Semiconductor device and potential measuring device

Abstract

To provide a semiconductor device capable of achieving higher resolution by reducing a cell circuit area.SOLUTION: A semiconductor device includes a first region in which cells each including one of input transistors forming a differential amplifier are arranged in an array form, and a second region in which cells each including the other of the input transistors forming the differential amplifier are arranged in an array form. The first region and the second region are apart from each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor device and an electric potential measuring apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, devices that use CMOS (Complementary MOS) integrated circuit technology to integrate electrodes, amplifiers, AD converters, etc. onto a single chip and measure potentials at multiple points simultaneously have been attracting attention (see Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, etc.). One such device has been reported that uses a differential amplifier to amplify and output the potential difference between a "reference electrode" placed in a solution far from the potential generation point and a "readout electrode" located near the potential generation point (see Non-Patent Document 3). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits Vol.45 (2010) No.2 pp.467-482 [Non-Patent Document 2] Lab on a Chip Vol.9 (2009) pp.2647-2651 [Non-Patent Document 3] Proceedings of the IEEE Vol.99, No.2, February 2011, pp.252-284 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in devices that use a differential amplifier to amplify and output the potential difference between a "reference electrode" and a "readout electrode" located near the potential generation point, it is necessary to have two input transistors (amplifier transistors) that make up a differential amplifier circuit within one cell circuit. This is a bottleneck in reducing the cell circuit area, i.e., in increasing resolution. Therefore, when a differential amplifier is used, it is difficult to increase resolution while maintaining low noise.

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure proposes a new and improved semiconductor device and potential measuring apparatus that can reduce the cell circuit area and achieve high resolution. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, there is provided a semiconductor device having a first region in which cells having one of the input transistors constituting a differential amplifier are arranged in an array, and a second region in which cells having the other of the input transistors constituting the differential amplifier are arranged in an array, the first region and the second region being separated from each other.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, there is also provided a potential measuring device comprising the above-mentioned semiconductor device, a horizontal selection circuit that selects cells in the first region and cells in the second region of the semiconductor device, and an A / D conversion circuit that converts an analog signal output from the semiconductor device into a digital signal. Effect of the Invention

[0008] As described above, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a new and improved semiconductor device and potential measuring apparatus that can reduce the cell circuit area and achieve high resolution.

[0009] It should be noted that the above effects are not necessarily limiting, and any of the effects shown in this specification, or other effects that can be understood from this specification, may be achieved in addition to or instead of the above effects. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which one cell circuit is provided with a differential amplifier circuit having two input transistors. [Diagram 2] 2 is an explanatory diagram showing in more detail the configuration of the differential amplifier circuit shown in FIG. 1; [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of a differential amplifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a semiconductor device according to the embodiment; [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a semiconductor device according to the embodiment; [Figure 6] 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a differential amplifier circuit in the semiconductor device according to the embodiment; FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a semiconductor device according to the embodiment; [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device according to the embodiment; [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a semiconductor device according to the embodiment; [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a semiconductor device according to the embodiment; [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a semiconductor device according to the embodiment; [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of a semiconductor device according to the embodiment; [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device according to the embodiment; [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device according to the embodiment; [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device according to the embodiment; [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device according to the embodiment; [Figure 17]17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of a comparator used in the potential measuring device shown in FIG. 16. FIG. [Figure 18] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of a semiconductor device according to the embodiment; [Figure 19] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a potential measuring device using the semiconductor device shown in FIG. [Figure 20] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device according to the embodiment; [Figure 21] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device according to the embodiment; [Figure 22] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device according to the embodiment; [Diagram 23] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of oversampling. [Figure 24] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device according to the embodiment; [Diagram 25] 25 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation method of a multiple ADC executed in the potential measuring device shown in FIG. 24. [Figure 26] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a structure in which chips are stacked; [Figure 27] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a structure in which chips are stacked; [Figure 28] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a structure in which chips are stacked; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0012] The explanation will be given in the following order. 1. Embodiments of the present disclosure 1.1. Overview 1.2. Configuration Example 2. Summary

[0013] 1. Embodiments of the Present Disclosure [1.1. Overview] Before describing the embodiments of the present disclosure in detail, an overview of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be first described.

[0014] As mentioned above, in recent years, attention has been focused on devices that use CMOS (Complementary MOS) integrated circuit technology to integrate electrodes, amplifiers, AD converters, etc. onto a single chip to measure potentials at multiple points simultaneously (see Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, etc.). Such devices are used, for example, to electrochemically measure the potential of a solution. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-31617 discloses a device technology for electrochemically measuring the potential of a solution above an array of microelectrodes, in which the microelectrodes are filled with culture medium, biological cells are placed on them, and the action potential generated by the biological cells is measured.

[0015] There are two main types of devices that use conventional CMOS integrated circuit technology: those that dynamically reconnect the wiring of each readout electrode and measure the potential by connecting it to an amplifier independent of the electrode (Non-Patent Document 1), and those that have one amplifier for each electrode (Non-Patent Document 2).

[0016] In such devices, a device has been reported in which the potential difference between a "reference electrode" placed in the solution far from the potential generation point and a "readout electrode" located near the potential generation point is amplified and output by a differential amplifier (see Non-Patent Document 3). In such devices, the circuit noise after the differential amplifier is suppressed to the inverse multiple of the amplifier's amplification gain, so low noise devices can be expected.

[0017] However, a device that uses a differential amplifier to amplify and output the potential difference between a "reference electrode" and a "readout electrode" located near the potential generation point needs to have two input transistors (amplifier transistors) that constitute a differential amplifier circuit in one cell circuit. Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which one cell circuit 10 is provided with a differential amplifier circuit 11 having two input transistors. The differential amplifier circuit 11 compares the potential of the readout electrode 12 with a reference potential (Vref) from a reference electrode (not shown) and outputs the comparison result.

