| US 7,515,819 B2 | ||
| Solid-state image pickup device for auto-focus and auto-focus camera using the same | ||
| Hidekazu Takahashi, Zama (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Appl. No. 10/562,646 PCT Filed Apr. 07, 2005, PCT No. PCT/JP2005/007188 § 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Dec. 28, 2005, PCT Pub. No. WO2005/098501, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 20, 2005. |
||
| Claims priority of application No. 2004-115629 (JP), filed on Apr. 09, 2004. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0098389 A1, May 03, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. G03B 3/10 (2006.01); H01L 27/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 396—121 [396/111; 250/208.1; 348/315] | 7 Claims |
| 1. An auto-focus sensor comprising:
first and second linear sensor pairs, each having a linear sensor for a base portion with a plurality of pixels and a linear
sensor for a reference portion with a plurality of pixels, in order to perform a focal point detection of a phase difference
detecting type,
wherein said first linear sensor pair and said second linear sensor pair have a same pixel pitch, wherein said first linear
sensor pair and said second linear sensor pair are neighboring in parallel and are arranged so as to be relatively deviated
in the arranging direction of said linear sensor for the base portion and said linear sensor for the reference portion, wherein
a signal output to detect the focal point is executed by using both of said first linear sensor pair and said second linear
sensor pair, wherein there is no light shielding layer between photoelectric converting devices of said first linear sensor
pair and said second linear sensor pair, wherein said first linear sensor pair and said second linear sensor pair are arranged
to be shifted from each other so that a photosensing unit of a pixel of said first linear sensor pair is adjacent to an element
isolation region included in said second linear sensor pair, and wherein said first linear sensor pair and said second linear
sensor pair are adjacent so that an object image is focused on both of photosensing units of the pixels of said first and
second linear sensor pairs;
a third linear sensor pair arranged in a direction which perpendicularly crosses said first and second linear sensor pairs;
and
a fourth linear sensor pair having a base-line length larger than that of said third linear sensor pair,
wherein said fourth linear sensor pair is arranged outside of said third linear sensor pair in a direction of the base-line
length,
wherein said third linear sensor pair and said fourth linear sensor pair are arranged on the same straight line,
wherein said first to fourth linear sensor pairs independently control an accumulation time of photo charges of a photoelectric
converting element constructing a pixel, and
wherein said photoelectric converting element is an amplifying type of which accumulation time is controlled in real-time.
|