Nec Corporation

Panasonic Corporation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Nippon Electric Co., Ltd.

Hamamatsu-Photonics K.k.

Nobukazu Teranishi

Hiroshi Sakoh

Masato Kobayashi

Akiyoshi Kohno

Nobuhiko Mutoh

Takashi Nakano

Akio Tanaka

Yasuo Ishihara

Kohichi Arai

Takashi Sato

Yutaka Hirose

Toshiya Fujii

Masayuki Furumiya

Yoshihisa Kato

Keisuke Hatano

Tomoki Masuda

Shinichi Kawai

Takao Tamura

Ichiro Murakami

Junichi Matsuo

Tohru Yamada

Chihiro Ogawa

Yasuaki Hokari

Tomoko Komatsu

Manabu Usuda

Yasuyuki Endoh

Michihiro Morimoto

Takuya Asano

Toshihiko Hino

Eiji Oda

Kazuaki Okumura

Kouichi Arai

Kozo Orihara

Hikaru Hasegawa

Hiroaki Utsumi

Yasumitsu Komatsu

Hiromitsu Shiraki

Shinobu Suwazono

Read electrodes are provided to drain signal charge of pixels from photoelectric conversion units provided in the pixels separately to a vertical transfer unit. During a first exposure period during which an object is illuminated with infrared light, signal charge obtained from a first pixel, and signal charge obtained from a second pixel adjacent to the first pixel, are added together in the vertical transfer unit to produce first signal charge. During a second exposure period during which the object is not illuminated with infrared light, signal charge obtained from the first pixel, and signal charge obtained from the second pixel adjacent to the first pixel, are transferred without being added to the first signal charge in the vertical transfer unit, and are added together in another packet to produce second signal charge.

Image capture device

A semiconductor photodetector has at least one unit pixel having a photoelectric conversion part, a charge storage part, and a detection circuit. The photoelectric conversion part includes a charge multiplication region in which incident light is converted into a charge, and the charge is multiplied by avalanche multiplication. The charge storage part is connected to the photoelectric conversion part and stores a signal charge from the photoelectric conversion part. The detection circuit is connected to the charge storage part, converts the signal charge stored in the charge storage part into a voltage, passes the voltage through an amplifier to amplify the voltage, and outputs the amplified voltage.

Semiconductor photodetector

A row scanning unit is configured to change a potential of a transfer signal from a second potential Vto a third potential Vprior to driving of a transfer operation for causing a transfer of signal charges from a photodiode to a floating diffusion, by supplying a transfer pulse having a first potential V. The first potential Vis a positive potential for turning a transfer transistor into ON state, the second potential Vis a potential for causing pinning of holes under a gate of the transfer transistor and turning the transfer transistor into OFF state, and the third potential Vis a potential for not causing the pinning of the holes under the gate of the transfer transistor and turning the transfer transistor into OFF state, the third potential being lower than the first potential and higher than the second potential.

Solid-state imaging device and method of driving the same where three levels of potentials including a negative potential are applied in the transfer gate

A solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of light-receiving elements arranged in a light-receiving area, and a plurality of micro-lenses corresponding to the light-receiving elements, and has a flattening film formed on the plurality of the micro-lenses. At a center of the light-receiving area, the micro-lenses are placed in positions directly above corresponding photodiodes, and placed in positions which are progressively offset from positions directly above the corresponding photodiodes, towards a center of the light receiving area, as micro-lenses are located farther from the center of the light-receiving area.

Solid-state image sensor, manufacturing method for solid-state image sensor, and camera

A solid state imaging device includes: a solid state imaging element including a light receiving element, a microlens formed above the light receiving element, a first transparent layer formed on the microlens and a second transparent layer formed on or above the microlens and harder than the first transparent layer; a transparent component formed above the second transparent layer; and an adhesive layer for bonding the second transparent layer and the transparent component. The hard second transparent layer prevents the occurrence of scratches during a dicing step.

