Stmicroelectronics S.a.

Stmicroelectronics (crolles 2) Sas

Commissariat a L'energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives

Other

Commissariat À L'énergie Atomique Et Aux Énergies Alternatives

Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Sgs-thomson Microelectronics S.a.

Stmicroelectronics (canada), Inc.

Stmicroelectronics (crolles 2) Sas; Stmicroelectronics Sa

Stmicroelectronics (rousset) Sas

Stmicroelectronics (grenoble 2) Sas

Michel Marty

Alain Chantre

Laurent Frey

Philippe Coronel

Didier Dutartre

François Roy

Jens Prima

Salim Boutami

Herve Jaouen

Sebastien Jouan

Bertrand Martinet

Sébastien Jouan

Pascal Chevalier

Sandrine Lhostis

Axel Crocherie

Jean-Luc Huguenin

Jorge Regolini

Romain Girard Desprolet

H&eacute;l&egrave;ne Baudry

François Leverd

S&eacute;bastien Jouan

Francois Roy

Umberto Rossini

Sébastien Cremer

Joaquin Torres

Philippe Delpech

Perceval Coudrain

Josep Segura Puchades

Flavien Hirigoyen

Vincent Arnal

Thierry Schwartzmann

Jean-Christophe Giraudin

Francois Leverd

Pascal Besson

Cyril Fellous

Nayera Ahmed

Michel Laurens

Alain Brun

Arnoud Willem Fortuin

Lilian Masarotto

Fran&ccedil;ois Leverd

Helene Baudry

Patrick Gros D'aillon

Matthieu Bopp

Grégory Avenier

Pierre Llinares

Graeme Wyborn

Gerard Passemard

Francois Guette

Augustin Monroy

Stephan Louwers

Hélène Wehbe-Alause

Harve Jaouen

Arnoud Fortuin

A spectral filter is manufactured using a process wherein a first rectangular bar is formed within a first layer made of a first material, said first rectangular bar being made of a second material having a different optical index. The process further includes, in a second layer over the first layer, a second rectangular bar made of the second material. The second rectangular bar is positioned in contact with the first rectangular bar. The second layer is also made of the first material.

Method of manufacturing a nanostructured spectral filter

An integrated image sensor may include adjacent pixels, with each pixel including an active semiconductor region including a photodiode, an antireflection layer disposed above the photodiode, a dielectric region disposed above the antireflection layer, an optical filter disposed above the dielectric region, and a diffraction grating disposed in the antireflection layer. The diffraction grating includes an array of pads.

Image sensor with reduced spectral and optical crosstalk and method for making the image sensor

An image sensor having a portion including interconnection levels formed on a semiconductor substrate covered with a first layer of a dielectric material, including conductive tracks separated from one another by insulating layers interconnected by vias crossing the insulating layers, and an infrared bandpass filter comprising filter levels adjacent to the interconnection levels formed by an alternation of second layers of the dielectric material and of silicon layers, the refraction index of the dielectric material being smaller than 2.5 at the maximum transmission wavelength of the filter, one of the second dielectric layers of each filter level being identical to the insulating layer of the adjacent interconnection level.

Method of forming an infrared filter associated with an image sensor

A photodiode has an active portion formed in a silicon substrate and covered with a stack of insulating layers successively including at least one first silicon oxide layer, an antireflection layer, and a second silicon oxide layer. The quantum efficiency of the photodiode is optimized by: determining, for the infrared wavelength, first thicknesses of the second layer corresponding to maximum absorptions of the photodiode, and selecting, from among the first thicknesses, a desired thickness, eox, so that a maximum manufacturing dispersion is smaller than a half of a pseudo-period separating two successive maximum absorption values.

Method of optimizing the quantum efficiency of a photodiode

An integrated image sensor may include adjacent pixels, with each pixel including an active semiconductor region including a photodiode, an antireflection layer above the photodiode, a dielectric region above the antireflection layer and an optical filter to pass incident luminous radiation having a given wavelength. The antireflection layer may include an array of pads mutually separated by a dielectric material of the dielectric region. The array may be configured to allow simultaneous transmission of the incident luminous radiation and a diffraction of the incident luminous radiation producing diffracted radiations which have wavelengths below that of the incident radiation, and are attenuated with respect to the incident radiation.

A photodetector including a photoelectric conversion structure made of a semiconductor material and, on a light-receiving surface of the conversion structure, a stack of first and second diffractive elements, the second element being above the first element, wherein: the first element includes at least one pad made of a material having an optical index n1, laterally surrounded with a region made of a material having an optical index n2 different from n1; the second element includes at least one pad made of a material having an optical index n3, laterally surrounded with a region made of a material having an optical index n4 different from n3; the pads of the first and second elements are substantially vertically aligned; and optical index differences n1&#x2212;n2 and n3&#x2212;n4 have opposite signs.

