Disclosed are infrared (IR) light detectors. The detectors operate by generating hot electrons in a metallic absorber layer on photon absorption, the electrons being transported through an energy barrier of an insulating layer to a metal or semiconductor conductive layer. The energy barrier is set to bar response to wavelengths longer than a maximum wavelength. Particular embodiments also have a pattern of metallic shapes above the metallic absorber layer that act to increase photon absorption while reflecting photons of short wavelengths; these particular embodiments have a band-pass response.

A solid-state imaging device includes: plural photodiodes formed in different depths in a unit pixel area of a substrate; and plural vertical transistors formed in the depth direction from one face side of the substrate so that gate portions for reading signal charges obtained by photoelectric conversion in the plural photodiodes are formed in depths corresponding to the respective photodiodes.

An image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate, a first photoelectric converter, and a second photoelectric converter. The semiconductor substrate has an electric-charge storage region. The second photoelectric converter is located between the first photoelectric converter and the semiconductor substrate. The first photoelectric converter includes a first counter electrode, a first pixel electrode, and a first photoelectric conversion layer. The first photoelectric conversion layer is located between the first counter electrode and the first pixel electrode. The second photoelectric converter includes a second counter electrode, a second pixel electrode, and a second photoelectric conversion layer. The second photoelectric conversion layer is located between the second counter electrode and the second pixel electrode. The electric-charge storage region is electrically connected to the first pixel electrode and the second pixel electrode.

To reduce a dark current of an image sensor including a photoelectric conversion unit disposed on a back surface of a semiconductor substrate.

The image sensor includes a photoelectric conversion unit, a through-electrode, a charge holding unit, a back-side high impurity concentration region, and a front-side high impurity concentration region. The photoelectric conversion unit is disposed on a back surface of a semiconductor substrate and performs photoelectric conversion of incident light. The through-electrode is formed in a shape penetrating from the back surface to a front surface of the semiconductor substrate and transmits a charge generated by the photoelectric conversion. The charge holding unit is disposed on the front surface of the semiconductor substrate and holds the transmitted charge. The back-side high impurity concentration region is disposed in a region adjacent to the through-electrode on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate and is formed to have a higher impurity concentration than an impurity concentration of a region adjacent to the through-electrode at the central portion of the semiconductor substrate. The front-side high impurity concentration region is disposed in a region adjacent to the through-electrode on the front surface of the semiconductor substrate and is formed to have a higher impurity concentration than the impurity concentration of the region adjacent to the through-electrode at the central portion of the semiconductor substrate.

An image sensor including first and second pixel groups, each of which includes first to ninth pixels arranged to form a 3×3 array is disclosed. The image sensor further includes first to ninth transfer transistors disposed in each of the pixel groups to correspond to the first to ninth pixels, respectively, each of the first to ninth transfer transistors including a transfer gate and a floating diffusion region, a selection transistor disposed in at least one of the fourth to sixth pixels in each of the pixel group, and source follower transistors respectively disposed in at least two pixels of the first to third and seventh to ninth pixels in each of the pixel groups. Source follower gates of the source follower transistors may be connected to the floating diffusion region of each of the first to ninth transfer transistors.

An imaging apparatus includes a substrate, a first electrode, a second electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, a first transistor, and a penetrating electrode. The photoelectric conversion layer is located between the first electrode and the second electrode and converts light into charges. The first transistor includes a first impurity region serving as one of a source and a drain, a second impurity region serving as the other of the source and the drain, and a first gate electrode. The penetrating electrode penetrates the substrate and electrically connects the first electrode to the first impurity region. The charges are accumulated in the first impurity region. A distance between the first impurity region and the penetrating electrode is longer in a plan view than a distance between the second impurity region and the penetrating electrode.

Provided are an image sensor with one or more image receivers for image switching, and an imaging system and method therefor. The image sensor includes an image sensor array to generate first image data for a first image; a receiver to receive, into the image sensor, second image data for a second image; an image selection circuit coupled to the image sensor array and the receiver to receive the first image data and the second image data and select one of the first image data and the second image data according to one or more image selection criteria and at least one of the first image data and the second image data; and a transmitter coupled to the image selection circuit to transmit the selected one of the first image data and the second image data from the image sensor.

A solid-state imaging device includes a pixel array where pixels are arranged in a matrix. Each of the pixels includes a photoelectric conversion unit configured to generate a signal charge based on incident light, and an element isolation layer having light-shielding properties and surrounding a periphery of the photoelectric conversion unit. The element isolation layers of adjacent ones of the pixels in a row direction and a column direction are isolated from each other. A charge storage layer and a charge trapping layer are provided in each of regions between the element isolation layers of the adjacent ones of the pixels in the row direction and the column direction. The charge storage layer stores the signal charge. The charge trapping layer reduces incidence of light on the charge storage layer.

A coloring composition includes at least one compound S selected from a compound S-1 represented by Formula (1) or a compound S-2 in which the compound S-1 is coordinated to a metal atom, a pigment, a resin P, and a solvent, in which the resin P includes at least one selected from a graft resin P-1 having a specific graft chain, a block copolymer P-2 including a specific structure, or a resin P-3 in which at least one terminal of a polymer chain including a specific structure is capped with an acid group.

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A detector including a detector membrane comprising a semiconductor sensor and a readout circuit, the detector membrane having a thickness of 100 micrometers or less and a curved surface conformed to a curved focal plane of an optical system imaging electromagnetic radiation onto the curved surface; and a mount or substrate attached to a backside of the detector membrane. A maximum of the strain experienced by the detector membrane is reduced by distribution of the strain induced by formation of the curved surface across all of the curved surface of the detector membrane, thereby allowing a decreased radius of curvature (more severe curving) as compared to without the distribution.