric conversion elements. The image sensors may also include a floating diffusion region and first, second and third pixel transistors configured to perform different functions from each other. Each of the first, second and third pixel transistors may be disposed in at least one of first, second, third and fourth pixel regions. The first pixel transistor may include multiple first pixel transistors.

A photoelectric conversion apparatus includes a driving unit and a plurality of pixels. The pixel includes a first photoelectric conversion unit, a second photoelectric conversion unit, a charge-voltage conversion unit, a first transfer transistor, a second transfer transistor, a reset transistor, a microlens configured to condense incident light to the first photoelectric conversion unit and the second photoelectric conversion unit, and an output unit. The driving unit performs a first operation including a first reset operation and a first readout operation, and a second operation including a second reset operation and a second readout operation.

A semiconductor device according to an embodiment includes a plurality of element arrays, a signal-processing circuit, and a comparison-voltage generation circuit. Each element array is selectively connected to a vertical signal line and includes an amplification transistor configured to output a first analog signal on the basis of an input analog voltage and an actual value of variation of a characteristic value of each element array included in the plurality of element arrays. The comparison-voltage generation circuit is configured to output a gradually increasing or gradually decreasing comparison voltage. The signal-processing circuit includes a storage circuit and is configured to compare the first analog signal with the comparison voltage and store a timing at which the comparison voltage and a value of a second analog signal generated by adding a predetermined absolute value to the first analog signal match each other onto the storage circuit.

A solid state image sensor includes a pixel array, as well as charge-to-voltage converters, reset gates, and amplifiers each shared by a plurality of pixels in the array. The voltage level of the reset gate power supply is set higher than the voltage level of the amplifier power supply. Additionally, charge overflowing from photodetectors in the pixels may be discarded into the charge-to-voltage converters. The image sensor may also include a row scanner configured such that, while scanning a row in the pixel array to read out signals therefrom, the row scanner resets the charge in the photodetectors of the pixels sharing a charge-to-voltage converter with pixels on the readout row. The charge reset is conducted simultaneously with or prior to reading out the signals from the pixels on the readout row.

A solid-state imaging device includes a color filter unit disposed on a pixel array unit including pixels two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix and a conversion processing unit disposed on a substrate having the pixel array unit thereon. The color filter unit has a color arrangement in which a color serving as a primary component of a luminance signal is arranged in a checkerboard pattern and a plurality of colors serving as color information components are arranged in the other area of the checkerboard pattern. The conversion processing unit converts signals that are output from the pixels of the pixel array unit and that correspond to the color arrangement of the color filter unit into signals that correspond to a Bayer arrangement and outputs the converted signals.

Embodiments of a hybrid imaging sensor that optimizes a pixel array area on a substrate using a stacking scheme for placement of related circuitry with minimal vertical interconnects between stacked substrates and associated features are disclosed. Embodiments of maximized pixel array size/die size (area optimization) are disclosed, and an optimized imaging sensor providing improved image quality, improved functionality, and improved form factors for specific applications common to the industry of digital imaging are also disclosed.

A semiconductor device includes a pixel array including a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, each pixel including a first switch and a second switch, a scanning circuit, in a first mode, enabling a first signal to be output from the pixel by setting the first and second switches to “off” in a period before a first timing, enabling a second signal to be output from the pixel by setting only the first switch to “on” for a predetermined period from the first timing, and enabling a third signal to be output from the pixel by setting the first and second switches to “on” for a predetermined period from a second timing after the first timing, and a first AD (Analog/Digital) converter, in a second mode, capable of performing AD conversion by comparing the difference between the second signal and the first signal with a reference signal.