| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 257216000 | Majority signal carrier (e.g., buried or bulk channel, or peristaltic) | 55 |
| 257217000 | Having a conductive means in direct contact with channel (e.g., non-insulated gate) | 1 |
| 20100140667 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR - Disclosed herein is a solid-state imaging device including a first transfer electrode portion and a second transfer electrode portion having a pattern area rate higher than that of the first transfer electrode portion. The first transfer electrode portion includes a plurality of first transfer electrodes having a single-layer structure of metal material. The second transfer electrode portion includes a plurality of second transfer electrodes having a single-layer structure of polycrystalline silicon or amorphous silicon. | 06-10-2010 |
| 257219000 | Impurity concentration variation | 3 |
| 20090194794 | SOLID-STATE IMAGE PICKUP DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - Crosstalk between the adjacent pixels can be prevented by a structure in which an overflow barrier is provided at the deep portion of a substrate. | 08-06-2009 |
| 20090289282 | SOLID STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A solid state imaging device includes a transfer transistor for transferring signal charges generated by photoelectric conversion to a floating diffusion layer, a reset transistor for resetting a potential of the floating diffusion layer, and an amplifying transistor for outputting a signal corresponding to the potential of the floating diffusion layer. A low concentration impurity region having an impurity concentration lower than that of the first conductivity type semiconductor region is formed in part of a surface portion of the first conductivity type semiconductor region which is located below a gate electrode of the amplifying transistor and serves as a well region of the amplifying transistor. | 11-26-2009 |
| 257221000 | Along the length of the channel (e.g., doping variations for transfer directionality) | 1 |
| 20100258847 | Charge Coupled Device With High Quantum Efficiency - A six-phase charge coupled device (CCD) pixel includes a pixel pair, with each pixel having two adjacent control gates overlying corresponding variable potential wells, where voltages applied to the control gates enable charge to be accumulated into and transferred out of the wells. A clear window region overlies a fixed potential gradient region, decreasing in potential away from the control gates. This region enables a wide band of photons to be sensed by the photosensitive silicon of the CCD. The decreasing potential levels facilitate high charge transfer efficiency (i.e., high CTE) from pixel to pixel via the control or transfer gates. By applying particular voltages to the control gates, charge can be quickly and efficiently transferred between pixels. In addition, the window provides a self aligned mask for the implantation steps and thus prevents the formation of pockets (or wells) due to misalignments that decrease the charge transfer efficiency and causes non-uniformity problems as associated with prior art. Furthermore the window provides a flat region that can be covered with an anti-reflective (AR) coating layer, thus further increasing the quantum efficiency. | 10-14-2010 |
| 257222000 | Responsive to non-electrical external signal (e.g., imager) | 51 |
| 20090194795 | SOLID STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - A first oxide film ( | 08-06-2009 |
| 20090206372 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND METHOD OF DRIVING THE SAME - A solid-state imaging device includes an N-type semiconductor substrate, an N-type impurity region provided in the surficial portion of the N-type semiconductor substrate, a photo-electric conversion unit formed in the N-type impurity region, a charge accumulation unit formed in the N-type impurity region so as to contact with the photo-electric conversion unit, and temporarily accumulating charge generated in the photo-electric conversion unit, a charge hold region (barrier unit) formed in the N-type impurity region so as to contact with the charge accumulation unit, and allowing the charge accumulation unit to accumulate the charge, and a charge accumulating electrode provided to the charge accumulation unit. The charge accumulation unit and the charge hold region are formed to be N | 08-20-2009 |
| 20090278174 | PIXEL STRUCTURE OF SOLID-STATE IMAGE SENSOR - A pixel structure of a solid-state image sensor in which residual electrons in a photodiode is reduced and which has a first-stage gate that is arranged adjacent to the photodiode and controls read-out of electrons generated in the photodiode, a second-stage gate that is adjacent to the first-stage gate on the rear stage of the gate at a predetermined gap and controls movement of electrons read out by the readout control of the first-stage gate to the plurality of the charge-storage sections, and a plurality of third-stage gates that are adjacent to the second-stage gate on the rear stage of the gate at a predetermined gap, severally arranged corresponding to the plurality of the charge-storage sections, and perform control of distributing the electrons moved by the movement control of the second-stage gate severally to the plurality of the charge-storage sections, and gradient on which electrons are moved in the first-stage gate direction is formed on the potential of the photodiode. | 11-12-2009 |
