Solid State Video Cameras

158 Pages·1986·4.058 MB·English

by  Y. Cristol (Auth.)

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Solid State
Video Cameras
Y. CRISTOL
European Patent Office, The Hague, The Netherlands
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Copyright © 1986 European Patent Office
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First edition 1986
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Cristol, Y.
Solid state video cameras.—(EPO applied
technology series; v. 7)
1. Semiconductor television cameras
I. Title II. Series
621.388'34 TR882
ISBN 0-08-030579-2
Printed in Great Britain by A. Wheaton & Co. Ltd., Exeter
Preface
In the recent years solid state video cameras have received wide
attention. Important characteristics such as light weight small size and
low voltage operation were achieved in television cameras using advanced
semi-conductor technology while efforts were made by manufacturers to
overcome problems relating to fixed pattern noise, blooming or variation
in sensitivity.
The present publication provides a review of the state of the art in
the field of solid-state television cameras as compiled from patent
literature.
Basic array types of solid-state imagers and appropriate read-out
circuits and methods are first described.
Documents relating to improvement of picture quality, such as spurious
signal suppression, uniformity correction or resolution enhancement are
also cited.
In the last part of the publication, solid-state colour cameras are
considered in detai1.
v
Editorial Team : Mr. S. BEHMO
Mrs. M. H. BRUGGEMAN
Mr. E.PICO
Mr. R. R. VAN DE GRAAF
Mrs. S. M. A. VENNIK-JANSEN
© EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE - 1986
V%
Note on Cited
Patent Documents
In this monograph, a great number of patents and published patent
applications *) are cited, using an international two-letter country code,
l .e.
B = US published patent applications
DE = Germany (Federal Republic)
EP = European Patents (or patent applications)
FR = France
GB = United Kingdom
JP = Japan **)
US = United States of America
NO = PCT
*) The patent literature covered by the search files of the European
Patent Office at The Hague encompasses patent publications of
following countries or Offices : Australia, Austria, Canada, France,
Germany (Federal Republic), Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA,
USSR, European Patent Office, Norld Intellectual Property Organizat-
ion, African Intellectual Property Organization, Belgium, Luxemburg
and The Netherlands.
**) All cited patent documents are published patent applications (KOKAI
TOKKYO);
νιτ
CHAPTER I
Interline-Transfer Imagers
The following documents relate to interline-transfer imagers, that is,
imagers in which the image charges are first transferred to an adjacent
light shielded site and then vertically shifted to a horizontal shift
register.
US 4012587 [SONY]
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*
In a solid-state image sensor of the type which employs an interline
transfer charge-coupled imaging device, the electrodes of the vertical
shift registers are enlarged to extend to places which lie between image
pick-up portions aligned in the vertical direction of the device.
1
2 SOLID STATE VIDEO CAMERAS
Each of the image pick-up portions comprise an image sensing area and a
transfer gate. Preferably, every other image pick-up portion of a
conventional CCD imaging device is removed to provide a spacing between
the image pick-up portions relative to the vertical direction.
DE 3319726 [MITSUBISHI]
A solid-state image sensor comprises a charge-transfer unit in which a
plurality of MOS gates are arranged side by side. A MOS gate control unit
applies a signal to the plurality of MOS gates to build potential wells
under all gates of the charge-transfer unit in a first period. Charges are
then supplied to the potential wells in a second period. Then, in a third
period, the potential wells are made to disappear in a direction opposite
to that of the charge transfer in order to move the signal charges under
the MOS gates.
EP 26904 [TOKYO SHIBAURA]
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G a
am
In a solid-state image pick-up device having a plurality of image pick-up
portions (10-1 to 10-2N) horizontally arranged, each containing a
plurality of photodiodes vertically arranged, the image pick-up portions
(10-1 to 10-2N) are arranged alternately at long and short intervals,
overflow drains (14-1 to 14-N) are provided at each short interval each
commonly for two image pick-up portions, two transfer portions (12-1 to
12-2N)) are provided at each long interval, one end of each transfer
portion (12-1 to 12-2N) is connected to a line transfer portions (16), and
the output terminal (18) of the line transfer portion (16) is connected to
an interpolation circuit with delay lines (30, 32, 34).
EP 30375 [TOKYO SHIBAURA]
A plurality of photosensitive sections, each having two photosensitive
rows (12, 13, 14, 15), and a plurality of readout sections, each having
two readout rows (16, 17, 18, 19), are alternately distributed in the
horizontal direction. The picture element signals of the photosensitive
rows and each adjacent to each of two readout rows are synthesized for
each line. Pseudo-picture element signals are synthesized from the
synthesized picture element signals, and the pseudo-picture element
signals are used as the picture element signals corresponding to the
readout sections.
INTERLINE-TRANSFER IMAGERS 3
16 17 12 20 13 18 19 14 21 15
s
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JP 57.145483 [MITSUBISHI]
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To increase the ratio of the light receiving area to the area of a chip by
providing an optical sensor at left and right sides of a vertical register
via a transfer gate.
An interline-type CCD solid-state image pick-up device contains an optical
sensor (1), a vertical register (2) and a horizontal register (3). A
transfer gate (5) is arranged at left and right-hand sides of the register
(2) and along the register (2) along with the sensor (1). The incident
light is converted into the signal charge by the sensor (1) and stored,
and the stored signal charge is read out to the register (2) when the gate
(5) is opened. This signal charge is then transferred to the register (3)
from the register (2) to be read out through an output part (4). Then the
signal charges provided by the optical sensors at both sides of the
register (2) are mixed by the register (2). Accordingly, the value of the
output signal is reduced to the mean value of these signal charges.
JP 57.69981 [MATSUSHITA]
To keep high image resolution and to realize a low equivalent residual
image, by transferring the signal charge at an even number of photo-
4 SOLID STATE VIDEO CAMERAS
electric conversion to a charge readout section, in reading out signal
charge of an odd number of photoelectric conversion section.
By establishing the first field
through the read-out of a signal
charge stored in an odd number of
photoelectric conversions 1,3,5-,
before reading out the signal charge
stored in an odd number of photo-
electric conversion sections 1,3 and
5, a first signal charge stored in
an even number of photoelectric
conversion sections 2,4- is
transferred to a charge read-out
section (7) to be discharged to the
outside of the charge read-out
section (7) in a sufficiently high
frequency. Thus, the signal charge
stored in each photoelectric
conversion section is read out or 7 e n 6
discharged per one field, when the
integration time is about 16.7 msec
and the equivalent residual image is
the same as in the field storage
method.
JP 56.128075 [NIPPON]
RffTL.
To obtain a video signal having no time difference in each field without
causing the deflection, by simultaneously transferring a picture element
signal to the first and second vertical register groups from the photo-
electric conversion element.
Plural elements (10) consisting of photoelectric conversion elements
10a ~ lOf are placed, vertical registers (11, 12) are provided on both
sides, respectively, and horizontal registers (13, 14) are provided on
their upper parts. The register (11) stores and transmits a picture
element signal in accordance with a control signal from the load control
terminal (17) and the shift control terminal (18), and the register (12)
stores and transfers a picture element signal in accordance with a control