Methods and systems for image sensing are provided. In one example, an apparatus comprises a semiconductor substrate comprising a light incident surface to receive light, a first pinned photodiode, and a second pinned photodiode, the first pinned photodiode and the second pinned photodiode forming a stack structure in the semiconductor substrate along an axis perpendicular to the light incident surface, the stack structure enabling the first pinned photodiode and the second pinned photodiode to, respectively, convert a first component of the light and a second component of the light to first charge and second charge. The apparatus further comprises one or more capacitors formed in the semiconductor substrate and configured to generate a first voltage and a second voltage based on, respectively, the first charge and the second charge.

Provided is a semiconductor device having a structure suitable for higher integration. The semiconductor device includes a transistor that includes a gate section, a first diffusion layer, and a second diffusion layer. The semiconductor device further includes a first electrically-conductive section a second electrically-conductive section that is electrically insulated from the first electrically-conductive section, a first storage element that is located between the first diffusion layer and the first electrically-conductive section and is electrically coupled to each of the first diffusion layer and the first electrically-conductive section, and a second storage element that is located between the second diffusion layer and the second electrically-conductive section and is electrically coupled to each of the second diffusion layer and the second electrically-conductive section.

A method for forming a semiconductor device is provided. The method includes forming a sensor pixel array in a substrate, forming several transparent pillars over the substrate, and forming a light shielding layer over the substrate to cover the transparent pillars. The sensor pixel array has several sensor pixels, and each of the transparent pillars is correspondingly disposed on one of the sensor pixels of the sensor pixel array. The light shielding layer is a multi-layer structure. The method further includes performing a planarization process to expose the top surface of the transparent pillars.

There is provided a solid-state imaging device including: an imaging pixel including a photoelectric conversion unit which receives incident light; and a phase difference detection pixel including the photoelectric conversion unit and a light shielding unit which shields some of the light incident to the photoelectric conversion unit, in which the imaging pixel further includes a high refractive index film which is formed on the upper side of the photoelectric conversion unit, and the phase difference detection pixel further includes a low refractive index film which is formed on the upper side of the photoelectric conversion unit.

An image sensor may include a first substrate having first and second surfaces and including unit pixel regions, each of which includes a device isolation pattern and a photoelectric conversion region adjacent to the first surface of the first substrate, a pixel isolation pattern provided in the first substrate to define the unit pixel regions and to penetrate the device isolation pattern, a first impurity region and a floating diffusion region provided in the first substrate and adjacent to the first surface, a second substrate provided on the first substrate to have third and fourth surfaces, a second impurity region provided in the second substrate and adjacent to the third surface, and ground and body contacts coupled to the first and second impurity regions, respectively. The ground contact and the body contact may be electrically separated from each other.

An apparatus includes a plurality, of avalanche diodes disposed in a layer having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, wherein the plurality of avalanche diodes each includes a first region of first conductivity type located at a first depth, a second region of second conductivity type located at a second depth greater than the first depth with respect to the second surface, and a third region of the second conductivity type located at a third depth greater than the second depth with respect to the second surface, wherein the layer includes a plurality of structures disposed in the first surface, and wherein the plurality of structures has an effective period less than hc/E.sub.a(h: Planck's constant [J.Math.s], c: speed of light [m/s], and E.sub.a: a band gap of a substrate [J].

A pixelated filter wherein each pixel of the pixelated filter includes an interference filter including a stack of layers, and one or a plurality of waveguides each crossing all or part of the layers of said interference filter. In each pixel of the pixelated filter, the waveguide are configured to guide at least one optical mode and so that an evanescent portion of said at least one guided mode is filtered by the interference filter of the pixel.

Systems and methods are provided to determine glare information. An optical filter is configured to attenuate visible light and pass near-infrared light and an image sensor is configured to detect light reflected by a surface after the reflected light passes through the optical filter. The image sensor is further configured to generate image data comprising a detected near-infrared portion of the light reflected by the surface. Processing circuitry is configured to receive the image data from the image sensor and determine near-infrared glare information based on the received image. The near-infrared glare information can be used to adjust display parameter associated with the surface or characterize near-infrared glare properties of the surface.

A manufacturing method of a chip package includes forming a temporary bonding layer on a carrier; forming an encapsulation layer on a top surface of a wafer or on the temporary bonding layer; bonding the carrier to the wafer, in which the encapsulation layer covers a sensor and a conductive pad of the wafer; patterning a bottom surface of the wafer to form a through hole, in which the conductive pad is exposed through the through hole; forming an isolation layer on the bottom surface of the wafer and a sidewall of the through hole; forming a redistribution layer on the isolation layer and the conductive pad that is in the through hole; forming a passivation layer on the isolation layer and the redistribution layer; and removing the temporary bonding layer and the carrier.

A backside illumination image sensor that includes a semiconductor substrate with a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements and a read circuit formed on a front surface side of the semiconductor substrate, and captures an image by outputting, via the read circuit, electrical signals generated as incident light having reached a back surface side of the semiconductor substrate is received at the photoelectric conversion elements includes: a light shielding film formed on a side where incident light enters the photoelectric conversion elements, with an opening formed therein in correspondence to each photoelectric conversion element; and an on-chip lens formed at a position set apart from the light shielding film by a predetermined distance in correspondence to each photoelectric conversion element. The light shielding film and an exit pupil plane of the image forming optical system achieve a conjugate relation to each other with regard to the on-chip lens.