| 20100025738 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE WITH VERTICAL GATE ELECTRODE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - A charge accumulation region of a first conductivity type is buried in a semiconductor substrate. A charge transfer destination diffusion layer of the first conductivity type is formed on a surface of the semiconductor substrate. A transfer gate electrode is formed on the charge accumulation region, and charge is transferred from the charge accumulation region to the charge transfer destination diffusion layer. | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100155787 | SOLID STATE IMAGE PICKUP DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR - A MOS-type solid-state image pickup device, on a semiconductor substrate, includes a photoelectric conversion unit having a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type, a second semiconductor region of a second conductivity type, a third semiconductor region of the first conductivity type, and a transfer MOS transistor having a gate electrode disposed on an insulation film and transferring a charge carrier from a fourth semiconductor region. In addition, an amplifying MOS transistor having a gate electrode is connected to the fourth semiconductor region, and a fifth semiconductor region of the second conductivity type is continuously disposed to the second semiconductor region and under the gate electrode, and is disposed apart from the insulation film under the gate electrode of the transfer MOS transistor. | 06-24-2010 |
| 20100230728 | MANUFACTURING METHOD OF PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - A noise generated by a constitution of widening an incident aperture of light of a photoelectric conversion element is reduced. In a manufacturing method of a photoelectric conversion device, first electroconductor arranged in a first hole arranged in the first interlayer insulation layer electrically connects a first semiconductor region to a gate electrode of an amplifying MOS transistor not through wirings included in a wiring layer. Moreover, a second electroconductor electrically connects a second semiconductor region different from the first semiconductor region to a wiring. In a constitution of that second electroconductor, a third electroconductor arranged in a second hole arranged in the first interlayer insulation layer and a fourth electroconductor arranged in a third hole arranged in the second interlayer insulation layer are stacked and electrically connected to each other. And the step of forming the first electroconductor, and the step of forming the third electroconductor are performed simultaneously. | 09-16-2010 |
| 20100283086 | METAL OPTICAL FILTER CAPABLE OF PHOTO LITHOGRAPHY PROCESS AND IMAGE SENSOR INCLUDING THE SAME - Disclosed is a metal optical filter capable of a photo-lithography process and an image sensor including the same, and more particularly, a metal optical filter capable of a photo-lithography process, which can quite freely adjust the transmission band and transmittance thereof, even with a small number of metal layers, and simultaneously, can be actually applied in a CMOS process because it is possible to achieve nanoscale patterning by the photo-lithography process, and an image sensor including the metal optical filter. The metal optical filter capable of a photo-lithography process includes a plurality of metal rods arranged in parallel with each other at an equal nanoscale interval; and an insulation material formed between the plurality of metal rods and on upper and lower surfaces of the plurality of metal rods, wherein the metal rod is formed to comprise an upper Ti layer, an Al layer, and a lower TiN layer. | 11-11-2010 |
| 20100327325 | MULTIDIRECTIONAL TWO-PHASE CHARGE-COUPLED DEVICE - A charge transfer device formed in a semiconductor substrate and including an array of electrodes distributed in rows and columns, wherein: each electrode is formed in a cavity with insulated walls formed of a groove which generally extends in the row direction, having a first end closer to an upper row and a second end closer to a lower row; and the electrodes of two adjacent rows are symmetrical with respect to a plane orthogonal to the sensor and comprising the direction of a row. | 12-30-2010 |
| 20110018037 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE - Provided is a solid-state imaging device including: a photodiode which converts an optical signal to signal charges; a transfer gate which transfers the signal charges from the photodiode; an impurity diffusion layer to which the signal charges are transferred by the transfer gate; and a MOS transistor of which a gate is connected to the impurity diffusion layer. The impurity diffusion layer has a first conduction type semiconductor layer and a second conduction type semiconductor layer which is formed in the first conduction type semiconductor layer and under an end portion of the transfer gate. | 01-27-2011 |
| 20110089471 | Demodulation Pixel Incorporating Majority Carrier Current, Buried Channel and High-Low Junction - A demodulation pixel improves the charge transport speed and sensitivity by exploiting two effects of charge transport in silicon in order to achieve the before-mentioned optimization. The first one is a transport method based on the CCD gate principle. However, this is not limited to CCD technology, but can be realized also in CMOS technology. The charge transport in a surface or even a buried channel close to the surface is highly efficient in terms of speed, sensitivity and low trapping noise. In addition, by activating a majority carrier current flowing through the substrate, another drift field is generated below the depleted CCD channel. This drift field is located deeply in the substrate, acting as an efficient separator for deeply photo-generated electron-hole pairs. Thus, another large amount of minority carriers is transported to the diffusion nodes at high speed and detected. | 04-21-2011 |
