An aspect ratio switchable 2/3-inch 800 k-pixel CCD image sensor

CCDs developed to date are designed for specific applications such as NTSC, PAL, Hi-Vision, and so on, so that they are not used for other TV systems. Recently, the applications of the image sensors are expanding, especially multi-media systems and next-generation TV systems. It is strongly desired that camera systems in the future be adaptable to various applications in terms of the inter-operability among the applications. To meet this demand, this multi-use CCD can be used for various applications, by use of "adaptive extraction of image area". This is achieved by the driving method and device technology for ultra-fast charge transfer. This paper demonstrates a 2/3-inch 800k-pixel CCD outputting video formats with different aspect ratios (16:9, 4:3) by use of the adaptive extraction of image area The device has sufficient performance for broadcasting use regardless of the aspect ratio: 140 mV/lx sensitivity, 80 dB dynamic range, -120 dB smear level and 60 dB S/N ratio.