Skhynix Inc.

Jae Hyung Jang

Hoon Moo Choi

Hyung June Yoon

Jong Chae Kim

Jae Won Lee

Jong Eun Kim

Yu Jin Park

Min Seok Shin

Jeong Eun Song

Kang Bong Seo

An image sensing device may include: a substrate including a back side and a front side; imaging pixels configured to receive incident light from the back side and each structured to produce photocharge in response to the received incident light at each imaging pixel; a plurality of taps located at a depth from the front side of the substrate and configured to generate a current within the substrate and capture photocharge generated by the imaging pixels and migrated by the current, wherein the plurality of taps is distributed in the imaging pixels such that two or more of the plurality of taps are located within each imaging pixel; and a capping region formed in each imaging pixel to surround the two or more taps included in each imaging pixel, wherein a lower portion of the capping region is spaced apart from the back side by a predetermined distance.

Image sensing device with reduced power consumption by constraining the photocurrent

An image sensing device is provided to include a pixel array having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix shape. Each of the pixels includes: a control node configured to generate a hole current in a substrate; a detection node configured to capture photocharge migrated by the hole current, formed in a shape whose at least part is partially open, and disposed to surround the control node, and a low resistance region including a dielectric layer formed in the substrate, and disposed in the opening on of the detection node. The low resistance region includes an inner low resistance region disposed between the control node and the center of the pixel.

Image sensing device

An image sensing device may include a pixel array. The pixel array includes a sensing region including a plurality of unit pixels, each unit pixel configured to detect incident light to generate photocharge indicative of the detected incident light, a bias field region doped with impurities and disposed along an edge of the sensing region and a contact portion connected to the bias field region to apply a bias voltage to the bias field region to move the photocharge in the sensing region.

An image sensing device includes a plurality of unit pixels, each of which includes a plurality of sub-pixels. Each of the unit pixels is structured to respond to incident light to produce photocharges indicative of detected incident light and includes sub-pixels. Each sub-pixel includes a control region configured to generate, within a substrate in which the sub-pixels are disposed, a current that carries the photocharges, a detection region spaced from the control region and configured to capture the photocharges carried by the current, a plurality of first isolation portions disposed between two adjacent sub-pixels, a second isolation portion disposed to surround the sub-pixels, and a voltage applying region disposed at a center portion of the unit pixel and configured to receive a first voltage.

An image sensing device includes a semiconductor substrate, a photoelectric conversion region structured to generate charge carriers from incident light and capture the charge carriers using an electric potential difference caused by a demodulation control signal applied to the photoelectric conversion region, and a circuit region disposed adjacent to the photoelectric conversion region, the circuit region including a plurality of pixel transistors that generate and output a pixel signal corresponding to the charge carriers captured by the photoelectric conversion region. The circuit region includes a first well region formed to have a first length in a first direction, and a second well region formed below the first well region such that a lower end of the first well region is in contact with an upper end of the second well region, and formed to have a second length shorter than the first length in the first direction.

Methods for operating a motion recognition apparatus are disclosed. In some implementations, a method for recognizing a motion or gesture of an object may include operating an optical sensor device to capture light reflected from the object under illumination by light emitted toward the object, generating, by comparing the emitted light to the reflected light, a depth image including distance information indicating a distance between the optical sensor device and the object, generating, based on the light reflected from the object, an infrared image including infrared image information associated with the object, and determining the motion of the object based on at least one of the depth image and the infrared image.

Motion recognition apparatus using ToF sensor and method for operating the same

An image sensing device is provided to include a pixel array of unit pixels, each pixel structured to respond to incident light to produce photocharges and including different photosensing sub-pixels at different locations within the unit pixel to detect incident light, different detection structures formed at peripheral locations of the different photosensing sub-pixels of the unit pixel, respectively, and configured to receive the photocharges that are generated by the different photosensing sub-pixels of and are carried by a current in the unit pixel, a unit pixel voltage node located at a center portion of the unit pixel and electrically coupled to electrically bias an electrical potential of the different photosensing sub-pixels, and a control circuit coupled to the different detection structures of the unit pixel to supply sub-pixel detection control signals to the different detection structures of the unit pixel, respectively.

An image sensing device is provided to include a pixel array comprising a first pixel group and a second pixel group, each pixel configured to sense a distance to a target object in response to modulated light that is incident on the pixel array; a first modulation driver configured to supply, to the first pixel group, a first modulation control signal and a second modulation control signal; and a second modulation driver configured to supply, to the second pixel group, a third modulation control signal and a fourth modulation control signal, wherein the first and second modulation drivers are independently controlled from each other such that at least one of the first modulation control signal, the second modulation control signal, the third modulation control signal, or the fourth modulation control signal has a phase difference from the modulated light.

An image sensor includes a detection region, a first transistor region, and a second transistor region. The detection region including a first demodulation node and a second demodulation node generates a hole current in a substrate, and captures photocharges that are generated by incident light and move by the hole current. The first pixel transistor region including a plurality of transistors is disposed at one side of the detection region, and processes photocharges captured by the first demodulation node. The second pixel transistor region including a plurality of transistors is disposed at other side of the detection region, and processes photocharges captured by the second demodulation node.

Image sensor

An image sensing device for measuring a distance between the image sensing device and a target object is disclosed. The image sensing device may include a plurality of image sensing pixels formed in a substrate, each image sensing pixel including a first electrical contact tap and a second electrical contact tap structured to generate a current in the substrate and capture photocharges generated by light reflected from an object and incident on the image sensing pixel array and migrating by the current to measure a distance to the object by performing demodulation operations based on the photocharges, and a demodulation driver coupled to the image sensing pixel array to apply, to the first electrical contact tap and the second electrical contact tap, a first demodulation control signal and a second demodulation control signal for generating the current, respectively.

An image sensing device includes at least one unit pixel including a plurality of pixels for generating a plurality of pixel signals based on a plurality of control signals having different phases, and an equalizing circuit suitable for equalizing noise that occurs in the plurality of pixels during a reset operation on the unit pixel.

Image sensing device and operating method thereof

An image sensing device includes a plurality of image sensor pixels including a first image sensor pixel and a second image sensor pixel and a transmission driver. The transmission driver is coupled to first and second transfer gates to apply a first transmission signal to the first transfer gate to control the first transfer gate and a second transmission signal to the second transfer gate to control the second transfer gate. A first distance between the first image sensor pixel and the transmission driver is shorter than a second distance between the second image sensor pixel and the transmission driver, and the first and second transfer gates of the first image sensor pixel are different in structure from the first and second transfer gates of the second image sensor pixel, respectively.

An image sensor includes a substrate including a photodiode and first and second floating diffusion nodes which are disposed to be spaced apart from left and right of the photodiode, respectively, by a predetermined distance; a first transfer gate disposed on the substrate to overlap at least partially with the photodiode and the first floating diffusion node; and a second transfer gate disposed on the substrate to overlap at least partially with the photodiode and the second floating diffusion node, wherein each of the first transfer gate and the second transfer gate includes a first gate dielectric layer which overlaps at least partially with the photodiode and a second gate dielectric layer which overlaps at least partially with the first or second floating diffusion node, and wherein a thickness of the first gate dielectric layer is larger than a thickness of the second gate dielectric layer.

Image sensor with variant gate dielectric layers

An image sensing device may include a first tap and a second tap configured to generate a hole current in a substrate, and capture photocharge which is generated by incident light and migrated by the hole current. The first and second taps may be disposed in vertex regions facing each other in a diagonal direction in one pixel, respectively.

Growing community of inventors

Icheon-si, South Korea

Jae Hyung Jang