| 20110140177 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - According to one embodiment, a solid-state imaging device includes a semiconductor region, a first diffusion layer, a second diffusion layer, a third diffusion layer, an insulating film, a potential layer, and a read electrode. The semiconductor region includes first and second surfaces. The first diffusion layer is formed in the first surface. The first diffusion layer's concentration is a maximum value in a position at a first depth. The charge accumulation layer has a second depth. The second diffusion layer contacts the first diffusion layer. The third diffusion layer is formed in a position which faces the second diffusion layer in respect to the first diffusion layer. The insulating film is formed on the first surface. The potential layer is formed on the insulating film and has a predetermined potential. The read electrode is formed on the insulating film. | 06-16-2011 |
| 20110156104 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE, METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME, AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS - A solid-state imaging device including a semiconductor substrate, a photoelectric conversion portion interposed between a lower electrode and an upper electrode, a contact plug formed so as to connect the lower electrode and the semiconductor substrate in order to read signal charges generated in the photoelectric conversion portion to the semiconductor substrate side, a vertical type transmitting path configured by sequentially laminating a connection portion for electrically connecting the contact plug to the semiconductor substrate, a charge accumulation layer for accumulating the signal charges read to the connection portion, and a potential barrier layer configuring a potential barrier between the connection portion and the charge accumulation layer in a vertical direction of the semiconductor substrate, and a charge reading portion configured to read the signal charges accumulated in the charge accumulation layer to the circuit forming surface side of the semiconductor substrate. | 06-30-2011 |
| 20110156105 | PHOTOSENSORS INCLUDING PHOTODIODE CONTROL ELECTRODES AND METHODS OF OPERATING SAME - A sensor includes a substrate, a floating diffusion node in the substrate, a photodiode in the substrate laterally spaced apart from the floating diffusion region and a transfer transistor coupling the photodiode and the floating diffusion region. The sensor further includes a photodiode control electrode disposed on the photodiode and configured to control a carrier distribution of the photodiode responsive to a control signal applied thereto. The floating diffusion region may have a first conductivity type, the photodiode may include a first semiconductor region of a second conductivity type disposed on a second semiconductor region of the first conductivity type, and the photodiode control electrode may be disposed on the first semiconductor region. The photodiode may be configured to receive incident light from a side of the substrate opposite the photodiode control electrode. The transfer transistor may include a gate electrode on a channel region in the substrate and the photodiode control electrode and the transfer transistor gate electrode may be separately controllable. In further embodiments, the photodiode control electrode comprises an extension of the transfer transistor gate electrode. | 06-30-2011 |
| 20110193137 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND DRIVING METHOD THEREOF - A solid-state imaging device includes: a photoelectric converting section comprising a photo-diode; a charge storage section; a charge transfer section; a first control gate section provided between the photoelectric converting section and the charge storage section to control transfer of a signal charge from the photoelectric converting section to the charge storage section; and a second control gate section provided between the charge storage section and the charge transfer section to control transfer of the signal charge from the charge storage section to the charge transfer section. The charge storage section includes: a first region formed on a side near to the first control gate section; and a second region formed on a side near to the second control gate section and configured to have a channel potential increased more than that of the first region. The second region is configured to hold the signal charge in a pinning condition. | 08-11-2011 |
| 20110272746 | SOLID STATE IMAGING DEVICE THAT INCLUDES A CONTACT PLUG USING TITANIUM AS A CONTACT MATERIAL, AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - The present invention provides a solid state imaging device and a manufacturing method thereof that lowers contact resistance and suppresses dark current, even when wirings and contact plugs are reduced in size. A solid state imaging device | 11-10-2011 |
| 20120001234 | IMAGE SENSOR AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - An image sensor includes first impurity regions formed in a substrate, second impurity regions formed in the first impurity regions, wherein the second impurity regions has a junction with the first impurity regions, recess patterns formed over the first impurity regions in contact with the second impurity regions, and transfer gates filling the recess patterns. | 01-05-2012 |
