Driving method for an image pickup apparatus, image pickup apparatus, and image pickup system

Abstract

The present invention provides a driving method for an image pickup apparatus that appropriately performs both readout of a signal of a reference pixel and mixing of mutual signals output by a plurality of effective pixels, and the present invention also provides an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A driving method for an image pickup apparatus that includes a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns, and a plurality of signal lines each being arranged corresponding to one of the columns of the plurality of pixels,
 the plurality of pixels including
 a plurality of effective pixels arranged in the rows and the columns, and 
 a plurality of reference pixels arranged in at least one row and the columns corresponding to the columns in which the plurality of effective pixels are arranged and outputting only a signal of a noise level, 
   each of the plurality of effective pixels including a photoelectric conversion unit to perform a photoelectric conversion of incident light and an amplification transistor having an input node for inputting charges generated by the photoelectric conversion unit, and   each of the plurality of reference pixels including an amplification transistor having an input node,   the driving method comprising:   a first operation of overlapping a first period with a second period during which a signal generated based on the charges generated by the photoelectric conversion unit in each of the plurality of effective pixels is output to one of the signal lines by connecting a plurality of amplification transistors in a first number of the plurality of effective pixels, to the one of the signal lines, without electrically connecting the input node of the amplification transistor in each of the plurality of effective pixels, and   a second operation of:
 individually outputting the signal of the noise level to the single signal line by the amplification transistor in each of the plurality of reference pixels, or 
 overlapping a third period with a fourth period when a signal generated based on a potential at the input node of each of the plurality of reference pixels is output to the one of signal lines by connecting a plurality of amplification transistors in a second number of the plurality of reference pixels, to the one of the signal lines, without electrically connecting the input node of the amplification transistor in each of the plurality of reference pixels to the other of the plurality of reference pixels, the second number being fewer than the first number.