Pmdtechnologies Ag

Infineon Technologies Ag

Matthias Franke

Henning Feick

Dirk Offenberg

Stefano Parascandola

Jens Prima

Robert Roessler

Michael Bernhard Sommer

Robert Rössler

The disclosure relates to a light propagation time pixel, comprising modulation gates and integration nodes which are arranged on the upper face of a photosensitive semiconductor region. The photosensitive semiconductor region is designed as an N-epitaxy and is delimited laterally and/or at the corners by p-doped vertical p-structures. A buried layer with a p-doping adjoins the lower face of the photosensitive semiconductor region, and the vertical p-structures are in electric contact with the buried layer.

Light propagation time pixel and light propagation time sensor with corresponding pixel

An optical sensor device configured to detect a time of flight of an electromagnetic signal includes a semiconductor substrate having a main surface and a conversion region configured to convert at least a fraction of the electromagnetic signal into photo-generated charge carriers; a first control electrode formed in a trench extending from the main surface into the semiconductor substrate; a second control electrode disposed directly or indirectly on the main surface; a control circuit configured to apply a varying first potential to the first control electrode and to apply a varying second potential to the second control electrode, where the varying second potential has a fixed phase relationship to the first varying potential, to generate electric potential distributions in the conversion region to direct the photo-generated charge carriers; and a readout node arranged in the semiconductor substrate and configured to detect the directed photo-generated charge carriers.

Optical sensor device with deep and shallow control electrodes

An optical sensor device configured to detect a time of flight of an electromagnetic signal includes a semiconductor substrate with a conversion region configured to convert at least a portion of the electromagnetic signal into photo-generated charge carriers. A deep control electrode is formed in a trench extending into the semiconductor substrate. The deep control electrode extends deeper into the semiconductor substrate than a shallow control electrode. A control circuit is configured to apply to the deep control electrode and to the shallow control electrode varying potentials having a fixed phase relationship to each other, to generate electric potential distributions in the conversion region, by which the photo-generated charge carriers in the conversion region are directed. The directed photo-generated charge carriers are detected at at least one readout node.

An optical sensor device includes a semiconductor substrate including a conversion region to convert an electromagnetic signal into photo-generated charge carriers, a read-out node configured to read-out a first portion of the photo-generated charge carriers, a control electrode, which is formed in a trench extending into the semiconductor substrate, and a doping region in the semiconductor substrate, where the doping region is adjacent to the trench, where the doping region has a doping type different from the read out node, and where the doping region has a doping concentration so that the doping region remains depleted during operation.

Growing community of inventors

Haiger, Germany

Matthias Franke