| 20120012898 | SOLID STATE IMAGING DEVICE - A solid state imaging device includes: a semiconductor substrate having photoelectric conversion regions arranged in matrix, charge transfer regions, and element-separating regions; an insulating film on the semiconductor substrate; transfer electrodes provided in one-to-one with the photoelectric conversion regions and disposed on the insulating film at locations corresponding to the charge transfer regions; and wiring portions each connecting transfer electrodes adjacent in a row direction. The charge transfer regions are doped with impurities so that, in any charge transfer region, a potential of each portion corresponding to an upstream edge of a transfer electrode in the charge transfer direction is lower than the potential of the remaining portions. Each wiring portion connects into a respective transfer electrode at a location offset downstream from the upstream edge of the transfer electrode in the charge transfer direction. The location of each element-separating region corresponds to a respective wiring portion. | 01-19-2012 |
| 20120098040 | SOLID STATE IMAGING APPARATUS, METHOD FOR DRIVING THE SAME AND CAMERA USING THE SAME - A solid state imaging apparatus includes: a plurality of photoelectric conversion cells each including a plurality of photoelectric sections arranged in an array of at least two rows and two columns; a plurality of floating diffusion sections each being connected to each of ones of the photoelectric sections which are included in the same row of each said photoelectric conversion cell via each of a plurality of transfer transistors, and being shared by said ones of the photoelectric sections; a plurality of read-out lines each being selectively connected to at least two of the transfer transistors; and a plurality of pixel amplifier transistors each detecting and outputting the potential of each said the floating diffusion section. Charges of the photoelectric conversion sections each being connected to one of the read-out lines and being read out by the transfer transistors are read out by different floating diffusion sections. | 04-26-2012 |
| 20120112247 | IMAGE SENSOR FOR IMAGING AT A VERY LOW LEVEL OF LIGHT - A basic device for an image sensor includes a photogeneration and charge-collecting region formed at the surface of a semiconductor substrate having a first type of conductivity, adapted to be biased at a reference voltage, the photogeneration region being associated with a device for the transfer, multiplication, and insulation of charges. The photogeneration region has an insulated gate mounted thereon, which is adapted to be alternately biased at a first voltage and at a second voltage, the insulated gate being made of a low-absorption material. | 05-10-2012 |
| 20120119264 | BUILT-IN VERY HIGH SENSITIVITY IMAGE SENSOR - A basic device for an image sensor includes a photodiode consisting of a doped area having a first type of conductivity and formed at the surface of a semiconductor substrate having a second type of conductivity, adapted to be biased at a first reference voltage, wherein the photodiode is combined with a device for the transfer, multiplication and insulation of charges, the photodiode being a fully depleted one and including, at the surface of the doped area having a first type of conductivity, a strongly doped region having the second type of conductivity and adapted to be biased at a second reference voltage. | 05-17-2012 |
| 20120181581 | Back-Side-Illuminated Image Sensors with Bulk-Charge-Modulated Image Sensor Pixels - Image sensor arrays may include bulk-charge-modulated-device (BCMD) sensor pixels. The BCMD sensor pixels may be used in back-side-illuminated (BSI) image sensors. A BCMD sensor pixel need not include a dedicated addressing transistor. The BCMD sensor pixel may include a gated drain reset (GDR) structure that is used to perform reset operations. The GDR structure may be shared among multiple pixels, which provides increased charge storage capacity for high resolution image sensors. A negative back body bias may be applied to the BCMD pixel array, allowing the depletion region under each BCMD pixel to extend all the way to the back silicon surface. Extending the depletion region by negatively biasing the back silicon surface may serve to minimize pixel crosstalk. | 07-19-2012 |
| 20120199882 | Image Sensors Including A Gate Electrode Surrounding A Floating Diffusion Region - Image sensors are provided. The image sensors may include first and second stacked impurity regions having different conductivity types. The image sensors may also include a floating diffusion region in the first impurity region. The image sensors may further include a transfer gate electrode surrounding the floating diffusion region in the first impurity region. Also, the transfer gate electrode and the floating diffusion region may overlap the second impurity region. | 08-09-2012 |
| 20120248505 | LIGHT RECEIVING DEVICE - A light receiving device comprises a photoelectric conversion element formed on a first-conductivity-type semiconductor substrate, and further comprises a plurality of photoelectron distributors formed on the first-conductivity-type semiconductor substrate. The photoelectron distributor has a first transfer unit for transferring photoelectrons generated in the photoelectric conversion element, a photoelectron hold unit for temporarily holding the photoelectrons generated in the photoelectric conversion element, a second transfer unit for transferring the photoelectrons held in the photoelectron hold unit, and a floating diffusion layer for storing the transferred photoelectrons and converting the photoelectrons to a voltage. A first-conductivity-type impurity region, which has a first-level, first-conductivity-type impurity concentration higher than the first-conductivity-type impurity concentration of the first-conductivity-type semiconductor substrate, is formed in the vicinity of a surface of the first-conductivity-type semiconductor substrate in the photoelectron hold unit. | 10-04-2012 |
