A very-high-performance HDTV image sensor is presented. The device tackles successfully a few typical "HDTV challenges": the very high RC values of the CCD gates are drastically lowered by means of a new interconnect scheme; a dual horizontal output register is used to lower the output rate; the device is provided with an output amplifier characterized by low noise, high bandwidth, and high conversion efficiency; and finally the imager is designed with a very compact and efficient image cell, providing the functions of photo-conversion, charge transport, highlight handling, charge resetting, and charge pumping. Compared to the competition, an imager with a high resolution, no smear when used in a professional camera, no image lag, simple charge-reset method or electronic shutter, and a high pixel uniformity with a fully linear response has been realized. 2304 samples I 1920 samoles 384 samde4 I I 5.33 psec' 26.67 p e c I 32 usec I Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of the different parameters defined by the Eureka HDTV standard.