A light detection device includes a sensor array and a readout circuit. The sensor array includes a compound semiconductor substrate having a first main surface and a second main surface opposite to the first main surface, a plurality of photodetectors arranged two-dimensionally on the first main surface, and an insulating film disposed on the second main surface. The readout circuit includes a silicon substrate having a third main surface connected to the first main surface of the compound semiconductor substrate. The insulating film contains an insulating material having a lower thermal expansion coefficient than a compound semiconductor contained in the compound semiconductor substrate. The insulating film includes at least one first portion having a first thickness and a second portion having a second thickness larger than the first thickness.

An imaging device may include single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). To improve the sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio of the SPADs, light scattering structures may be formed in the semiconductor substrate to increase the path length of incident light through the semiconductor substrate. To mitigate crosstalk, an isolation structure may be formed in a ring around the SPAD. The isolation structure may be a hybrid isolation structure with both a metal filler that absorbs light and a low-index filler that reflects light. The isolation structure may be formed as a single trench or may include a backside deep trench isolation portion and a front side deep trench isolation portion. The isolation structure may also include a color filtering material.

According to one embodiment, a light detector includes a plurality of elements, a plurality of separation parts, a fourth semiconductor region, a fifth semiconductor region, a first interconnect, a first quenching part, and a second interconnect. The elements are located in a cell region and arranged. Each of the elements includes first, second, and third semiconductor regions. The second semiconductor region is located on the first semiconductor region. The third semiconductor region is located on the second semiconductor region. The separation parts are located respectively around the elements. The fourth semiconductor region is located around each of the separation parts. The fifth semiconductor region is located on the fourth semiconductor region. The first interconnect is electrically connected to the third semiconductor regions. The first quenching part is electrically connected to the first interconnect. The second interconnect is electrically connected to the fifth semiconductor region.

There is provided a light-receiving element including: an on-chip lens; an interconnection layer; and a semiconductor layer arranged between the on-chip lens and the interconnection layer, the semiconductor layer including a photodiode, an interpixel trench portion engraved up to at least a part in a depth direction of the semiconductor layer at a boundary portion of an adjacent pixel, and an in-pixel trench portion engraved at a prescribed depth from a front surface or a rear surface of the semiconductor layer at a position overlapping a part of the photodiode in a plan view.

A light conversion device includes a light-emitting unit, a photoelectric conversion unit, and an electroconductive bonding layer. Each of the light-emitting unit and the photoelectric conversion unit includes a first-type region and a second-type region opposite to the first-type region. The electroconductive bonding layer is disposed between the light-emitting unit and the photoelectric conversion unit for connecting the photoelectric conversion unit with the light-emitting unit. When the light conversion device is operated to receive a bias and an external light, the light-emitting unit generates a modulated light having a frequency different from that of the external light.

A pixel sensor may include a deep trench isolation (DTI) structure that extends the full height of a substrate in which a photodiode of the pixel sensor is included. Incident light entering the pixel sensor at a non-orthogonal angle is absorbed or reflected by the DTI structure along the full height of the substrate. In this way, the DTI structure may reduce, minimize, and/or prevent the incident light from traveling through the pixel sensor and into an adjacent pixel sensor along the full height of the substrate. This may increase the spatial resolution of an image sensor in which the DTI structure is included, may increase the overall sensitivity of the image sensor, may reduce and/or prevent color mixing between pixel sensors of the image sensor, and/or may decrease image noise after color correction.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards an image sensor. The image sensor includes and image sensor element disposed within a substrate. The substrate comprises a first material. The image sensor element includes an active layer comprising a second material different from the first material. A buffer layer is disposed between the active layer and the substrate. The buffer layer extends along outer sidewalls and a bottom surface of the active layer. A capping structure overlies the active layer. Outer sidewalls of the active layer are spaced laterally between outer sidewalls of the capping structure such that the capping structure continuously extends over outer edges of the active layer.

A method for converting an image format applied to an RGB-IR image sensor includes: (Step 1) acquiring an RGB-IR image in digital form; (Step 2) selecting a pixel of the RGB-IR image as a center pixel and selecting a pixel unit with the center pixel at the center; (Step 3) interpolating the center pixel to obtain missing color components of the center pixel; (Step 4) repeating blocks (S2) and (S3) for interpolating each pixel of the RGB-IR image to obtain the missing color component of each pixel; and (Step 5) outputting an image after the interpolation process.

In a general aspect, integrated spatial phase wafer-level imaging is described. In some aspects, an integrated imaging system an integrated image sensor and an edge processor. The integrated image sensor may include: a polarizer pixel configured to filter electromagnetic (EM) radiation and to allow filtered EM radiation having a selected polarization state to pass therethrough; a radiation-sensing pixel configured to detect the filtered EM radiation and to generate a signal in response to detecting the filtered EM radiation; and readout circuitry configured to perform analog preprocessing on the signal generated by the radiation-sensing pixel. The edge processor may be configured to: generate first-order primitives and second-order primitives based on the analog preprocessed signal from the readout circuitry; and determine a plurality of features of an object located in a field-of-view of the radiation-sensing pixel based on the first-order primitives and the second-order primitives.

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.