| 20120299066 | SOLID-STATE IMAGE PICKUP DEVICE, IMAGE PICKUP SYSTEM USING SOLID-STATE IMAGE PICKUP DEVICE, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SOLID-STATE IMAGE PICKUP DEVICE - In a solid-state image pickup device including a pixel that includes a photoelectric conversion portion, a carrier holding portion, and a plurality of transistors, the solid-state image pickup device further includes a first insulating film disposed over the photoelectric conversion portion, the carrier holding portion, and the plurality of transistors, a conductor disposed in an opening of the first insulating film and positioned to be connected to a source or a drain of one or more of the plurality of transistors, and a light shielding film disposed in an opening or a recess of the first insulating film and positioned above the carrier holding portion. | 11-29-2012 |
| 20130037861 | IMAGE SENSOR FOR SEMICONDUCTOR LIGHT-SENSITIVE DEVICE, MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF, IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS USING THE SAME, AND METHOD FOR DETECTING COLOR SIGNAL - An image sensor for a semiconductor light-sensitive device including a semiconductor substrate and a light receiving device configured to receive light and generate a signal from the light. The image sensor may include an electron collecting device formed in the semiconductor substrate to receive at least a portion of the electrons generated by the light in the light receiving device. The image sensor may include a first type device isolation film configured to isolate the light receiving device from the electron collecting device. The image sensor may include a shielding film formed over the semiconductor substrate and configured to shield the first electron collecting device from the light. | 02-14-2013 |
| 20130140608 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND IMAGE-PICKUP APPARATUS - In a photoelectric conversion device, groups of unit pixels are arranged in a well, where each of the unit pixels includes photoelectric conversion elements, an amplifier transistor, and transfer transistors. The photoelectric conversion device includes a line used to supply a voltage to the well, a well-contact part used to connect the well-voltage-supply line to the well, and transfer-control lines used to control the transfer transistors. The transfer-control lines are symmetrically arranged with respect to the well-voltage-supply line in respective regions of the unit-pixel groups. | 06-06-2013 |
| 20130175582 | IMAGE SENSORS INCLUDING COLOR ADJUSTMENT PATH - An image sensor includes a transfer transistor including a vertical gate portion extending in a depth direction of a substrate in an active region of the substrate and photodiode regions located at positions of different depths with respect to a top surface of the substrate in the active region. At least one color adjustment path extends between at least two photodiode regions of the photodiode regions and provides a charge movement path between the at least two photodiode regions. | 07-11-2013 |
| 20130187199 | SOLID STATE IMAGE PICKUP DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR - A MOS-type solid-state image pickup device includes a photoelectric conversion unit having a first semiconductor region of a first conductive type, a second semiconductor region of a second conductive type forming a pn-junction with the first semiconductor region, and a third semiconductor region of the first conductive type disposed on the second semiconductor region. In addition, a transfer gate electrode is disposed on an insulation film and transfers a carrier from the second semiconductor region to a fourth semiconductor region of the second conductivity type, an amplifying MOS transistor having a gate electrode is connected to the fourth semiconductor region, and a fifth semiconductor region of the second conductivity type is continuously disposed to the second semiconductor region, disposed under the gate electrode. An entire surface of the third semiconductor region is covered with the insulation film, and a side portion of the third semiconductor region that is laterally opposite to the transfer gate is in contact with the first semiconductor region. | 07-25-2013 |
| 20130334577 | Image Sensors Having Reduced Dark Level Differences - An image sensor including a semiconductor layer including a plurality of unit pixels each including a photoelectric conversion device and read devices; and an insulating layer including a light-shielding pattern defining a light-receiving region and a light-shielding region of the semiconductor layer, the insulating layer covering one surface of the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer further includes a potential drain region formed adjacent to an interface between the semiconductor layer and an insulating layer in the light-shielding region, wherein electrons generated due to defects occurring at the interface are accumulated in the potential drain region. At least one of the unit pixels in the light-shielding region provides a drain path for draining the electrons accumulated in the potential drain region. | 12-19-2013 |
