Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Takao Chikamura

Shinji Fujiwara

Yutaka Miyata

Kazufumi Ogawa

Masakazu Fukai

Takuo Shibata

Masanori Watanabe

Hiroyuki Kado

Nobuyuki Yoshiike

Yasuaki Terui

Yoshio Ohta

Makoto Fujimoto

Kohsaku Yano

A field-emission type switching device includes a substrate formed with a recess having a straight edge and serrated edge opposite to the straight edge. A gate electrode is formed at the bottom of the recess. An emitter electrode is provided over the substrate and formed with a serrated edge which is slightly off alignment with the serrate edge of the recess so as to provide an emitter overhanging portion overhanging the recess. Similarly, a collector electrode is provided over the substrate and formed with a straight edge which is slightly off alignment with the straight edge of the recess so as to provide a collector overhanging portion overhanging the recess. The emitter and collector electrodes are disposed in one plane and the gate electrode is disposed in another plane below the one plane.

Field-emission type switching device

A field-emission type switching device includes a substrate formed with a recess having a straight edge and serrated edge opposite to the straight edge. A gate electrode is formed at the bottom of the recess. An emitter electrode is provided over the substrate and formed with a serrated edge which is slightly off alignment with the serrate edge of the recess so as to provide an emitter overhanging portion overhanging the recess. Similarly, a collector electrode is provided over the substrate means and formed with a straight edge which is slightly off alignment with the straight edge of the recess so as to provide a collector overhanging portion overhanging the recess. The emitter and collector electrodes are disposed in one plate and the gate electrode is disposed in another plane below the one plane.

Method of manufacturing a field-emission type switching device

In a solid-state image sensor of the type consisting of a semiconductor circuit substrate capable of charge transfer or having the switching function and a photoconductive layer or a photosensor, a pattern of light-shielding checks is formed between the surface of the semiconductor circuit substrate and a transparent electrode on the photoconductive layer or a photosensor so as to optically shield the gaps or spaces between electrodes which are provided for respective picture elements and which are connected to their associated diode regions and the photoconductive layer or photosensor, whereby blooming can be suppressed without causing a decrease in sensitivity.

Solid-state image sensor

A solid-state image sensor is formed of the combination of a semiconductor substrate having a charge transfer function and a photoconductive film. In this solid-state image sensor, blooming suppressing capability is greatly increased by controlling the following potentials to fixed potentials, that is, (1) the potential of a transparent electrode formed on the photoconductive film, (2) the channel potential of a MOS field-effect transistor formed of a charge transfer stage and a gate electrode which are formed together with a Si diode in the semiconductor substrate in which the diode is electrically connected to the photoconductive film, and (3) the barrier potential of the charge transfer stage.

Anti-blooming image sensor

This invention discloses a high efficiency solid state imager combining a semiconductor substrate having a charge transfer function and a photoelectric conversion film, wherein a high frequency transfer pulse having a frequency higher than that of a vertical transfer pulse is applied for a prescribed time during the vertical blanking period; voltages with different values are applied to a transparent electrode provided on the above-mentioned photoelectric conversion film in the first and second period of the period with the presence of the above-mentioned high frequency transfer pulse; and a voltage differing with each field is applied to the above-mentioned transparent electrode during the vertical blanking period, whereby blooming, highlight lag and flicker due to an intense light are considerably suppressed.

Solid state imager

A solid-state image sensor has a semiconductor substrate and a photoconductive film formed on the semiconductor substrate. The photoconductive film has a charge transfer function and subjects each field or group of picture elements to interlaced scanning. Flicker which otherwise results from inevitable differences between the magnitudes of setting voltages or areas of the photoconductive film portions with respect to the respective fields or groups of picture elements is significantly suppressed by changing the voltages applied to the photoconductive film portions with respect to each field or group of the interlaced picture element.

A solid state imaging apparatus having a plurality of cells for accumulating charge signals in response to an incident light and charge transfer means connected to the cells through a switching element. A read pulse and a transfer pulse are applied to the switching element and the transfer means, respectively, to read the charge signals from the cells and transfer those signals, so that a video signal is produced. Blooming suppression pulse synchronous with the transfer pulse is supplied to a node between the cell and the switching element through a capacitive coupling.

Solid state imager with blooming suppression

A highly sensitive and high-density picture element solid-state image pickup element. The image pickup element includes a picture element portion formed on a semiconductor wafer, a driving circuit for driving the picture element portion, a photoconductive layer formed on the picture element portion and a transparent electrode formed on the photoconductive layer. On top of the transparent electrode is a layer of photosetting resin and a color filter bonded to the photosetting resin with an adhesive agent having substantially similar or the same composition and optical properties as the photosetting resin.

Solid-state image pickup element and process for fabricating the same

In a solid-state image pickup device of the type in which a photoconductive substance is formed as a photosensor on a scanning device consisting of charge-transfer elements or MOS matrix elements, light shielding means are provided in order to optically shield the boundaries or spacing between first electrodes each of which represents a picture element and which electrically couples between the scanning device and the photosensor, whereby a high resolution can be obtained and concurrently effects of blooming can be remarkably improved.

Solid-state image pickup device

A highly sensitive and high-density picture element solid-state image pickup element and a process for fabricating the same which is featured in (a) that in the step for patterning a photoconductive layer, a protective pattern resisting an etchant is formed by using an ultraviolet-ray-setting resin which is also used in the step for bonding a color filter and then the undesired areas of the photoconductive layer, which has been formed over the whole surface of a wafer, are removed and (b) that the color filter having a stripe or mosaic pattern is bonded to the protective pattern with the same ultraviolet-ray-setting resin. Alternatively, after the color filter has been bonded, the undesired areas of the photoconductive layer are removed with the color filter used as an etching mask.

In a solid-state image pickup device of the type in which a photosensitive or photoconductive film is formed over a substrate capable of charge-transfer or X-Y address scanning and an electrode is formed over the photosensitive or photoconductive film, a means for applying to the electrode a voltage having an amplitude proportional to the amount of incident light, whereby blooming may be minimized and an automatic aperture control function may be attained. Because the voltage applied to the electrode over the photosensitive or photoconductive film is set so that the sensitivity of the photoconductive film may be decreased when a light image of high intensity falls on the device, blooming may be avoided.

A solid-state image sensor is provided, which has a high spectral response over the whole visible light range and wherein a photoconductor layer having a hetero-junction defined by a hole blocking layer and a layer consisting of a system (Zn.sub.1-x Cd.sub.x Te).sub.1-y (In.sub.2 Te.sub.3).sub.y is formed over a semiconductor substrate which has charge transfer type unit cells or X-Y switching matrix type unit cells.

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Takao Chikamura