Micron Technology Incorporated

Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC

Advanced Technology Materials, Inc.

Mosaid Technologies Corporation

Other

Nanoscopia (cayman), Inc.

Brian A Vaartstra

Stefan Uhlenbrock

Timothy A Quick

Eugene P Marsh

Swarnal Borthakur

Donald L Westmoreland

Peter S Kirlin

Thomas H Baum

Marc Allen Sulfridge

Timothy E Glassman

Gurtej S Sandhu

Larry Duane Kinsman

Robin A Gardiner

Douglas J Gordon

David R Atwell

Scott Donald Churchwell

Nathan Wayne Chapman

Sofia Pombrik

Cem Basceri

Garo Jacques Derderian

Scott E Moore

Ravi T Iyer

Ulrich C Boettiger

Whonchee Lee

Gregory T Stauf

Wing-Cheong Gilbert Lai

Paul Castrovillo

Orit Skorka

Brenda D Wanner

Jeffrey Mackey

Radu Ispasoiu

Gilbert Lai

Trung Tri Doan

Alan R Reinberg

Kevin G Donohoe

Derek J Gochnour

Brenda D Kraus

James J Hofmann

Richard D Holscher

Brian W Keelan

Duncan W Brown

Gautam Bhandari

Loriston Ford

Oswald L Skeete

Mattia Cichocki

Mitchell J Mooney

Daniel B Studebaker

Amanda Thuy Trang Vu

Douglas Cameron Gordon

Connie L Gordon, Legal Representative

Rick Holscher

A package includes an optical sensor die, a support grid structure disposed on the optical sensor die, and an optically transparent cover attached to the support grid structure. A surface of the optical sensor die includes an optically active surface area (OASA) and an edge surface portion lying outside a perimeter of the OASA. The support grid structure disposed on the surface of the optical sensor die includes at least one pillar disposed within the OASA and an edge block disposed on the edge surface portion lying outside the perimeter of the OASA. The optically transparent cover is supported by the support grid structure at a height above the optical sensor die while maintaining an air gap between the optically transparent cover and the OASA.

Optical sensor transparent cover with array contact grid

An imaging system may include an electronic shutter. The electronic shutter may be positioned between an image sensor and a lens module or may be integrated as a package cover for the image sensor. The electronic shutter may selectively attenuate incident light that passes to the image sensor. To increase the dynamic range of the imaging system, the electronic shutter may have a first transparency while a first image is captured by the image sensor and a second, different transparency while a second image is captured by the image sensor. The first and second images are subsequently combined to form a single high dynamic range image. The electronic shutter may be controlled at a global level, at a sub-array level, or at a pixel level.

Imaging system with an electronic shutter

An image sensor package may include a semiconductor wafer having a pixel array, a color filter array (CFA) formed over the pixel array, and one or more lenses formed over the CFA. A light block layer may couple over the semiconductor wafer around a perimeter of the lenses and an encapsulation layer may be coupled around the perimeter of the lenses and over the light block layer. The light block layer may form an opening providing access to the lenses. A mold compound layer may be coupled over the encapsulation layer and the light block layer. A temporary protection layer may be used to protect the one or more lenses from contamination during application of the mold compound and/or during processes occurring outside of a cleanroom environment.

Image sensor packages formed using temporary protection layers and related methods

An image sensor with uniform, well-controlled air gaps is provided. A structure that is at least partially filled with organic material may be formed on the image sensor. A hybrid organic/inorganic film layer may be formed over the organic material. The image sensor may then be exposed to energy, which causes the organic material to sublimate through the hybrid film layer, which itself may become a gas permeable layer when exposed to energy. After sublimation, the regions where the organic material was previously filled become air gaps with a low index of refraction. Air gaps formed in this way can be configured over photodiodes as light guides or focusing structures, as concave/convex microlenses, in between photodiodes as isolation structures, in between color filter elements to reduce crosstalk, and/or over microlenses to enhancing focusing power.

Methods for using a gas permeable layer to form air gaps in an image sensor

Implementations of image sensor packages may include a plurality of microlenses coupled over a color filter array (CFA), a low refractive index layer directly coupled to and over the plurality of microlenses, an adhesive directly coupled to and over the low refractive index layer, and an optically transmissive cover directly coupled to and over the adhesive. Implementations may include no gap present between the optically transmissive cover and the plurality of microlenses.

Image sensor packages and related methods

Imaging systems may include tunable polarization filters. A tunable polarization filter may be integrated directly into an image sensor package. For example, the tunable polarization filter may serve as cover glass for the image sensor package. Tunable polarization package glass may be incorporated into image sensor packages that have air gaps between the image sensor and the cover glass or that have transparent adhesive between the image sensor and the cover glass. The tunable polarization layer may be controlled at a global level, at a sub-array level, or at a pixel level. In some cases, the tunable polarization layer may be a tunable polarization filter. In this example, the direction of the polarization filter is tuned. In other cases, the tunable polarization layer may be a tunable polarization rotator. In this example, the tunable polarization layer selectively rotates the polarization of light that passes through the tunable polarization layer.