| 20140008703 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE, MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF, AND CAMERA WITH ALTERNATELY ARRANGED PIXEL COMBINATIONS - A solid-state imaging device includes a semiconductor substrate; a first conductive region of the semiconductor substrate; a first conductive region on an upper surface side of the first conductive region of the semiconductor substrate; a second conductive region below the first conductive region on the upper surface side of the first conductive region of the semiconductor substrate. The solid-state imaging device further includes a photoelectric conversion region including the first conductive region located on the upper surface side of the first conductive region of the semiconductor substrate and the second conductive region and a transfer transistor transferring charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion region to a readout region; and a pixel including the photoelectric conversion region and the transfer transistor. The first conductive region, which is included in the photoelectric conversion region, extends to the lower side of a sidewall of a gate electrode of the transfer transistor. | 01-09-2014 |
| 20140084348 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - According to one embodiment, a solid-state imaging device includes a semiconductor region, a first diffusion layer, a second diffusion layer, a third diffusion layer, an insulating film, a potential layer, and a read electrode. The semiconductor region includes first and second surfaces. The first diffusion layer is formed in the first surface. The first diffusion layer's concentration is a maximum value in a position at a first depth. The charge accumulation layer has a second depth. The second diffusion layer contacts the first diffusion layer. The third diffusion layer is formed in a position which faces the second diffusion layer in respect to the first diffusion layer. The insulating film is formed on the first surface. The potential layer is formed on the insulating film and has a predetermined potential. The read electrode is formed on the insulating film. | 03-27-2014 |
| 20140091368 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE - A solid-state imaging device including: a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, having a fixed electric potential; a dark-current drain region of a second conductivity type, formed on a portion of the semiconductor substrate; a connection region of the first conductivity type, formed on another portion of the semiconductor substrate where the dark-current drain region is not formed; a well region of the first conductivity type, covering the dark-current drain region and the connection region; and a first region and a second region, formed within the well region and constituting a part of a read transistor that reads signal charge generated by photoelectric conversion. The well region is maintained at a fixed electric potential by being connected to the semiconductor substrate via the connection region. | 04-03-2014 |
| 20140103400 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE - A solid-state imaging device includes: a first electrode formed above a semiconductor substrate; a photoelectric conversion film formed on the first electrode and for converting light into signal charges; a second electrode formed on the photoelectric conversion film; a charge accumulation region electrically connected to the first electrode and for accumulating the signal charges converted from the light by the photoelectric conversion film; a reset gate electrode for resetting the charge accumulation region; an amplification transistor for amplifying the signal charges accumulated in the charge accumulation region; and a contact plug in direct contact with the charge accumulation region, comprising a semiconductor material, and for electrically connecting to each other the first electrode and the charge accumulation region. | 04-17-2014 |
| 20140124839 | PIXEL ARCHITECTURE AND METHOD - In accordance with an embodiment, a gating device is connected to a pixel core. The gating device may include a control structure and one or more terminals, wherein the one or more terminals are commonly connected to each other and connected to the pixel core. Alternatively, the terminals may be connected to corresponding photodiodes. | 05-08-2014 |
| 20140151753 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING APPARATUS, MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF, AND ELECTRONIC INFORMATION DEVICE - The solid-state imaging apparatus | 06-05-2014 |
| 20140246706 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE - A solid-state imaging device includes: pixels arranged in a matrix, a semiconductor substrate; a first electrode formed above the semiconductor substrate for each of the pixels; a photoelectric conversion film formed on the first electrode, for photoelectric conversion of light into signal charge; a charge accumulation region formed in the semiconductor substrate for accumulating the signal charge generated through the photoelectric conversion in the photoelectric conversion film; a contact plug for electrically connecting the first electrode and the charge accumulation region in a corresponding pixel; a high-concentration impurity region formed on a surface of the charge accumulation region, in a region in contact with the contact plug; a surface impurity region formed on the surface of the charge accumulation region, in a region not in contact with the contact plug; and a low-concentration impurity region formed between the high-concentration impurity region and the surface impurity region. | 09-04-2014 |