[0018] 2 is an explanatory diagram showing in more detail the configuration of the differential amplifier circuit 11. The differential amplifier circuit 11 includes MOSFETs Tr1a and 1b forming a current mirror circuit, an input transistor Tr2a having a gate to which a potential from a read electrode 12 is input, an input transistor Tr2b having a gate to which a reference potential (Vref) from a reference electrode is input, and a current source 14. Here, the MOSFETs Tr1a and 1b are PMOS transistors, and the MOSFETs Tr2a and 2b are NMOS transistors.

[0019] In this way, having two input transistors (amplifier transistors) in one cell circuit is a bottleneck in reducing the cell circuit area, i.e., in increasing resolution. In particular, the input transistors (amplifier transistors) must be relatively large in size to reduce noise, and they take up a large amount of space in the cell circuit. Therefore, if a differential amplifier is used, it becomes difficult to increase resolution while maintaining low noise.

[0020] In view of the above, the present inventor has conducted intensive research into a technology for reducing the cell circuit area and achieving high resolution in a device capable of simultaneously detecting potential at multiple points, and as a result, as described below, the present inventor has devised a technology for reducing the cell circuit area and achieving high resolution in a device capable of simultaneously detecting potential at multiple points.

[0021] The outline of the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above. Next, the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail.

[0022] [1.2. Configuration example] In this embodiment, instead of providing a differential amplifier circuit having two input transistors in one cell circuit as described above, the transistors constituting the differential amplifier are arranged separately in two cell circuits. One cell circuit is a read cell having a read electrode, and the other cell circuit is a reference cell that receives an input of a reference potential. In the reference cell, the reference electrode may be provided inside the cell or outside the cell. In this way, by dividing the differential amplifier into two cell circuits, the cell circuit area can be reduced and high resolution can be achieved.

[0023] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a differential amplifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a differential amplifier circuit 130 in which transistors are arranged in each of the readout cell 110 and the reference cell 120 measures the potential difference between the reference electrode and the readout electrode. The readout cell 110 is provided with a readout electrode 111, and the reference cell 120 is provided with a reference electrode 121. In this disclosure, the amplifier transistors constituting the differential amplifier circuit 130 may be provided below the readout electrode 12 and the reference electrode provided in the corresponding readout cell 110 and the reference cell 120, respectively, or may be provided below the electrodes of an adjacent cell or other cells. The above-mentioned "below" refers to the depth direction of the substrate with the surface of the readout electrode 12 or the reference electrode as a reference. As described above, the reference electrode 121 does not have to be provided inside the reference cell 120.

[0024] In this embodiment, the transistors constituting the differential amplifier are arranged in two separate cell circuits, and the region in which the readout cell 110 is arranged and the region in which the reference cell 120 is arranged are separate regions. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a semiconductor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 4 is a device capable of simultaneously detecting potential at multiple points, and has a readout cell region 101 in which a plurality of readout cells 110 are arranged in a matrix, and a reference cell region 102 in which a plurality of reference cells 120 are arranged in a matrix. The readout cell region 101 is a region in which circuit elements constituting one of the input transistors of the differential amplifier are arranged. The readout cell region 101 is, for example, a region in which biological cells are cultured directly above the readout cell region 101 and their action potentials are acquired. The reference cell region 102 is a region in which circuit elements constituting the other of the input transistors of the differential amplifier are arranged.

[0025] In the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 4, referring to the leftmost column, the read cell region 101 has four read cells 110-1 to 110-4 arranged therein, and the reference cell region 102 has four reference cells 120-1 to 120-4 arranged therein.

[0026] In the semiconductor device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, by arranging the readout cell region 101 and the reference cell region 102 in this manner, it is sufficient for the unit cell of the readout cell arranged in the readout cell region 101 for measuring the action potential to have one input transistor constituting a differential amplifier. Therefore, the semiconductor device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can achieve high resolution by reducing the cell size while maintaining low noise due to the differential amplifier.

[0027] 4, the number of read cells is the same as the number of reference cells. With such a configuration, the area of ​​the reference cell region 102 becomes large, and as a result, the circuit area increases. Therefore, by reducing the number of reference cells, it becomes possible to reduce the area of ​​the reference cell region 102 and suppress the increase in the circuit area.

[0028] Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a semiconductor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The semiconductor device 100 shown in Fig. 5 has a reduced number of reference cells 120 arranged in a reference cell region 102 compared to the semiconductor device 100 shown in Fig. 4. That is, the semiconductor device 100 shown in Fig. 5 is characterized in that one reference cell is shared by multiple read cells.

[0029] 5, referring to the leftmost column, four read cells 110-1 to 110-4 are arranged in the read cell region 101, and one reference cell 120-1 is arranged in the reference cell region 102. That is, the transistor of the reference cell 120-1 is shared with the transistors of the multiple read cells 110-1 to 110-4.

[0030] In this way, by sharing one reference cell among a plurality of read cells, the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 5 can reduce the circuit area compared to the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG.

[0031] Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a differential amplifier circuit in a semiconductor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The differential amplifier shown in Fig. 6 has a PMOS current mirror as a load resistance, and is characterized in that the diode-connected side of the PMOS transistor, i.e., the input transistor on the side where no amplification gain is applied, is connected to a readout electrode, and a closed loop is formed in which the output of the differential amplifier is fed back to the input on the side where amplification gain is applied.

[0032] The differential amplifier circuit 130 shown in FIG. 6 includes MOSFETs Tr1a and Tr1b that form a current mirror, an input transistor Tr2a whose gate receives a potential from the read electrode 111, an input transistor Tr2b whose gate receives a reference potential (Vref) from the reference electrode 121, and a current source 140. The output of the differential amplifier circuit 130 is fed back to the input transistor Tr2b whose gate receives an output from the reference electrode 121. The capacitors C11 and C12 are provided to capacitively couple the reference electrode 121, and the noise components that are mixed in phase with the read electrode and the reference electrode can be cancelled by the differential amplifier using the capacitors C11 and C12. The switch SW11 is a switch for short-circuiting the output of the differential amplifier circuit 130 and the input of the input transistor Tr2b on the side of the reference electrode 121. The switch SW11 is, for example, a switching element such as a MOSFET. The switch SW11 can also cancel the mismatch in the voltage thresholds of the input transistor Tr2b of the reference electrode and the input transistor Tr2a of the read electrode.