High quantum efficiency photodetector

A back side illumination photodiode includes a light-receiving back side surface of a semiconductor material substrate. An area of the light-receiving back side surface includes a recess. The recess is filled with a material having an optical index that is lower than an optical index of the semiconductor material substrate. Both the substrate and the filling material are transparent to an operating wavelength of the photodiode. The recess may be formed to have a ring shape.

Back side illumination photodiode of high quantum efficiency

An image sensor including a semiconductor layer; a stack of insulating layers resting on the back side of the semiconductor layer; a conductive layer portion extending along part of the height of the stack and flush with the exposed surface of the stack; laterally-insulated conductive fingers extending through the semiconductor layer from its front side and penetrating into said layer portion; laterally-insulated conductive walls separating pixel areas, these walls extending through the semiconductor layer from its front side and having a lower height than the fingers; and an interconnection structure resting on the front side of the semiconductor layer and including vias in contact with the fingers.

Image sensor illuminated and connected on its back side

A photodiode includes at least one central pad arranged on a light-receiving surface of a photodiode semiconductor substrate. The pad is made of a first material and includes lateral sidewalls surrounded by a spacer made of a second material having a different optical index than the first material. The lateral dimensions of the pad are smaller than an operating wavelength of the photodiode. Both the first and second materials are transparent to that operating wavelength. The pads and spacers are formed at a same time gate electrodes and sidewall spacers of MOS transistors are formed.

Photodiode of high quantum efficiency

A stack of layers defines a filter and is formed by copper on hydrogenated silicon nitride supported by a carrier. The filter includes a layer of hydrogenated silicon nitride, a layer of silicon oxide on the layer of hydrogenated silicon nitride and a layer of copper on the layer of silicon oxide. The layer of hydrogenated silicon nitride may have, in a vicinity of its upper side, a ratio of a number of silicon atoms per cubic centimeter to a number of nitrogen atoms per cubic centimeter lower than 0.8 (or even lower than 0.6), with a number of silicon-hydrogen bonds smaller than or equal to 6&#xd7;10bonds per cubic centimeter (or even smaller than 0.5&#xd7;10bonds per cubic centimeter). The filter further includes an additional layer of copper between the layer of hydrogenated silicon nitride and the carrier.

Process for forming a stack of different materials, and device comprising this stack

A SPAD-type photodiode has a semiconductor substrate with a light-receiving surface. A lattice formed of interlaced strips made of a first material covers the light receiving surface. The lattice includes lattice openings with lateral walls covered by a spacer made of a second material. Then first and second materials have different optical indices, and further each optical index is less than or equal to the substrate optical index. A pitch of the lattice is of the order of a magnitude of an operating wavelength of the photodiode. The first and second materials are transparent at that operating wavelength. The lattice is made of a conductive material electrically coupled to an electrical connection node (for example, a bias voltage node).

Spad photodiode of high quantum efficiency

An integrated circuit includes a substrate and an interconnect part above the substrate, and further includes a photosensitive region in the substrate. A filter is provided aligned with the photosensitive region. The filter is formed by at least one layer of filter material. In one implementation for front side illumination, the layer of filter material is positioned above the photosensitive region between the interconnect part and the substrate. In another implementation for back side illumination, the layer of filter material is positioned below the photosensitive region opposite the interconnect part. The layer of filter material is configured such that a product of the thickness of the layer of filter material and the imaginary part of the refractive index of the layer of filter material is above 1 nm.

Method for producing an optical filter in an integrated circuit, and corresponding integrated circuit

A multilayer optical filter is provided for an integrated circuit including a substrate and a metallization layer interconnection part. The optical filter is formed from a first filter part located within the interconnection part and positioned over a photosensitive region of the substrate. The optical filter further includes a second filter part positioned above the first filter part and the interconnection part. The first and second filter parts each include a metal layer. The first and second filter parts are separated from each other as a function of a wavelength in vacuum of an optical signal to be filtered and received by the photosensitive region.

Thick multilayer interference filter having a lower metal layer located within an interconnect region

An integrated imaging device supports front face illumination with one or more photosensitive regions formed in a substrate. A lower dielectric region is provided over the substrate, the lower dielectric region having an upper face. A metal optical filter having a metal pattern is provided on the upper face (or extending into the lower dielectric region from the upper face). An upper dielectric region is provided on top of the lower dielectric region and metal optical filter. The lower dielectric region is at least part of a pre-metal dielectric layer, and the upper dielectric region is at least part of a metallization layer.

Method for producing an integrated imaging device with front face illumination comprising at least one metal optical filter, and corresponding device

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Saint Paul de Varces, France

Michel Marty