| 20140367747 | PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE - An exemplary embodiment is a photoelectric conversion device having a photoelectric conversion portion, and a transfer portion. The transfer portion transfers charges of the photoelectric conversion portion. The photoelectric conversion portion includes first and second semiconductor regions of a first conductivity type. Charges generated by photoelectric conversion are accumulated in the first and second semiconductor regions. According to the structure of the first and second semiconductor regions of the exemplary embodiment or the method for manufacturing them, the transfer efficiency of charges can be improved while improving the sensitivity of the photoelectric conversion portion. | 12-18-2014 |
| 20150014749 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING ELEMENT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Provided are a solid-state imaging element which can be simply manufactured and can control movement of electric charges in an accumulation region with a high degree of accuracy, and a method of manufacturing the same. A solid-state imaging element ( | 01-15-2015 |
| 20150028392 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND LINE SENSOR - Certain embodiments provide a solid-state imaging device including a pixel portion, a charge storage portion, a first transfer gate portion, a charge detecting portion, a second transfer gate portion, and an offset gate portion. The charge storage portion stores the electrical charges generated in the pixel portion. The first transfer gate portion transfers electrical charges from the pixel portion to the charge storage portion, and the second transfer gate portion transfers the electrical charges from the charge storage portion to the charge detecting portion. The offset gate portion is provided between the second transfer gate portion and the charge detecting portion and is applied with a predetermined constant voltage. This offset gate portion includes an offset gate layer that has a plurality of projections formed at positions adjacent to the second transfer gate portion and an offset gate electrode. | 01-29-2015 |
| 20150028393 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND LINE SENSOR - Certain embodiments provide a solid-state imaging device including a pixel portion, a charge storage portion, a first transfer gate portion transferring charge from the pixel portion to the charge storage portion, and a second transfer gate portion transferring the charge from the charge storage portion to the charge detection portion. The pixel portion includes a light sensing layer and a shield layer shielding the light sensing layer. The charge storage portion includes a charge storage layer shielding the charge storage layer. At least one of the shield layer for light sensing layer and the shield layer for charge storage layer includes a concave part to expose a part of the light sensing layer adjacent to the first transfer gate portion or a part of the charge storage layer adjacent to the second transfer gate portion. | 01-29-2015 |
| 20150028394 | SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND LINE SENSOR - Certain embodiments provide a solid-state imaging device including a pixel portion including a first light receiving layer, a charge accumulation portion including a first charge accumulation layer which accumulates a charge, a first transfer gate portion, a charge detection portion and a second transfer gate portion. The first transfer gate portion transfers the charge from the pixel portion to the charge accumulation portion, and the second transfer gate portion transfers the charge from the charge accumulation portion to the charge detection portion. The charge detection portion causes a voltage drop corresponding to an amount of the charge transferred to this region. An impurity layer of a ring shape which includes an opening portion is provided on a surface of at least one of the first light reception layer of the pixel portion and the first charge accumulation layer of the charge accumulation portion. | 01-29-2015 |
| 20160155879 | MONOLITHIC ACTIVE PIXEL RADIATION DETECTOR WITH SHIELDING TECHNIQUES | 06-02-2016 |
| 20160254308 | Solid-State Image Pickup Device and Method of Manufacturing Same | 09-01-2016 |
| 257223000 | Having structure to improve output signal (e.g., antiblooming drain) | 8 |
| 20080217659 | Device and Method To Reduce Cross-Talk and Blooming For Image Sensors - An image sensor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a first type of conductivity, a first layer overlying the semiconductor substrate and having the first type of conductivity, a second layer overlying the first layer and having a second type of conductivity different than the first type of conductivity, and a plurality of pixels formed in the second layer. | 09-11-2008 |
| 20090020788 | METHOD OF IMPROVING SOLID-STATE IMAGE SENSOR SENSITIVITY - An imaging apparatus includes (a) a full-frame, charge-coupled device having (i) a conductive layer of a first dopant type; (ii) a plurality of pixels arranged as a charge-coupled device in the conductive layer that collects charge in response to incident light and transfers the collected charge; (iii) an overflow drain of a dopant type opposite the first type disposed in the conductive layer and laterally adjacent to each pixel; and the apparatus having (b) a voltage supply connected to the lateral overflow drain that is at a first voltage during readout and at a second voltage that is lower than the first voltage during integration. | 01-22-2009 |