[0033] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example configuration of a semiconductor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which each input transistor of the differential amplifier circuit 130 shown in FIG. 6 is divided into two cell circuits, and the region in which the read cell 110 is arranged and the region in which the reference cell 120 is arranged are separate regions.

[0034] 7, referring to the leftmost column in the semiconductor device 100, four read cells 110-1 to 110-4 are arranged in the read cell region 101, and four reference cells 120-1 to 120-4 are arranged in the reference cell region 102. Of course, a configuration in which one reference cell is shared by a plurality of read cells may be adopted as shown in FIG.

[0035] 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Shown in FIG. 8 is a device capable of simultaneously detecting potential at multiple points. The potential measuring device 20 shown in FIG. 8 includes an A / D conversion circuit 21, a vertical scanning circuit 22, and a semiconductor device 100. The semiconductor device 100 has a read cell region 101 and a reference cell region 102.

[0036] The A / D conversion circuit 21 is a circuit that converts analog data measured by the semiconductor device 100 into digital data. The configuration of the A / D conversion circuit 21 is not limited to a specific one. The vertical scanning circuit 22 is a circuit that outputs a signal for selecting a read cell or a reference cell used to measure the potential of the semiconductor device 100. In the configuration shown in FIG. 8, the A / D conversion circuit 21 and the reference cell region 102 are formed in positions that face each other with the read cell region 101 in between. In other words, the reference cell region 102 is provided on the opposite side of the region in which the A / D conversion circuit 21 is provided, with the read cell region 101 in between.

[0037] The potential measuring device 20 has a configuration as shown in Fig. 8, and can achieve high resolution by reducing the cell size while maintaining low noise due to the differential amplifier. Also, as shown in Fig. 8, the read cell region 101 in the semiconductor device 100 is disposed in the central region of the potential measuring device 20, so that the potential measuring device 20 can secure a wide measurement region when measuring the potential.

[0038] Although an example of a semiconductor device in which a read cell region is arranged between a current mirror circuit and a reference cell region has been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to such an example. For example, a configuration in which the reference cell region is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the side on which the current mirror circuit is arranged, and the read cell region is arranged between the reference cell regions, may be adopted.

[0039] Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of a semiconductor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the semiconductor device 100 shown in Fig. 9, a reference cell region 102 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the side on which the PMOS current mirror circuit is arranged, and a read cell region 101 is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the two reference cell regions 102. In other words, in the semiconductor device 100 shown in Fig. 9, the read cell region 101 and the reference cell region 102 are arranged so that the distances from the read cell and the reference cell to the PMOS current mirror circuit and the current source are approximately equal.

[0040] With this arrangement, the semiconductor device 100 shown in Fig. 9 can reduce the difference in the amount of voltage drop due to wiring. That is, the semiconductor device 100 shown in Fig. 9 can improve the symmetry of the differential pair of the differential amplifier circuit. As a result, the semiconductor device 100 shown in Fig. 9 can prevent a decrease in the circuit operating range due to a voltage drop.

[0041] FIG. 9 shows a semiconductor device 100 in which the number of read cells and reference cells is 1:1, but as described above, the reference cell may be shared with multiple read cells. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a semiconductor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 shows an example of a semiconductor device 100 in which the number of reference cells is reduced from the example shown in FIG. 9 by sharing the reference cell with multiple read cells in this way. The semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 10 can further reduce the circuit area compared to the configuration shown in FIG. 9 while obtaining the effects of reducing the difference in the amount of voltage drop due to wiring, improving the symmetry of the differential pair, and preventing a decrease in the circuit operating range due to a voltage drop, as described above, by sharing the reference cell with multiple read cells in this way.

[0042] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, in a differential amplifier having a PMOS current mirror as a load resistance, the diode-connected side of the PMOS transistor may be connected to a read electrode, and a closed loop may be configured in which the output of the differential amplifier is fed back to the input on the side to which the amplification gain is applied. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a semiconductor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 shows an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a closed loop is configured in a differential amplifier having a PMOS current mirror as a load resistance, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, in the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 9, the diode-connected side of the PMOS transistor is connected to a read electrode, and the output of the differential amplifier is fed back to the input on the side to which the amplification gain is applied. With such a configuration, the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 11 can obtain not only the effect of the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 9, but also the effect of the configuration shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

[0043] In the example shown in FIG. 11, the number of read cells and reference cells is 1:1, but the present disclosure is not limited to such an example, and of course, a reference cell may be shared with multiple read cells, as in FIG. 10.

[0044] The semiconductor device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may have a configuration in which a plurality of vertical signal lines are arranged so that differential amplifiers in a plurality of rows are simultaneously put into an operating state.

[0045] 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a circuit configuration example of a semiconductor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 shows a circuit configuration example of a semiconductor device 100 in which the cell region is separated into a readout cell region 101 and a reference cell region 102, and the cells of the readout cell region 101 and the reference cell region 102 are connected to different vertical signal lines. In the example of FIG. 12, four sets of vertical signal lines are arranged, and it is possible to simultaneously output signals from the cells of the readout cell region 101 and the reference cell region 102 to the differential amplifier. Of course, the number of sets of vertical signal lines is not limited to four.

[0046] The semiconductor device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can simultaneously activate differential amplifiers in multiple rows by increasing the number of sets of vertical signal lines. The semiconductor device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can simultaneously activate differential amplifiers in multiple rows, thereby enabling high-speed data readout. Furthermore, providing such a semiconductor device 100 in a potential measuring device contributes to speeding up potential measurement by the potential measuring device.

[0047] The semiconductor device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may have a configuration in which the output is distributed to a plurality of A / D conversion circuits.

