Solid state image pickup device

Claim 1

A solid state image pickup device comprising a plurality of image pickup picture units (E 11 to E mn ) arrayed in horizontal and vertical rows and composed of a first plurality of switching elements (S 11 to S mn ) and a plurality of photoelectric transducers (D 11 to D mn :24) electrically connected to said first plurality of switching elements (S 11 to S mn ), and each of said first plurality of switching elements (S 11 to S mn ) composed of enhancement-mode insulated-gate field-effect transistors and a second plurality of switching elements (T' 1 to T' n ) connected in common to the respective vertical rows of said first plurality of switching elements (S 11 to S mn ) in said image pickup picture units (E 11 to E mn ) and each of said second plurality of switching elements composed of a depletion-mode insulated-gate field-effect transistor, and an arrangement wherein the horizontal rows of said first plurality of switching elements (S 11 to S mn ) in the image pickup picture units (E 11 to E mn ) are selectively energizable and said second plurality of switching elements (T' 1 to T' n ) are selectively energizable to deliver signals based on signal charges generated by said plurality of photoelectric transducers (D 11 to D mn ) through said first and second plurality of switching elements (S 11 to S mn , T' 1 to T' n ) so as to produce an image pickup signal output and wherein said second plurality of switching elements (T' 1 to T' n ) which comprise depletion-mode insulated-gate field-effect transistors have their sources respectively connected to the sources connected in common of the vertical rows of said plurality of enhancement-mode insulated-gate field-effect transistors which constitute said first switching elements (S 11 to S mn ) in said plurality of image pickup picture units (E 11 to E mn ), and the drains of said plurality of said depletion mode transistors connected in common to an output terminal (6).