| 20090230436 | CMOS Image Sensor with Improved Fill-Factor and Reduced Dark Current - A photosensor and an imaging array utilizing the same are disclosed. The photosensor includes a light conversion region that has separate charge storage regions. The light conversion region includes a plurality of separate charge storage regions within a doped region, each charge collection region being doped such that the mobile charges generated by light striking that charge storage region are prevented from moving to an adjacent charge storage region. The photosensor also includes a plurality of transfer gates, having a gate region adjacent to a corresponding one of the charge storage regions and disposed between that charge storage region and a drain region. The charge collection regions and the drain regions are doped such that the mobile charges collected in the charge storage region will flow to the drain region when a first electric field is applied to the gate region. | 09-17-2009 |
| 20110062499 | Electronic Shutter With Photogenerated Charge Extinguishment Capability for Back-Illuminated Image Sensors - An electronic image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate having a first surface configured for accepting illumination to a pixel array disposed in the substrate. An electrically-doped channel region for each pixel is disposed at a second substrate surface opposite the first substrate surface. The channel regions are for collecting photogenerated charge in the substrate. An electrically-doped channel stop region is at the second substrate surface between each channel region. An electrically-doped shutter buried layer, disposed in the substrate at a depth from the second substrate surface that is greater than that of the pixel channel regions, extends across the pixel array. An electrically-doped photogenerated-charge-extinguishment layer, at the first substrate surface, extends across the pixel array. A substrate bulk region between the shutter buried layer and the photogenerated-charge-extinguishment layer is characterized by an electrical resistivity enabling independent electrical bias of the photogenerated-charge-extinguishment layer from electrically-doped regions of the substrate. | 03-17-2011 |
| 20110220969 | SOLID STATE IMAGING DEVICE - Each pixel of a solid state imaging device comprises: a first semiconductor layer; a second semiconductor layer; a third semiconductor layer and fourth semiconductor layer formed on the lateral side of the upper region of the second layer not to be in contact with the top surface of the second semiconductor layer; a gate conductor layer formed on the lower side of the second semiconductor layer; a conductor electrode formed on the side of the fourth semiconductor layer via an insulating film; and a fifth semiconductor layer formed on the top surface of the second semiconductor layer, wherein at least the third semiconductor layer, upper region of the second semiconductor layer, fourth semiconductor layer, and fifth semiconductor layer are formed in the shape of an island. A specific voltage is applied to the conductor electrode to accumulate holes in the surface region of the fourth semiconductor layer. | 09-15-2011 |
| 20120104464 | P-PIXEL CMOS IMAGERS USING ULTRA-THIN SILICON ON INSULATOR SUBSTRATES (UTSOI) - A CMOS image sensor is disclosed. The CMOS image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate having a surface. An epitaxial layer is grown on the surface. A p-type CMOS pixel formed substantially in the epitaxial layer. In one version of the CMOS image sensor, there exists a net n-type dopant concentration profile in the semiconductor substrate and the epitaxial layer which has a maximum value at a predetermined distance from the surface and which decreases monotonically on both sides of the profile from the maximum value within the semiconductor substrate and the epitaxial layer. In another version of the CMOS image sensor, there exists a net n-type dopant concentration profile in the semiconductor substrate and the epitaxial layer which has a maximum value at the surface and which decreases monotonically with increasing distance from the surface within the semiconductor substrate and the epitaxial layer. | 05-03-2012 |
| 20120235212 | BACKSIDE-ILLUMINATED (BSI) IMAGE SENSOR WITH REDUCED BLOOMING AND ELECTRICAL SHUTTER - Embodiments of a pixel including a photosensitive region formed in a surface of a substrate and an overflow drain formed in the surface of the substrate at a distance from the photosensitive area, an electrical bias of the overflow drain being variable and controllable. Embodiments of a pixel including a photosensitive region formed in a surface of a substrate, a source-follower transistor coupled to the photosensitive region, the source-follower transistor including a drain, and a doped bridge coupling the photosensitive region to the drain of the source-follower transistor. | 09-20-2012 |
| 20130092982 | PARTIAL BURIED CHANNEL TRANSFER DEVICE FOR IMAGE SENSORS - Embodiments of an image sensor pixel that includes a photosensitive element, a floating diffusion region, and a transfer device. The photosensitive element is disposed in a substrate layer for accumulating an image charge in response to light. The floating diffusion region is dispose in the substrate layer to receive the image charge from the photosensitive element. The transfer device is disposed between the photosensitive element and the floating diffusion region to selectively transfer the image charge from the photosensitive element to the floating diffusion region. The transfer device includes a buried channel device including a buried channel gate disposed over a buried channel dopant region. The transfer device also includes a surface channel device including a surface channel gate disposed over a surface channel region. The surface channel device is in series with the buried channel device. The surface channel gate has the opposite polarity of the buried channel gate. | 04-18-2013 |