[0048] Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 13 shows a configuration example of a potential measuring device 20 having two A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b in opposing positions (above and below the cell array region in the figure) in the potential measuring device 20. Fig. 13 also shows a vertical selection circuit 23. The vertical selection circuit 23 is a circuit that outputs a signal for selecting a cell for each of the read cell region 101 and the reference cell region 102.

[0049] In the example shown in FIG. 13, the cell area is separated into a read cell area 101 and a reference cell area 102, as in the above-mentioned example, but the signal lines are separated at the center to distribute the output to the two A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b. The potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has such a configuration, and can input the output signal of the differential amplifier to the A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b at the top and bottom in the figure. Therefore, the potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can output data from the A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b, and can output the result of the potential measurement to the outside of the device at high speed.

[0050] In the example of Fig. 13, two A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b are provided at positions facing each other in the potential measuring device 20, but the present disclosure is not limited to such an example. Fig. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the potential measuring device 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Shown in Fig. 14 is a configuration example of the potential measuring device 20 having two A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b above the cell array region in the figure.

[0051] Each cell located in the read cell region 101 and the reference cell region 102 is connected to a predetermined differential amplifier, and the output from the differential amplifier is input to the respective A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b. The potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has such a configuration, and can input the output signals of the differential amplifiers to the two A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b in the figure. Therefore, the potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can output data from the A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b, and can output the result of the potential measurement to the outside of the device at high speed.

[0052] The number of A / D conversion circuits can be further increased by combining the configuration shown in Fig. 13 with the configuration shown in Fig. 14 in the potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 15 shows a configuration example of the potential measuring device 20 having a total of four A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d, two of which are located in opposing positions in the potential measuring device 20 (above and below the cell array region in the figure).

[0053] In the example shown in FIG. 15, the signal lines are separated at the center to distribute the output to the A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b and the A / D conversion circuits 21c, 21d. The potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has such a configuration, and can input the output signals of the differential amplifiers to the A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d at the top and bottom in the figure. Therefore, the potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can output data from the A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d, and can output the results of the potential measurement to the outside of the device at a higher speed.

[0054] In the above description, the A / D conversion circuit that performs A / D conversion on the output analog signal of the differential amplifier is composed of, for example, a slope generator, a comparator circuit, a counter circuit, a latch circuit, a horizontal transfer scanning circuit, and a timing control circuit. In this embodiment, the comparator circuit may have a configuration in which a mirror capacitance is connected between the first-stage amplifier and the second-stage amplifier. By providing the mirror capacitance in the comparator circuit, the band of the A / D conversion circuit can be narrowed. By narrowing the band of the A / D conversion circuit, high-frequency noise components outside the band (mainly thermal noise components generated in the differential amplifier) ​​can be reduced, thereby achieving low noise.

[0055] FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The potential measuring device 200 shown in FIG. 16 has a cell array section 210, a vertical scanning circuit 220, a horizontal transfer scanning circuit 230, a timing control circuit 240, and an ADC group 250 as a pixel signal readout section. The potential measuring device 200 also has a DAC (digital-analog conversion device) 261 including a DAC and a bias circuit, an amplifier circuit (S / A) 270, and a signal processing circuit 280. Of these components, the cell array section 210, the vertical scanning circuit 220, the horizontal transfer scanning circuit 230, the ADC group 250, the DAC and bias circuit, and the amplifier circuit (S / A) 270 are configured by analog circuits. The timing control circuit 240 and the signal processing circuit 280 are configured by digital circuits.

[0056] The cell array unit 210 may be provided with any of the semiconductor devices 100 described above. The timing control circuit 240 generates an internal clock as a control circuit for sequentially reading out signals from the cell array unit 210. The vertical scanning circuit 220 controls row addresses and row scanning of the cell array unit 210. The horizontal transfer scanning circuit 230 controls column addresses and column scanning of the cell array unit 210.

[0057] The ADC group 250 is composed of a plurality of A / D conversion circuits, and each A / D conversion circuit has a comparator 251 that compares a reference voltage Vslop, which is a ramp waveform (RAMP) obtained by changing a reference voltage generated by a DAC 261 in a stepped manner, with an analog signal (potential VSL) obtained from a pixel via a vertical signal line for each row line. Furthermore, each A / D conversion circuit has a counter 252 that counts a comparison time, and a latch 253 that holds the count result. The ADC group 250 has an n-bit digital signal conversion function, and is arranged for each vertical signal line (column line), forming a column-parallel ADC block. The output of each latch 253 is connected to, for example, a horizontal transfer line LTRF having a width of 2n bits. Then, 2n amplifier circuits 270 corresponding to the horizontal transfer line LTRF and a signal processing circuit 280 are arranged.

[0058] Fig. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of a comparator 300 used in the potential measuring device 200 shown in Fig. 16. The comparator 300 has a first amplifier 310 and a second amplifier 320 connected in series, and a capacitor C230 for generating a Miller effect. The first amplifier 310 has p-channel MOS (PMOS) transistors PT211-PT214, n-channel MOS (NMOS) transistors NT211-NT213, and first and second capacitors C211, C212 as sampling capacitances of the AZ level. The second amplifier 320 has a PMOS transistor PT221, NMOS transistors NT221, NT222, and a third capacitor C221 as a sampling capacitance of the AZ level.

[0059] Detailed description and operation of the comparator 300 shown in FIG. 17 are described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-017838, and detailed description will be omitted here. However, the comparator 300 shown in FIG. 17 can exhibit a mirror effect by providing a capacitor C230 for exhibiting a mirror effect between the first amplifier 310 and the second amplifier 320. The occurrence of this mirror effect is equivalent to a gain-times capacitance being connected to the source ground input. By providing the capacitor C230 for exhibiting the mirror effect, the band of each comparator 251 is greatly narrowed by a small capacitance. Each comparator 251 has a function of initializing (auto-zero: AZ) and sampling in order to determine an operating point for each column at the start of row operation.

