Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Renesas Technology Corp.

Takashi Okagawa

Hiroshi Yuzurihara

Hiroaki Naruse

Yoshiyuki Nakagawa

Tetsuya Yamada

Sho Suzuki

Masahiro Kobayashi

Nobuhiko Sato

Yusuke Onuki

Yasushi Matsuno

Ryuichi Mishima

Shigeru Nishimura

Takeshi Aoki

Atsushi Ueno

Kouichirou Tsujita

Atsumi Yamaguchi

Yuya Fujino

Yu Nishimura

Takehito Okabe

Kentaro Suzuki

Nobuaki Kakinuma

Akihiro Kawano

Mitsuhiro Yomori

Masao Ishioka

Ritsuko Ueno, Legal Representative

A photoelectric conversion apparatus includes a plurality of units each including a charge generation region disposed in a semiconductor layer. Each of a first unit and a second unit of the plurality of units includes a charge storage region configured to store charges transferred thereto from the charge generation region, a dielectric region located above the charge generation region and surrounded by an insulator layer, and a first light-shielding layer covering the charge storage region that is located between the insulator layer and the semiconductor layer, and the first light-shielding layer having an opening located above the charge generation region. The charge generation region of the first unit is able to receive light through the opening of the first light-shielding layer. The charge generation region of the second unit is covered with a second light-shielding layer.

Photoelectric conversion apparatus and image pickup system

A semiconductor apparatus includes a conductive member including a polycrystalline silicon layer having a first, second and third portions, an interlayer insulation film that covers the conductive member, a first silicon nitride layer arranged between the interlayer insulation film and the third portion, a second silicon nitride layer arranged between the interlayer insulation film and the first portion and between the interlayer insulation layer and the second portion, a first contact plug disposed above the first portion and penetrating the interlayer insulation film and the second silicon nitride layer to connect to the conductive member, and a second contact plug disposed above the second portion and penetrating the interlayer insulation film and the second silicon nitride layer to connect to the conductive member. The first silicon nitride layer is disposed between the first and second contact plugs, and apart from the first and second contact plugs.

Semiconductor apparatus and equipment

A solid-state imaging device includes a light-shielding layer that is disposed in a pixel region containing a pixel including a photoelectric conversion element and a charge holding portion and a peripheral region in which a signal from the pixel is processed and that is electrically connected to a substrate at a contact portion in the peripheral region, a first insulating layer that has an end portion between the charge holding portion and the contact portion in plan view and that is disposed between the substrate and the light-shielding layer, and a first insulating member that is disposed on a side surface of the end portion of the first insulating layer and that buffers a step due to the end portion. A portion of the light-shielding layer overlapping the first insulating member in the plan view has an upper surface having a shape following a shape of the first insulating member.

Solid-state imaging device, imaging system, and method for manufacturing solid-state imaging device

There is provided a photoelectric conversion device in which a distance from a main surface to an inner surface of a first part of a dielectric film is smaller than a distance from the main surface to a top surface of a light shielding member, a distance from the main surface to an outer surface of the first part is smaller than a distance from the main surface to an outer surface of a second part of the dielectric film, an outer surface of a third part inclines to the top surface, a surface of a dielectric member inclines to the top surface, between the dielectric film and the top surface in a normal direction, and the dielectric member has a refractive index lower than a refractive index of the dielectric film.

Photoelectric conversion device and apparatus

A solid-state imaging apparatus comprises: a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements for converting light into an electric charge, including a first photoelectric conversion element; a first semiconductor region from which the electric charge is transferred from a first photoelectric conversion element; an amplifying MOS transistor including a gate electrode connected to the first semiconductor region to amplify the potential of the first semiconductor region; an insulating film; a metal wiring layer above the insulating film; a local interconnect of a first conductor, formed in the insulating film, for connecting the gate electrode of the amplifying MOS transistor to the first semiconductor region not through the metal wiring layer; a second semiconductor region, different from the first semiconductor region; and a second conductor for connecting the second semiconductor region to at least a part of the metal wiring layer.

Solid-state imaging apparatus that includes a local interconnect and method for manufacturing the same

A photoelectric conversion apparatus includes: a first interlayer insulation film disposed on a semiconductor substrate; a first plug disposed in a first hole in the first interlayer insulation film, and serving to electrically connect between a plurality of active regions disposed in the semiconductor substrate, between gate electrodes of a plurality of MOS transistors, or between the active region and the gate electrode of the MOS transistor, not through the wiring of the wiring layer; and a second plug disposed in a second hole in the first interlayer insulation film, the second plug being electrically connected to the active region, wherein a wiring arranged over the second plug and closest to the second plug is electrically connected to the second plug, and the wiring electrically connected to the second plug forms a portion of dual damascene structure. By such a structure, incidence efficiency of light onto a photoelectric conversion element can be improved.

Photoelectric conversion apparatus and image pickup system using photoelectric conversion apparatus

A noise generated by a constitution of widening an incident aperture of light of a photoelectric conversion element is reduced. In a manufacturing method of a photoelectric conversion device, first electroconductor arranged in a first hole arranged in the first interlayer insulation layer electrically connects a first semiconductor region to a gate electrode of an amplifying MOS transistor not through wirings included in a wiring layer. Moreover, a second electroconductor electrically connects a second semiconductor region different from the first semiconductor region to a wiring. In a constitution of that second electroconductor, a third electroconductor arranged in a second hole arranged in the first interlayer insulation layer and a fourth electroconductor arranged in a third hole arranged in the second interlayer insulation layer are stacked and electrically connected to each other. And the step of forming the first electroconductor, and the step of forming the third electroconductor are performed simultaneously.

Manufacturing method of photoelectric conversion device

The directions of amplitude of polarized light passing through a polarizer are concentric around a position. The polarizer is disposed on the surface of a pupil such that the position lies exactly on the center of the surface of the pupil. Rays of luminous flux of illumination light converted into polarized light by the polarizer are converged onto a wafer with concentric planes of polarization with respect to an optical axis. The illumination light is therefore incident on a photoresist as s-polarized light. Thus, the amount of light entering the photoresist is less likely to depend upon the angle of incidence. Consequently, the contrast of an optical image formed in the photoresist is improved, and hence, resolution characteristics are improved.

Polarizer, projection lens system, exposure apparatus and exposing method

In a method of forming a circuit pattern including fine pattern features and fine space, a hard mask layer is patterned with a first pattern defined by eliminating the fine space for merging the pattern features. Thereafter the hard mask layer is shrank. Next, the hard mask layer is patterned with a second pattern that is defined on the basis of the fine space. Finally, the circuit pattern is formed in an underlying layer using the hard mask layer as a mask.

Method of manufacturing electronic device

The reduction of length of a gate electrode is suppressed in the process of thinning it. A hard mask () is thinned and used to etch a gate electrode material film () to form a gate electrode. At this time, a resist mask () having an opening () over an active region () is formed; the resist mask () covers at least both ends in the length direction of the hard mask () and exposes in the opening () at least the entirety of the part of the hard mask () which lies right above the active region (). The hard mask () is thinned by etching using the resist mask () as a mask and therefore the hard mask () is thinned in the part over the active region () without being shortened in the length direction. As a result, the gate electrode formed by using the thinned hard mask () is not shortened in length.

Growing community of inventors

Sagamihara, Japan

Takashi Okagawa