Television – Camera – system and detail – Combined image signal generator and general image signal...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-25
2004-07-20
Le, Vu (Department: 2612)
Television
Camera, system and detail
Combined image signal generator and general image signal...
C348S227100, C348S162000, C250S390070
Reexamination Certificate
active
06765609
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image sensor and, more particularly, to a solid-state image sensor used in image-observation of an object when an image observation of the object and an analysis at a specific portion of the object are simultaneously performed, and an analysis system using the same.
2. Related Background Art
An analysis of an object often requires not only observation of its image, but also measurement of spectrum energy characteristics or the like of a given portion of that image. As a system that makes such analyses (that can simultaneously obtain an image and spectral characteristics), the one described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. HEI 1-320441 is known. More specifically, this analysis system (luminance calorimeter) is comprised of a plate
103
with an aperture
103
′ on which an image of an object
101
is formed via an objective lens
102
, a half mirror
111
which is inserted between the plate
103
and the object
101
, and serves as a split device for partly reflecting light emitted from the object
101
, a TV camera
117
as an image sensor for shooting the image of the object
101
, which is reflected by the half mirror
111
, a spectroscopic device
106
for spectrally resolving the light emitted from the object
101
, which has passed through the plate
103
via the aperture
103
′, a detector
108
for detecting the spectrum obtained by the spectroscopic device
106
, a data processing circuit
119
for processing the spectrum data, a signal superposing circuit
118
for superposing an analyzed data signal output from the data processing circuit
119
, and an image signal output from the TV camera
117
, and a monitor
110
for displaying on the basis of the signal output from the signal superposing circuit
118
, as shown in FIG.
13
. The analysis system splits light rays emitted from the object
101
using the half mirror
111
, so that the one is used to shoot a two-dimensional image, and the other is used to detect spectral characteristics, thereby simultaneously displaying two-dimensional image b of the object, and spectral characteristic data a of a given portion of the object on the monitor
110
.
However, the conventional analysis system suffers the following problem.
First, the monitor
110
displays marker c at the sampling position of the spectral characteristics in addition to two-dimensional image b and spectral characteristic data a of the object. The display position of marker c often has a deviation from the position of the object
101
where the spectral characteristics are actually detected, i.e., a measuring spot
104
. That is, display of marker c is set in-correspondence with the position of light rays that have passed through the aperture
103
′, but the measuring spot
104
of the spectral characteristics has a deviation from marker display position c due to positional deviations of the light-receiving surfaces of the half mirror
111
, TV camera
117
, and the like.
Second, the half mirror
111
is used to split light rays. However, it is hard to manufacture a half mirror
111
with uniform wavelength characteristics of transmittance, and the spectral characteristics of light emitted by the object
101
change when they pass through the half mirror
111
. For this reason, accurate spectral data for the object
101
cannot be obtained, resulting in poor measurement accuracy.
Third, the aforementioned analysis system can analyze if the object emits light rays, but cannot be applied to measurements of X-rays, electrons, or ions. That is, light rays can be split by the half mirror, but X-rays, an electron beam, ion beam, or the like cannot be split by the half mirror. Therefore, the system of this type cannot analyze and measure an X-ray image and the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to solve the aforementioned problems, and has as its object to provide an analysis system which can analyze and measure radioactive rays and the like, and can obtain accurate analysis characteristics while confirming the analysis position, and a solid-state image sensor for obtaining an image to be analyzed for that system.
A solid-state image sensor of the present invention is a solid-state image sensor which converts an image that represents the spatial distribution of light such as visible light, infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, or the like, radiation such as &agr; rays, &ggr; rays, X-rays, or the like, an electron beam, ion particles, or the like incident on an image receiving surface into an image signal by pixels arranged in a two-dimensional matrix on a substrate. This solid-state image sensor is provided with an aperture which extends from the pixel matrix area through the substrate, and a signal transfer path for reading an image signals from each pixel kept clear of the aperture.
With this arrangement, a solid-state image sensor with an aperture around which pixels are arranged can be provided. Of these energy beams such as light, radioactive rays, electrons, ions, or the like, which have reached an image receiving surface, energy beams that have reached this aperture portion pass through the aperture.
Preferably, an image sensing unit of the solid-state image sensor is divided into at least two regions by a boundary including the aperture, and the solid-state image sensor is provided with individual registers each for respective region to read image signals from the respective pixels by transferring the image signals.
With this arrangement, the image sensing unit is divided into at least two regions by the boundary including the aperture, and these regions respectively have individual registers (normally, horizontal transfer registers). That is, this arrangement is similar to a state wherein at least two independent image sensing units are present to sandwich the aperture therebetween. When an aperture is formed at the center of an image sensing unit in a conventional solid-state image sensor, the image sensing unit of which is formed by a single region as a whole, it is hard to vertically transfer signals beyond the aperture portion. As a result, pixels which cannot undergo vertical transfer, i.e., normally pixels within a predetermined width above the aperture, become invalid pixels from which an image signal cannot be read. Since the present invention divides the image sensing unit into a plurality of regions by a boundary including the aperture portion, charges need not be vertically transferred beyond the aperture portion. That is, extra invalid pixels can be prevented from being produced.
Furthermore, the solid-state image sensor is preferably back-incident type solid-state image sensor which is provided with electrodes for transferring image signals from the pixels on an opposite side of the image receiving surface. The back-incident type solid-state image sensor can assure a broader effective entrance surface than a front-incident type solid-state image sensor, since its image receiving surface is not covered by electrodes, and also has higher conversion efficiency of incoming energy and higher sensitivity than the front-incident type.
On the other hand, an analysis system of the present invention comprises one of such solid-state image sensors, an imaging system, inserted between the image sensor and an object to be measured, for forming the image of the object on the image receiving surface of the image sensor, an analysis system for analyzing a characteristic of the object from energy beams that have passed through the aperture, and converting analyzed result into an analysis data signal, and a display device for displaying an image corresponding to the image and the analysis data on the basis of an image signal output from the image sensor and the analysis data signal output from the analysis device.
With this arrangement, the characteristics of the object are analyzed by the analysis device from energy beams that have passed through the aperture portion of the solid-state image sensor with an apertu
Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.
Le Vu
Morgan & Lewis & Bockius, LLP
Yoder Chriss
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