[0060] Therefore, the potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can narrow the band of the A / D conversion circuit by including the comparator shown in Fig. 17. By narrowing the band of the A / D conversion circuit, high-frequency noise components outside the band (mainly thermal noise components generated in the differential amplifier) ​​can be reduced, thereby achieving low noise.

[0061] The configuration shown in Figure 12, in which multiple vertical signal lines are arranged to simultaneously operate multiple rows of differential amplifiers, may also be applied to a semiconductor device 100 having a configuration, for example, as shown in Figure 9, in which the reference cell regions are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the side on which the current mirror circuits are arranged, and the read cell regions are arranged between the reference cell regions.

[0062] FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a circuit configuration example of a semiconductor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 18 shows a circuit configuration example of a semiconductor device 100 in which the cell region is separated into a readout cell region 101 and a reference cell region 102, and the cells in the readout cell region 101 and the reference cell region 102 are connected to different vertical signal lines every other row. In the example of FIG. 18, two sets of vertical signal lines are arranged for each column, and it is possible to simultaneously output signals from the cells in the readout cell region 101 and the reference cell region 102 to the differential amplifier. Of course, the number of sets of vertical signal lines provided for each column is not limited to two.

[0063] Fig. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device 20 using the semiconductor device 100 shown in Fig. 9. The potential measuring device 20 shown in Fig. 19 is a device that outputs digital data corresponding to the potential detected by the semiconductor device 100 by converting a signal output by the semiconductor device 100 using an A / D conversion circuit 21 and outputting the signal to the outside.

[0064] Fig. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 20 shows a configuration example of a potential measuring device 20 having two A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b in opposing positions (above and below the cell array region in the figure) in the potential measuring device 20. The potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can also adopt a configuration in which reference cell regions 102 are provided on the left and right in the figure, and two A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b are provided above and below the cell array region in the figure.

[0065] In the electric potential measuring device 20 shown in Fig. 20, the signal lines are separated in the center to distribute the output to the two A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b. The electric potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has such a configuration, and therefore can input the output signals of the differential amplifiers to the A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b at the top and bottom in the figure. Therefore, the electric potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure shown in Fig. 20 can output data from the A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b, and can output the result of the electric potential measurement to the outside of the device at high speed.

[0066] Fig. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a potential measuring device 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 21 shows a configuration example of a potential measuring device 20 having two A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b above a cell array region in the figure.

[0067] Each cell located in the read cell region 101 and the reference cell region 102 is connected to a predetermined differential amplifier, and the output from the differential amplifier is input to the respective A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b. The potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has such a configuration, and can input the output signals of the differential amplifiers to the two A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b in the figure. Therefore, the potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can output data from the A / D conversion circuits 21a and 21b, and can output the result of the potential measurement to the outside of the device at high speed.

[0068] The potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can further increase the number of A / D conversion circuits by combining the configuration shown in Fig. 20 with the configuration shown in Fig. 21. Fig. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 22 shows a configuration example of the potential measuring device 20 having a total of four A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d, two of which are located in opposing positions in the potential measuring device 20 (above and below the cell array region in the figure).

[0069] In the example shown in Fig. 22, the signal lines are separated at the center to distribute the output to the A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b and the A / D conversion circuits 21c, 21d. The electric potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has such a configuration, and can input the output signals of the differential amplifiers to the A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d at the top and bottom in the figure. Therefore, the electric potential measuring device 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can output data from the A / D conversion circuits 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d, and can output the results of the electric potential measurement to the outside of the device at a higher speed.

[0070] For each of the above-mentioned configurations, the analog signal output by the differential amplifier is A / D converted by oversampling (at a sampling frequency faster than the signal band) to obtain digital data, thereby reducing noise components distributed in the signal band. FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of oversampling. As shown in FIG. 23, when A / D conversion is performed at a sampling frequency fs, noise components distributed across the entire frequency range, such as thermal noise, become aliasing noise and are distributed from 0 to fs / 2. On the other hand, when oversampling is performed at a sampling frequency M times higher, the noise components are distributed from 0 to Mfs / 2. Therefore, noise distributed in the signal band can be reduced by oversampling.

[0071] This oversampling can be employed in any of the configurations of the electric potential measuring device 20 and the semiconductor device 100 described above. In particular, in a configuration in which multiple rows are read simultaneously and multiple A / D conversion circuits are used to increase the readout speed, oversampling the required signal band distributes noise over a wide range of the sampled frequency band, and the noise distributed in the signal band is reduced. Then, by performing filtering and extracting the signal in the signal band, the semiconductor device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can achieve low noise.

[0072] Furthermore, since the above means can realize a high-speed readout, in the case of an AD converter that compares a reference signal with the output signal voltage of a differential amplifier and counts a count clock based on the comparison result, multiplexing of AD conversion can be performed. An example of an AD converter that counts a count clock based on the comparison result is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-328135. Also, multiplexing of AD conversion is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-296423.

[0073] Multiplexing of AD conversion means that n-bit (n is an integer equal to or greater than 1) AD conversion processing is repeated W times (W is an integer equal to or greater than 2) for each of the P and D phases, and then these are added together to execute digital integration processing. By multiplexing AD conversion, the signal data is increased W times, but the noise is thought to be increased by √W times. This alleviates the problem of random noise, such as quantization noise and circuit noise, that accompanies AD conversion and does not exist in processing in the analog domain, and enables the semiconductor device 100 to achieve even lower noise.