Solid state imaging device and method for manufacturing the same

Solid-state image sensor having micro-lenses arranged to collect light of which the incidence angle has been moderated by a transparent film disposed thereon

Solid-state image sensor with transparent film on micro-lenses by which oblique light is refracted towards light receiving elements

Solid-state image sensor, manufacturing method for solid-state image sensor, and camera having an offsetting arrangement between light receiving elements and micro-lenses

Solid-state image sensor, manufacturing method for solid-state image sensor, and camera having plural color filters and dual transparent film

Solid state image sensor with transparent film on micro-lenses and offsetting positions of micro-lenses and color filters from a central portion of a corresponding light receiving area

A semiconductor substrate has a sensor disposed in a surface layer on an entrance surface thereof for receiving incident light, and an intermediate-refractive-index film is disposed on the entire entrance surface of the semiconductor substrate either directly or with an insulating film interposed therebetween. The intermediate-refractive-index film has a refractive index lower than the semiconductor substrate and a low hydrogen permeability thin film is disposed on an entrance surface of the intermediate-refractive-index film and having refractive index lower than the intermediate-refractive-index film the thin film being permeable to hydrogen. The intermediate-refractive-index film serves as a reflection-resistant film. Reflections of incident light applied through the thin film and the reflection-resistant film of the sensor of the semiconductor substrate are suppressed. The intermediate-refractive-index film has a hole defined therein for passage of hydrogen therethrough upon hydrogen alloying. After the thin film is formed on the surface of the intermediate-refractive-index film, hydrogen passes through the hole in the intermediate-refractive-index film to reach the surface of the semiconductor substrate near the sensor upon hydrogen alloying.

Solid-state imaging device with a film of low hydrogen permeability and a method of manufacturing same

A semiconductor substrate has a sensor disposed in a surface layer on an entrance surface thereof for receiving incident light, and an intermediate-refractive-index film is disposed on the entire entrance surface of the semiconductor substrate either directly or with an insulating film interposed therebetween. The intermediate-refractive-index film has a refractive index lower than the semiconductor substrate and a low hydrogen permeability. A thin film is disposed on an entrance surface of the intermediate-refractive-index film and having refractive index lower than the intermediate-refractive-index film, the thin film being permeable to hydrogen. The intermediate-refractive-index film serves as a reflection-resistant film. Reflections of incident light applied through the thin film and the reflection-resistant film to the sensor of the semiconductor substrate are suppressed. The intermediate-refractive-index film has a hole defined therein for passage of hydrogen therethrough upon hydrogen alloying. After the thin film is formed on the surface of the intermediate-refractive-index film, hydrogen passes through the hole in the intermediate-refractive-index film to reach the surface of the semiconductor substrate near the sensor upon hydrogen alloying.

Solid-state imaging device with film of low hydrogen permeability

Shunt wirings (12) in the form of a conductive light intercepting film which covers over vertical CCD registers and also serves to supply power, project into locations between adjacent photoelectric transducers (11) in the vertical direction, and the distance between the projecting portions of adjacent ones of the metal wirings is set to 0.2 .mu.m or less and is limited to a distance with which an electric field between adjacent ones of the metal wirings is 10.sup.7 V/cm or less and the adjacent metal wirings do not suffer from short-circuiting.

Solid state imaging apparatus having a plurality of metal wirings for

A solid state camera element having photodiode provided on a matrix and shielding film formed in the layer above the circumference of photodiode, wherein fluorescence film is provided in the layer above any one of photodiodes or in the layer above photodiode, extending from the top surface to the lower layer of shielding film. Interference filter of one or multiple layers is provided in the layer above fluorescence film for transmitting an absorption wavelength and reflecting a luminescence wavelength of the fluorescence film. Also, N well of photodiode is formed deep in the substrate and the peak wavelength of sensitivity is shifted to a longer wavelength side from the normal setting peak value of 550 nm. Therefore, the present invention can enhance the blue sensitivity of the solid state camera element by using fluorescent pigment without causing cross talk with a neighboring photodiode.

Solid state camera element

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Nobukazu Teranishi