A polarization imager is provided that includes a plurality of CMOS photodetectors and a plurality of polarization filters. Each of the plurality of CMOS photodetectors has a photodiode that is configured to operate in forward bias mode. Further, each of the plurality of polarization filters is monolithically integrated with a corresponding one of the plurality of CMOS photodetectors. Each of the plurality of photodiodes exhibits a logarithmic response to a flux of incident photons. The polarization imager achieves a dynamic range of at least 100 decibels with a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 60 decibels.

An image sensor includes a substrate including a plurality of photodiodes, a color filter array having a plurality of color filters, and a horizontal insulating layer disposed between the substrate and the color filter array, and a horizontal insulating layer is formed of only a high-K dielectric material, not including silicon, and having a dielectric constant higher than a dielectric constant of silicon oxide, and has a thickness of equal to or greater than 300 angstroms and equal to or less than 1,000.

Detectors and detection systems are disclosed. According to certain embodiments, a detector comprises a substrate comprising a plurality of sensing elements including a first sensing element and a second sensing element, wherein at least the first sensing element is formed in a triangular shape. The detector may include a switching region configured to connect the first sensing 5 element and the second sensing element. There may also be provided a plurality of sections including a first section connecting a first plurality of sensing elements to a first output and a second section connecting a second plurality of sensing elements to a second output. The section may be provided in a hexagonal shape.

A solid state image sensor includes a pixel array, as well as charge-to-voltage converters, reset gates, and amplifiers each shared by a plurality of pixels in the array. The voltage level of the reset gate power supply is set higher than the voltage level of the amplifier power supply. Additionally, charge overflowing from photodetectors in the pixels may be discarded into the charge-to-voltage converters. The image sensor may also include a row scanner configured such that, while scanning a row in the pixel array to read out signals therefrom, the row scanner resets the charge in the photodetectors of the pixels sharing a charge-to-voltage converter with pixels on the readout row. The charge reset is conducted simultaneously with or prior to reading out the signals from the pixels on the readout row.

A solid-state imaging device includes a first and second pixel regions. In the first pixel region, a photoelectric conversion unit, a floating diffusion region (FD), and a transferring transistor are provided. In the second pixel region, an amplifying transistor, and a resetting transistor are provided. A first element isolation portion is provided in the first pixel region, while a second element isolation portion is provided in the second pixel region. An amount of protrusion of an insulating film into a semiconductor substrate in the first element isolation portion is smaller, than that in the second element isolation portion.

Embodiments of a hybrid imaging sensor that optimizes a pixel array area on a substrate using a stacking scheme for placement of related circuitry with minimal vertical interconnects between stacked substrates and associated features are disclosed. Embodiments of maximized pixel array size/die size (area optimization) are disclosed, and an optimized imaging sensor providing improved image quality, improved functionality, and improved form factors for specific applications common to the industry of digital imaging are also disclosed.

There is provided a solid-state imaging device including: one or more photoelectric conversion elements provided on side of a first surface of a semiconductor substrate; a through electrode coupled to the one or more photoelectric conversion elements, and provided between the first surface and a second surface of the semiconductor substrate; and an amplifier transistor and a floating diffusion provided on the second surface of the semiconductor substrate, in which the one or more photoelectric conversion elements are coupled to a gate of the amplifier transistor and the floating diffusion via the through electrode.

The invention relates to colour-image sensors. To benefit both from a good luminance resolution and a colour accuracy that is not excessively degraded by the sensitivity of silicon to near-infrared radiation, the invention proposes to produce a mosaic of pixels comprising coloured pixels (R), (G), (B), coated with colour filters, which are distributed in the matrix, with white pixels (T) not coated with colour filters and which are distributed in the matrix. The coloured pixels include photodiodes constructed differently from the photodiodes of the white pixels, the different construction being such that the photodiodes of the coloured pixels have a lower sensitivity to infrared radiation than the photodiodes of the white pixels.

A pixel includes a semiconductor layer with a charge accumulation layer extending in the semiconductor layer. A transistor has a read region penetrating into said semiconductor layer down to a first depth. An insulating wall penetrates into the semiconductor layer from an upper surface and containing an insulated conductor connected to a node of application of a potential. The insulating wall includes at least a portion provided with a deep insulating plug penetrating into the insulated conductor down to a second depth greater than the first depth. A continuous portion of the insulating wall laterally delimits, at least partially, a charge accumulation area and includes a wall portion with the deep insulating plug at least partially laterally delimiting the read region of the transistor.

An optical sensor including a first material layer comprising at least a first material; a second material layer comprising at least a second material that is different from the first material, where a material bandgap of the first material is larger than a material bandgap of the second material; and a graded material layer arranged between the first material layer and the second material layer, the graded material layer comprising an alloy of at least the first material and the second material having compositions of the second material that vary along a direction that is from the first material to the second material.