[0074] FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the potential measuring device 200 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, and has a configuration in which a switch unit 290 is added to the potential measuring device 200 shown in FIG. 16. The potential measuring device 200 shown in FIG. 24 is configured to input the output of the differential amplifier to a slope-type AD converter, convert it into digital data, and output it. However, a difference from the configuration shown in JP 2005-328135 A is that, in the configuration disclosed in JP 2005-328135 A, a reset level is output from the pixel of the image sensor and can be used as a reference level, whereas in the potential measuring device 200 according to the present embodiment, the differential amplifier continues to output the electrode signal at all times, so that the reset level needs to be input from outside the differential amplifier. Therefore, in the configuration shown in FIG. 24, the reset level Vrst is set as the reset level, and the output signal Vx of the differential amplifier circuit and the reset level Vrst are alternately input to the AD conversion circuit by switching the switch unit 290, thereby acquiring the levels of the P phase and the D phase, respectively, and performing AD conversion.

[0075] Fig. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation method of the multiple ADC executed by the potential measuring device 200 shown in Fig. 24. The potential measuring device 200 performs reference signal comparison type AD conversion processing multiple times (W times: W is a positive integer of 2 or more) consecutively for the same signal during each AD conversion processing of the P phase and the D phase. During the second and subsequent processing, the potential measuring device 200 changes the reference signal Vslop for AD conversion in the same way as the first time, and performs count processing in the same count mode, using the previous AD conversion result as the starting point.

[0076] By doing this, in each process of the P phase and D phase, data (added data) that is W times the AD conversion result of the same signal is obtained. Combined with reversing the count mode for the P phase and D phase, the calculation result "-W·Drst+W·(Dsig+Drst)=W·Dsig" is obtained. It can also be seen that the counter section functions as a digital integrator. Although the signal is multiplied by W, it is considered that the noise is multiplied by √W, which improves noise characteristics.

[0077] There are many processes in the wafer manufacturing process that are only required for the electrode section and only required for the peripheral circuit section (such as the AD conversion section). Therefore, it is possible to manufacture the electrode section and the peripheral circuit section on separate wafers, and then bond the semiconductor elements obtained by dicing the wafer into individual pieces of optimal size to each other, which can be manufactured at a lower cost. In addition, by applying the optimal generation process to each wafer, the performance of the semiconductor device 100 can be expected to improve.

[0078] For example, in the case of image sensors, a solid-state imaging device that applies the technology of dividing the pixel section and the peripheral circuit section into separate elements and stacking them in a CoC (Chip on Chip) configuration has been proposed in which a peripheral circuit semiconductor element, which is the peripheral circuit section, is flip-chip mounted in an area outside the pixels on the light-receiving surface of a sensor semiconductor element that constitutes a front-illuminated sensor (for example, International Publication No. 2010 / 073520).

[0079] In this way, by mounting analog elements such as a differential amplifier circuit and digital elements such as an AD conversion circuit and a control circuit on separate chips and applying a microprocess to the digital elements, it is possible to realize high speed and high density AD conversion circuits. This allows the semiconductor device 100 to increase the sampling speed. Furthermore, by combining the semiconductor device 100 with a structure in which the read cell array and the reference cell array are separated, it is possible to realize high speed while maintaining low noise and high resolution, and also to reduce the chip area.

[0080] Fig. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a structure in which two chips are stacked. In the example shown in Fig. 26, a differential amplifier circuit, horizontal selection circuit, etc. are mounted on chip A, and an A / D conversion circuit is mounted on chip B. Since the A / D conversion circuit operates in the digital domain, it is possible to apply a fine process to chip B. This enables the semiconductor device 100 to achieve high-speed operation and high density of the A / D conversion circuit.

[0081] 27 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a structure in which two chips are stacked, and is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment in which a chip-stacked structure is applied to a circuit configuration to which the slope-type AD conversion circuit of FIG. 24 is applied. With respect to the flow of signals, the components before a comparator that operates in the analog domain are mounted on chip A, and the components after a counter that operates in the digital domain are mounted on chip B. By adopting such a chip-stacked structure, the semiconductor device 100 can make the boundary between the analog domain and the digital domain of the A / D converter the boundary between the chips, and can maximize the benefits of miniaturization and high speed achieved by stacking chips.

[0082] FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a structure in which multiple chips are stacked on one chip, and is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment in which a chip stacking structure is applied to the structure in which the A / D converters shown in FIG. 13 are arranged above and below. In this way, a configuration in which multiple chips are stacked on one chip is also possible. Note that the order in which the chips are stacked, the positions of the stacked chips, and the number of stacked chips are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 26 to 28. In FIGS. 26 to 28, chip B equipped with an A / D conversion circuit is superimposed on chip A, but the stacking structure may be reversed.

[0083] The effects of the semiconductor device 100 described above will now be described again.

[0084] (Figure 4) In the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 4, by separating and arranging the input transistors into a read cell and a reference cell, it is sufficient to arrange one input transistor (amplifier transistor) in the unit cell, and noise can be reduced by increasing the size of the input transistor. As a result, the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 4 can reduce the cell size and achieve high resolution of the read cell. Since the amplifier transistor has a large noise contribution to the differential amplifier circuit, the amplifier transistor dominates the area constituting the differential amplifier circuit. Therefore, in the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 4, by separating the input transistors into the read cell and the reference cell as described above, the cell area can be reduced to about half, and the resolution can be improved by about two times.

[0085] (Figure 5) In the semiconductor device 100 shown in Figure 5, by sharing a reference cell among multiple read cells, the area of ​​the reference cell can be reduced from that of the semiconductor device 100 shown in Figure 4, thereby enabling cost reduction by expanding the read area and reducing the chip area.

[0086] (Figure 7) The semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 7 can further provide the effect of a one-sided auto-zero differential amplifier to the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. That is, since the differential amplifier in the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 7 has a closed-loop configuration, it is possible to vary the potential of the read electrode without degradation of the S / N ratio of the input signal while solving the problem of the signal input range of the open-loop type differential amplifier. In addition, the differential amplifier in the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 7 can cancel noise components mixed in phase with the read electrode and the reference electrode by capacitively coupling the reference electrode, thereby realizing low noise. In addition, the differential amplifier in the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 7 can balance the currents of the left and right pairs by shorting the output and the input of the input transistor on the reference electrode side. This allows the state where the differential input is zero to be sampled and held as the input voltage of the reference electrode, and it is also possible to cancel the Vth mismatch between the input transistor of the reference cell and the input transistor of the read cell.

