An imaging device including a semiconductor substrate having a first surface, the semiconductor substrate including: a first layer containing an impurity of a first conductivity type; a second layer containing an impurity of a second conductivity type different from the first conductivity type, the second layer being closer to the first surface than the first layer is; and a pixel. The pixel includes a photoelectric converter configured to convert light into charge; and a first diffusion region containing an impurity of the first conductivity type, the first diffusion region facing the first layer via the second layer, configured to store at least a part of the charge. The first layer having a second surface adjacent to the second layer, the second surface including a convex portion toward the first surface, and the convex portion facing the first diffusion region.

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.

An image sensor utilizes a pure boron layer and a second epitaxial layer having a p-type dopant concentration gradient to enhance sensing DUV, VUV or EUV radiation. Sensing (circuit) elements and associated metal interconnects are fabricated on an upper surface of a first epitaxial layer, then the second epitaxial layer is formed on a lower surface of the first epitaxial layer, and then a pure boron layer is formed on the second epitaxial layer. The p-type dopant concentration gradient is generated by systematically increasing a concentration of p-type dopant in the gas used during deposition/growth of the second epitaxial layer such that a lowest p-type dopant concentration of the second epitaxial layer occurs immediately adjacent to the interface with the first epitaxial layer, and such that a highest p-type dopant concentration of the second epitaxial layer occurs immediately adjacent to the interface with pure boron layer.

A semiconductor device in which a first chip and a second chip are stacked including a first wiring line and a second wiring line by which the first chip and the second chip are electrically connected. The first wiring line and the second wiring line each include a bonding portion for bonding one of a plurality of conductive patterns placed in the first chip and one of a plurality of conductive patterns placed in the second chip. The number of bonding portions included in the first wiring line is larger than the number of bonding portions included in the second wiring line.

An imaging system may include an array of image sensor pixels, each image sensor pixel including a photosensitive element coupled to time trace generation circuitry having a first CCD register. The time trace generation circuitry may be coupled to integration circuitry having a second integration CCD register via corresponding charge transfer structures. The second integration CCD register may integrate multiples sets of sampled charge from the first CCD register to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the collected time trace information. The time trace generations circuitry or integration circuitry may also include background light subtract capabilities to remove background light level from the collected time trace information.

A method of forming a curved semiconductor includes: forming a device layer on a semiconductor substrate; forming a metal layer on the device layer; removing the semiconductor substrate from the device layer; and curving the device layer and the metal layer.

A composition includes two or more near infrared absorbing compounds having an absorption maximum in a wavelength range of 650 to 1000 nm and having a solubility of 0.1 mass % or lower in water at 23° C., in which the two or more near infrared absorbing compounds include a first near infrared absorbing compound having an absorption maximum in a wavelength range of 650 to 1000 nm, and a second near infrared absorbing compound having an absorption maximum in a wavelength range of 650 to 1000 nm which is shorter than the absorption maximum of the first near infrared absorbing compound, and a difference between the absorption maximum of the first near infrared absorbing compound and the absorption maximum of the second near infrared absorbing compound is 1 to 150 nm.

An image sensor is fabricated by first heavily p-type doping the thin top monocrystalline silicon substrate of an SOI wafer, then forming a relatively lightly p-doped epitaxial layer on a top surface of the top silicon substrate, where p-type doping levels during these two processes are controlled to produce a p-type dopant concentration gradient in the top silicon substrate. Sensing (circuit) elements and associated metal interconnects are fabricated on the epitaxial layer, then the handling substrate and oxide layer of the SOI wafer are at least partially removed to expose a lower surface of either the top silicon substrate or the epitaxial layer, and then a pure boron layer is formed on the exposed lower surface. The p-type dopant concentration gradient monotonically decreases from a maximum level near the top-silicon/epitaxial-layer interface to a minimum concentration level at the epitaxial layer's upper surface.

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.

The present disclosure relates to a solid-state image pickup device, a manufacturing method, and an electronic apparatus, which can obtain high charge transfer efficiency from a photoelectric conversion unit to a floating diffusion layer. The floating diffusion layer is arranged in a rectangular shape so as to surround a gate electrode of a vertical transistor whose groove portion is rectangular. A reset drain is formed so as to be adjacent to the floating diffusion layer through a reset gate. A potential of the floating diffusion layer is reset to the same potential as that of the reset drain by applying a predetermined voltage to the reset gate. It is possible to apply the present disclosure to, for example, a CMOS solid-state image pickup device used in an image pickup device such as a camera.