Omnivision Technologies, Inc.

Yin Qian

Duli Mao

Hsin-Chih Tai

Howard E Rhodes

Vincent Venezia

Dyson Hsinchih Tai

Chen-Wei Lu

Jin Li

Ming Zhang

Chia-Chun Miao

Gang Chen

Wei Zheng

Keh-Chiang Ku

Libo Weng

Dyson Hsin-Chih Tai

Chao-Hung Lin

Tiejun Dai

Lindsay Alexander Grant

Rongsheng Yang

Oray Orkun Cellek

Chin Poh Pang

Chia-Ying Liu

Hongjun Li

Sohei Manabe

Hidetoshi Nozaki

Sing-Chung Hu

Eiichi Funatsu

Regis Fan

Cunyu Yang

Ashish A Shah

Boyang Zhang

Qingwei Shan

Cheng Zhao

Christopher Morgan Walker

Shao-Fan Kao

Chia-Jung Liu

Jizhang Shan

Dajiang Yang

Zhiqiang Lin

Yuanwei Zheng

Alireza Bonakdar

Dominic Massetti

Hongli Yang

Lequn Liu

Takayuki Goto

Zhiyong Zhan

Manoj Bikumandla

Qingfei Chen

Wu-Zang Yang

Chun-Yung Ai

Fei Wu

Ping-Hsu Chen

Zhibin Xiong

Hsin Chih Tai

Tung-Ti Yeh

Ashish Shah

The invention disclose a pixel in an image sensor capable of detecting infrared light and associated fabrication method. The image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate having a first photodiode and a second photodiode adjacent to the first photodiode. A planarized dielectric layer having a recessed region is disposed on a first side of the semiconductor substrate. A first color filter is disposed on the planarized dielectric layer aligned with the first photodiode and configured to transmit light of a first wavelength range. A second color filter is disposed in the recessed region and on the planarized dielectric layer. The second color filter is aligned with the second photodiode, and configured to transmit light of a second wavelength range that is different from the first wavelength range. A first depth-wise thickness of the first color filter is less than a second depth-wise thickness of the second color filter.

Image sensor for infrared sensing and fabrication thereof

A stacked image sensor includes a signal-processing circuitry layer, a pixel-array substrate, a heat-transport layer, and a thermal via. The signal-processing circuitry layer includes a conductive pad exposed on a circuitry-layer bottom surface of the signal-processing circuitry layer. The pixel-array substrate includes a pixel array and is disposed on a circuitry-layer top surface of the signal-processing circuitry layer. The circuitry-layer top surface is between the circuitry-layer bottom surface and the pixel-array substrate. The heat-transport layer is located between the signal-processing circuitry layer and the pixel-array substrate. The thermal via thermally couples the heat-transport layer to the conductive pad.

Stacked image sensor

An image sensor with embedded wells for accommodating light emitters includes a semiconductor substrate including an array of doped sensing regions respectively corresponding to an array of photosensitive pixels of the image sensor. The semiconductor substrate forms an array of wells. Each well is aligned with a respective doped sensing region to facilitate detection, by the photosensitive pixel that includes said respective doped sensing region, of light emitted to the photosensitive pixel by a light emitter disposed in the well. The image sensor further includes, between adjacent doped sensing regions, a light-blocking barrier to reduce propagation of light to the doped sensing-region of each photosensitive pixel from wells not aligned therewith.

Image sensors with embedded wells for accommodating light emitters

An image sensor includes a photodiode array and a color filter array optically aligned with the photodiode array. The photodiode array includes a plurality of photodiodes disposed within respective portions of a semiconductor material. The color filter array includes a plurality of color filters arranged to form a plurality of tiled minimal repeating units. Each minimal repeating unit includes at least a first color filter with a red spectral photoresponse, a second color filter with a yellow spectral photoresponse, and a third color filter with a panchromatic spectral photoresponse.

Image sensor with subtractive color filter pattern

A semiconductor device that includes a metal pad buried in the semiconductor substrate that is electrically connected to a metal interconnection structure and electrically isolated from the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate forms an opening that extends from a back surface to the metal pad. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device with buried metal pad including depositing, in a recess of a semiconductor substrate, a metal pad, isolating the pad from the substrate, electrically connecting the metal pad to the frontside of the substrate and connecting the metal pad to the backside of the substrate with an opening. A method for stabilizing through-silicon via connections in semiconductor device including electrically coupling a metal interconnection structure to a metal pad submerged in a semiconductor substrate and forming a through-silicon via into the semiconductor substrate that contacts the metal pad.

Semiconductor device with buried metal pad, and methods for manufacture

An image sensor pixel array comprises a plurality of image pixel units to gather image information and a plurality of phase detection auto-focus (PDAF) pixel units to gather phase information. Each of the PDAF pixel units includes two of first image sensor pixels covered by two micro-lenses, respectively. Each of the image pixel units includes four of second image sensor pixels adjacent to each other, wherein each of the second image sensor pixels is covered by an individual micro-lens. A coating layer is disposed on the micro-lenses and forms a flattened surface across the whole image sensor pixel array. A PDAF micro-lens is formed on the coating layer to cover the first image sensor pixels.