[0087] In addition to these effects, the semiconductor device 100 shown in Fig. 7 can achieve low noise and high resolution by dividing the input transistor into a read cell region and a reference cell region. In particular, since the reference cell of the auto-zero differential amplifier inevitably increases in area due to the addition of elements, by separating the read cell and the reference cell in this way, it is possible to prevent degradation of the resolution of the read electrode due to the increase in area caused by the addition of elements on the reference cell side.

[0088] (Fig. 9) In the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 9, when the input transistors are arranged separately into a read cell and a reference cell, the read cell region is arranged so as to be sandwiched between two reference cell regions. By arranging them in this way, the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 9 can match the distances from the read cell and the reference cell to the PMOS current mirror circuit and the current source, respectively, and can reduce the difference in the amount of voltage drop due to wiring. In other words, the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 9 can improve the symmetry of the differential pair of the differential amplifier circuit. As a result, the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 9 can prevent a decrease in the circuit operating range due to a voltage drop.

[0089] (Figure 10) In the semiconductor device 100 shown in Figure 10, by sharing a reference cell among multiple read cells, the area of ​​the reference cell can be reduced from that of the semiconductor device 100 shown in Figure 9, thereby enabling cost reduction by expanding the read area and reducing the chip area.

[0090] (Fig. 11) The semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 11 can further provide the effect of a one-sided auto-zero differential amplifier to the semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG.

[0091] (Fig. 12) The semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 12 has a plurality of vertical signal lines, which makes it possible to simultaneously operate differential amplifiers in a plurality of rows, thereby achieving the effect of increasing the read speed from the cell array.

[0092] (Fig. 13 to 15) The semiconductor device 100 shown in Figures 13 to 15 has multiple A / D conversion circuits, and by distributing the output from the cell array region to each A / D conversion circuit, it is possible to achieve the effect of increasing the read speed from the cell array.

[0093] (Figs. 16-17) 16 and 17, the comparator circuit has a Miller capacitance connected between the first-stage amplifier and the second-stage amplifier, thereby narrowing the bandwidth of the A / D conversion circuit. By narrowing the bandwidth of the A / D conversion circuit, it is possible to reduce high-frequency noise components outside the bandwidth (mainly thermal noise components generated in the differential amplifier), thereby achieving low noise.

[0094] (Fig. 18) The semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 12 has a plurality of vertical signal lines, which makes it possible to simultaneously operate differential amplifiers in a plurality of rows, thereby achieving the effect of increasing the read speed from the cell array.

[0095] (Fig. 20 to 22) The semiconductor device 100 shown in Figures 20 to 22 is equipped with multiple A / D conversion circuits, and by distributing the output from the cell array region to each A / D conversion circuit, it is possible to achieve the effect of increasing the read speed from the cell array.

[0096] (Fig.23) In each configuration, noise distributed in the signal band can be reduced by performing oversampling during A / D conversion. In particular, in configurations in which multiple rows are read simultaneously and multiple A / D conversion circuits are used to increase the read speed as shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 18, noise is distributed over a wide range of the sampled frequency band by oversampling the required signal band, and the noise distributed in the signal band is reduced. Then, by performing filtering to extract the signal in the signal band, the semiconductor device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can achieve low noise.

[0097] (Figs. 24 and 25) When a slope-type ADC is applied and AD conversion is multiplexed, the signal data becomes W times larger, but the noise becomes approximately √W times larger. By multiplexing AD conversion as shown in Figure 24, the problem of random noise such as quantization noise and circuit noise associated with AD conversion that does not exist in processing in the analog domain is mitigated, achieving even lower noise.

[0098] (Fig. 26-28) 26 to 28, when a manufacturing process for stacking multiple chips on the semiconductor device 100 is applied, it is possible to realize a high-speed and high-density A / D conversion circuit. This enables the sampling speed of the semiconductor device 100 to be increased. Furthermore, by combining this with a structure in which the read cell array and the reference cell array are separated, the semiconductor device 100 can achieve high speed while maintaining low noise and high resolution, and also contributes to reducing the chip area.

[0099] <2. Summary> As described above, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a semiconductor device 100 that realizes a reduced cell circuit area and high resolution in a semiconductor device capable of simultaneously detecting electric potential at multiple points, and an electric potential measuring apparatus 20 that uses the semiconductor device 100.

[0100] Although the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail above with reference to the attached drawings, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present disclosure can conceive of various modified or amended examples within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0101] In addition, the effects described in this specification are merely descriptive or exemplary and are not limiting. In other words, the technology according to the present disclosure may achieve other effects that are apparent to a person skilled in the art from the description of this specification, in addition to or in place of the above effects.