Image sensor packages with tunable polarization layers

An image sensor may include high dynamic range imaging pixels having an inner sub-pixel surrounded by an outer sub-pixel. To steer light away from the inner sub-pixel and towards the outer sub-pixel, the high dynamic range imaging pixels may be covered by a toroidal microlens. To mitigate cross-talk caused by high-angled incident light, various microlens arrangements may be used. A toroidal microlens may have planar portions on its outer perimeter. A toroidal microlens may be covered by four additional microlenses, each additional microlens positioned in a respective corner of the pixel. Each pixel may be covered by four microlenses in a 2&#xd7;2 arrangement, with an opening formed by the space between the four microlenses overlapping the inner sub-pixel.

Microlenses for high dynamic range imaging pixels

An image sensor may include an array of pixels having a color filter layer. The color filter layer may include colored elements and clear elements. The clear elements may be formed from transparent dielectric material. The color filter layer may include a grid of light-blocking material that forms color filter container structures having an array of openings in which the colored elements and the clear elements are formed. The color filter container structures may be formed from the same transparent dielectric material that forms the clear elements. The color filter container structures may be formed from opaque materials or transparent materials that form structures such as planarization layers, microlenses, or antireflection coatings for the array of pixels. The material used to form the color filter container structures may have a refractive index that is sufficiently high to prevent light from passing between adjacent elements in the color filter layer.

Structures and methods of creating clear pixels

An imager may include an array of pixels formed on a substrate. A chemisorption layer such as a planar chemisorption layer may be deposited over the array of pixels. The chemisorption layer may include active sites that bond with anchoring molecules. The anchoring molecules may be bonded to the planar chemisorption layer in only localized regions each covering a respective pixel of the array of pixels. The image sensor may include a photoresist layer that covers the chemisorption layer. Openings in the photoresist layer may define the boundaries of the localized regions. The anchoring molecules may be bonded only with the chemisorption layer without bonding to the photoresist layer. The anchoring molecules may serve to bond with analyte molecules. By forming the anchoring molecules within only localized regions centered over respective pixels, spatial resolution of the imager when imaging the analyte molecules may be improved.

Imaging devices for molecule detection

An image sensor integrated circuit may contain image sensor pixels. A channel for receiving a fluid with samples may be formed on top of the image sensor. The image sensor pixels may form light sensors and imagers. The imagers may gather images of the samples as the fluid passes over the imagers or when the samples from the fluid adhere to the surface above an imager array. A protective coating may be formed on surfaces of the channel to protect the image sensor pixels and integrated circuit from potentially damaging materials in the fluid, samples, or materials provided for evaluating the samples. The protective coating may be a base-resistant material such as a silylating agent. A cover glass may be attached above the image sensor integrated circuit to form a portion of the channel. The protective coating may be formed on surfaces of the cover glass.

Opto-fluidic system with coated fluid channels

An imaging system may include one or more optical filters that include metallic nanoparticles in a matrix. The metallic nanoparticle optical filters may form a color filter array for an imager in the imaging system. Different metallic nanoparticle optical filters may be formed for each desired color. Properties of the metallic nanoparticles and matrices may be varied to achieve the desired optical filtering properties and pass the desired wavelength bands to the imager. As examples, the type of metal, the size of the nanoparticles, the shape of the nanoparticles, and the type of matrix in which the nanoparticles are formed may all influence the optical properties of the resulting metallic nanoparticle optical film.

Image sensors with metallic nanoparticle optical filters

An imaging system may include an image sensor having an array of image pixels. Some image pixels in the array may be provided with spectral response adjustment structures. For example, a plurality of broadband pixels in the array may include spectral response adjustment structures. The spectral response adjustment structures may be configured to narrow the spectral response of the broadband pixels in high light conditions. For example, the spectral response of the broadband pixels may transition from clear to gray, from clear to green, or from yellow to green as the light level increases. The spectral response adjustment structures may, for example, be formed from photochromic materials or electrochromic elements. Processing circuitry in the imaging system may generate a color correction matrix for an image based at least partly on the state of the spectral response adjustment structures.

Imaging systems with image pixels having adjustable spectral responses

An image sensor integrated circuit may contain image sensor pixels. A channel for receiving a fluid with particles such as fluorescent biological samples may be formed on top of the image sensor. Light-control layers may be interposed between the fluid channel and the top of the image sensor. The light-control layers may include a color filter array, a microlens array over the color filter array, and a plasmonic color filter. The plasmonic color filter may be formed from a patterned metal layer on the color filter array or on the microlens array. The patterned metal layer may include openings that are configured to use plasmonic effects to control the colors of light that pass through the plasmonic color filter. The color filter array and the plasmonic color filter, in combination, may block light from a light source in the system while passing fluorescent light from the sample.

Imaging systems with plasmonic color filters

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Nampa, ID, United States of America

Brian A Vaartstra