Image sensors with phase detection auto-focus pixels

A flip-chip sample imaging device with self-aligning lid includes an image sensor chip, a fan-out substrate, and a lid. The image sensor chip includes (a) a pixel array sensitive to light incident on a first side of the image sensor chip and (b) first electrical contacts disposed on the first side and electrically connected to the pixel array. The fan-out substrate is disposed on the first side, is electrically connected to the first electrical contacts, forms an aperture over the pixel array to partly define a sample chamber over the pixel array, and forms a first surface facing away from the first side. The lid is disposed on the first surface of the fan-out substrate, facing away from the first side, to further define the chamber. The lid includes an inner portion protruding into the aperture to align the lid relative to the fan-out substrate.

Flip-chip sample imaging devices with self-aligning lid

Packaged photosensor ICs are made by fabricating an integrated circuit (IC) with multiple bondpads; forming vias from IC backside through semiconductor to expose a first layer metal; depositing conductive metal plugs in the vias; depositing interconnect metal; depositing solder-mask dielectric over the interconnect metal and openings therethrough; forming solder bumps on interconnect metal at the openings in the solder-mask dielectric; and bonding the solder bumps to conductors of a package. The photosensor IC has a substrate; multiple metal layers separated by dielectric layers formed on a first surface of the substrate into which transistors are formed; multiple bondpad structures formed of at least a first metal layer of the metal layers; vias with metal plugs formed through a dielectric over a second surface of the semiconductor substrate, interconnect metal on the dielectric forming connection shapes, and shapes of the interconnect layer coupled to each conductive plug and to solder bumps.

Interconnect layer contact and method for improved packaged integrated circuit reliability

An image sensor pixel array comprises a plurality of image pixel units to gather image information and a plurality of phase detection auto-focus (PDAF) pixel units to gather phase information. Each of the PDAF pixel units includes two of first image sensor pixels covered by a shared micro-lens. Each of the image pixel units includes four of second image sensor pixels adjacent to each other, wherein each of the second image sensor pixels is covered by an individual micro-lens. A coating layer is disposed on the micro-lenses and forms a flattened surface across the whole image sensor pixel array to receive incident light.

A liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) panel comprises: a silicon substrate having silicon circuit within the silicon substrate; a plurality of metal electrodes disposed on the silicon substrate, where the plurality of metal electrodes are periodically formed on the silicon substrate; a dielectric material disposed in and filling gaps between adjacent metal electrodes; and an oxide layer disposed on the plurality of metal electrodes and the dielectric material in the gaps between adjacent metal electrodes; where the refractive index of the dielectric material is higher than the refractive index of the oxide layer.

Liquid crystal on silicon panel having less diffraction

A reflective semiconductor device includes integrated circuitry disposed in a semiconductor layer. A first plurality of mirrors is formed in a mirror layer over the semiconductor layer, and each of the first plurality of mirrors is spaced apart from one another by at least a uniform width. A thin dielectric film layer covers sidewalls of the first plurality of mirrors and the semiconductor layer in the regions between the spaced apart first plurality of mirrors. A second plurality of mirrors are formed in the mirror layer between the thin dielectric film layer covered sidewalls of the first plurality of mirrors and over the thin dielectric film layer covering the semiconductor layer. Each one of the first and second plurality of mirrors has the uniform width, and is coupled to the integrated circuitry disposed in the semiconductor layer.

Liquid crystal on silicon device mirror metal process

A liquid crystal display includes a display area and a border area at least partially surrounding the display area, where the display area displays images for viewing and the border area displays display-protection images, which are used to control ion migration in the liquid crystal layer. In a more particular embodiment, the border area displays a series of checkerboard pattern(s), where the checkerboard patterns can alternate between initial and inverted values. The display-protection images protect the liquid crystal display from migrating ions accumulating in particular regions of the pixel array and causing permanent defects in the display area. A liquid crystal display that includes a liquid crystal alignment layer having a plurality of liquid crystal alignment directions is also disclosed. The customized liquid crystal alignment director(s) over the border area promote ion migration away from the display area.

System and method for protecting a liquid crystal display by controlling ion migration

An image sensor includes a multi-pixel detector. The multi-pixel detector includes a first pixel formed in a substrate and having a first photodiode region, a second pixel formed in the substrate adjacent to the first pixel and having a second photodiode region, and a microlens above both the first pixel and the second pixel. The microlens includes (a) in a first cross-sectional plane perpendicular to a top surface of the substrate and including both the first and the second photodiode regions, a first height profile having Nlocal maxima, and (b) in a second cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the first cross-sectional plane and the top surface and including only one of the first and the second photodiode regions, a second height profile having N&#x3e;Nlocal maxima.

Multi-pixel detector and associated method for increasing angular sensitivity

An image sensor system, comprising a pixel array that includes at least a first type pixel and a second type pixel, wherein each first type pixel is configured to sense light of a first optical spectral range; and each second pixel is configured to sense light of a second optical spectral range; an optical filter located above the pixel array, said optical filter configured to pass a third optical spectral range and a fourth optical spectral range that is different from the third optical spectral range, wherein the fourth optical spectral range is less than the second optical spectral range; a light source that emits light in a fifth optical spectral range, wherein the fifth optical spectral range at least overlaps with the fourth optical spectral range; and a controller that controls the image sensor system to selectively operate in a first mode that uses said first optical spectral range, and a second mode that uses said second optical spectral range.

Combined visible and infrared image sensor incorporating selective infrared optical filter

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Milpitas, CA, United States of America

Yin Qian