[0102] Note that the following configurations also fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure. (1) a first region in which read cells each having one of input transistors constituting a differential amplifier are arranged in an array; a second region in which reference cells each having the other of the input transistors constituting the differential amplifier are arranged in an array; having A semiconductor device, wherein the first region and the second region are separated from each other. (2) the first region is a region for measuring a potential of a signal; The semiconductor device according to (1), wherein the second region is a region to which a reference potential is set. (3) The semiconductor device according to (1) or (2), wherein the differential amplifier has a current mirror circuit and a current source. (4) The semiconductor device according to (3), wherein the distance from each of the first region and the second region to the current mirror circuit and the current source is approximately equal. (5) The semiconductor device according to (3) or (4), wherein a plurality of the read cells correspond to one of the reference cells arranged in the second region to configure the differential amplifier. (6) The semiconductor device according to any one of (3) to (5), wherein the differential amplifier has an electrode connected to an input transistor connected to a diode-connected current mirror circuit, and an output connected to the other input transistor via a capacitance. (7) The semiconductor device according to (6), further comprising a switch for resetting an operating point between the input portion of the other input transistor and the differential amplifier. (8) The semiconductor device according to (7), further comprising a reference electrode to which a reference potential is set and which is connected via a capacitance to the input section of the other of the input transistors. (9) The semiconductor device according to (1) or (2), wherein a plurality of the read cells correspond to one of the reference cells arranged in the second region to configure the differential amplifier. (10) The semiconductor device according to any one of (1) to (9), further comprising a plurality of output signal lines from the differential amplifiers arranged in parallel, and wherein the outputs from the plurality of differential amplifiers are simultaneously read out by simultaneously putting the plurality of differential amplifiers into an operating state. (11) A semiconductor device according to any one of (1) to (10) above; a horizontal selection circuit for selecting a read cell and a reference cell of the semiconductor device; an A / D conversion circuit for converting an analog signal output from the semiconductor device into a digital signal; An electric potential measuring device comprising: (12) The electric potential measuring device according to (11), wherein the second region is provided on the opposite side of the first region from a region in which the A / D conversion circuit is provided. (13) The potential measuring device according to (11), further comprising the A / D conversion circuits at positions on either side of the semiconductor device. (14) The potential measuring device according to (13), further comprising a plurality of the A / D conversion circuits at positions sandwiching the semiconductor device. (15) The potential measuring device according to (13) or (14), wherein the first region of the semiconductor device is located at a position sandwiched between second regions, and the A / D conversion circuit is located at a position sandwiched between the second regions. (16) The potential measuring device according to (13), wherein the first region of the semiconductor device is located between second regions, and the A / D conversion circuit is located at a position perpendicular to the second regions. (17) The potential measuring device according to (13), further comprising a plurality of the A / D conversion circuits on one side of the semiconductor device. (18) the A / D conversion circuit includes a comparator circuit that compares a predetermined reference potential with an output from the semiconductor device; The potential measuring device according to any one of (11) to (17), wherein the comparator circuit includes a first stage amplifier, a second stage amplifier, and a mirror capacitance connected between the first stage amplifier and the second stage amplifier. (19) The electric potential measuring device according to any one of (11) to (18), wherein the A / D conversion circuit converts an analog signal output from the semiconductor device into a digital signal by oversampling. (20) The potential measuring device according to any one of (11) to (19), wherein the A / D conversion circuit is driven to execute a digital integration process in which an n-bit (n is an integer equal to or greater than 1) A / D conversion process is repeated W times (W is an integer equal to or greater than 2). (twenty one) a first chip in which a part or the whole of the A / D conversion circuit is formed; a second chip on which the first chip is stacked and on which a configuration other than that formed on the first chip is formed; The electric potential measuring device according to any one of (11) to (20), comprising: (twenty two) The potential measuring device according to (21), wherein a plurality of the first chips are stacked on the second chip. [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 20 Potential measuring device 100 Semiconductor Devices 101 Readout cell area 102 Reference cell area 110 Read Cell 120 Reference Cell 130 Differential Amplifier Circuit 140 Current source

Claims

1. A semiconductor device having a first region in which read cells having a first input transistor constituting a differential amplifier are arranged in an array, and a second region in which reference cells having a second input transistor constituting the differential amplifier are arranged in an array, the first region and the second region being separated from each other; a horizontal selection circuit for selecting the read cell and the reference cell of the semiconductor device; an A / D conversion circuit for converting an analog signal output from the semiconductor device into a digital signal; An electric potential measuring device comprising:

2. 2. The electric potential measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the second region is provided on the opposite side of the first region from a region in which the A / D conversion circuit is provided.

3. 2. The electric potential measuring device according to claim 1, further comprising: a first A / D conversion circuit for converting the semiconductor device to a first A / D converter circuit.

4. 4. The electric potential measuring device according to claim 3, further comprising a plurality of the A / D conversion circuits, each of which is provided at a position sandwiching the semiconductor device.

5. 4. The electric potential measuring device according to claim 3, wherein the first region of the semiconductor device is located between second regions, and the A / D conversion circuit is located between the second regions.

6. 4. The electric potential measuring device according to claim 3, wherein the first region of the semiconductor device is located between second regions, and the A / D conversion circuit is located at a position perpendicular to the second regions.

7. 2. The electric potential measuring device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of the A / D conversion circuits on one side of the semiconductor device.

8. the A / D conversion circuit includes a comparator circuit that compares a predetermined reference potential with an output from the semiconductor device; 2. The electric potential measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the comparator circuit includes a first stage amplifier, a second stage amplifier, and a Miller capacitance connected between the first stage amplifier and the second stage amplifier.

9. 2. The electric potential measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the A / D conversion circuit converts an analog signal output from the semiconductor device into a digital signal by oversampling.

10. 2. The electric potential measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the A / D conversion circuit is driven to execute a digital integration process in which an n-bit (n is an integer equal to or greater than 1) A / D conversion process is repeated W times (W is an integer equal to or greater than 2).

11. a first chip in which a part or the whole of the A / D conversion circuit is formed; a second chip on which the first chip is stacked and on which a configuration other than that formed on the first chip is formed; The electric potential measuring device according to claim 1 .

12. The electric potential measuring device according to claim 11 , wherein a plurality of the first chips are stacked on the second chip.

13. a first region in which read cells, each having a first input transistor constituting a differential amplifier, are arranged in an array; a second region in which reference cells, each having a second input transistor constituting the differential amplifier, are arranged in an array; having The first region and the second region are separated from each other, a plurality of the read cells correspond to one of the reference cells arranged in the second region to configure the differential amplifier; Semiconductor device.

14. A first region in which readout cells having first input transistors constituting differential amplifiers are arranged in an array; a second region in which reference cells, each having a second input transistor constituting the differential amplifier, are arranged in an array; having The first region and the second region are separated from each other, a plurality of output signal lines from the differential amplifiers are provided in parallel, and the plurality of differential amplifiers are simultaneously put into an operating state, thereby simultaneously reading out outputs from the plurality of differential amplifiers; Semiconductor device.

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