An image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate having first and second faces. The sensor includes a plurality of pixel groups each including pixels, each pixel having a photoelectric converter and a wiring pattern, the converter including a region whose major carriers are the same with charges to be accumulated in the photoelectric converter. The sensor also includes a microlenses which are located so that one microlens is arranged for each pixel group. The wiring patterns are located at a side of the first face, and the plurality of microlenses are located at a side of the second face. Light-incidence faces of the regions of the photoelectric converters of each pixel group are arranged along the second face such that the light-incidence faces are apart from each other in a direction along the second face.

An image sensor including a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type that is arranged in a substrate, a second semiconductor region of a second conductivity type that is arranged in the first semiconductor region to form a charge accumulation region. The second semiconductor region includes a plurality of portions arranged in a direction along a surface of the substrate. A potential barrier is formed between the plurality of portions. The second semiconductor region is wholly depleted by expansion of a depletion region from the first semiconductor region to the second semiconductor region. A finally-depleted portion to be finally depleted, of the second semiconductor region, is depleted by the expansion of the depletion region from a portion of the first semiconductor region, located in a lateral direction of the finally-depleted portion.

An integrated circuit includes a photodetection region configured to receive incident photons. The photodetection region is configured to produce a plurality of charge carriers in response to the incident photons. The integrated circuit also includes at least one charge carrier storage region. The integrated circuit also includes a charge carrier segregation structure configured to selectively direct charge carriers of the plurality of charge carriers into the at least one charge carrier storage region based upon times at which the charge carriers are produced.

An optical sensing apparatus includes an absorption region configured to receive an optical signal and to generate, in response to the optical signal, photo-generated electrons and photo-generated holes, a carrier steerer, and circuitry electrically coupled to the carrier steerer and a controller. The carrier steerer includes a first p-doped region, a first n-doped region electrically shorted with the first p-doped region, a first gate configured to control a flow of holes from the absorption region to the first p-doped region, and a second gate configured to control a flow of electrons from the absorption region to the first n-doped region. The circuitry is configured receive electrical signals from the controller to synchronize operation of the first and second gates so that during a first time period holes flow from the absorption region to the first p-doped region while electrons do not flow from the absorption region to the first n-doped region and during a second time period electrons flow from the absorption region to the first n-doped region while holes do not flow from the absorption region to the first p-doped region.

The present invention relates to a metamaterial focal plane array for broad spectrum imaging. Electromagnetic energy in the form of light is absorbed in or on a metamaterial absorber and a subsequent hot carriers are collected either in a semiconductor space charge region (e.g. P-N junction), or in some other modern collection scheme. Following the accumulation of photogenerated charge (electrons or holes), the signal is then converted to a digital signal using conventional or slightly modified ROIC modules.

A photo-detecting apparatus is provided. The photo-detecting apparatus includes: a substrate made by a first material or a first material-composite; an absorption layer made by a second material or a second material-composite, the absorption layer being supported by the substrate and the absorption layer including: a first surface; a second surface arranged between the first surface and the substrate; and a channel region having a dopant profile with a peak dopant concentration equal to or more than 1×10.sup.15 cm.sup.−3, wherein a distance between the first surface and a location of the channel region having the peak dopant concentration is less than a distance between the second surface and the location of the channel region having the peak dopant concentration, and wherein the distance between the first surface and the location of the channel region having the peak dopant concentration is not less than 30 nm.

A solid-state imaging device of an embodiment includes plural first transfer gate electrodes, plural second transfer gate electrodes, and plural fixed gate electrodes. The first transfer gate electrodes are such that the respective first transfer gate electrodes are placed in a charge transfer unit to correspond to single light receiving sections, and a control signal ϕ1 is applied. The second transfer gate electrodes are such that the respective second transfer gate electrodes are placed in a charge transfer unit to correspond to the single light receiving sections, and a control signal ϕ2 that differs in phase from the control signal ϕ1 for transferring plural charges is applied. The respective fixed gate electrodes are such that the respective fixed gate electrodes are placed between the first and the second transfer gate electrodes corresponding to the single light receiving sections in the charge transfer unit, and a fixed voltage is applied.

An image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate having first and second faces. The sensor includes a plurality of pixel groups each including pixels, each pixel having a photoelectric converter and a wiring pattern, the converter including a region whose major carriers are the same with charges to be accumulated in the photoelectric converter. The sensor also includes a microlenses which are located so that one microlens is arranged for each pixel group. The wiring patterns are located at a side of the first face, and the plurality of microlenses are located at a side of the second face. Light-incidence faces of the regions of the photoelectric converters of each pixel group are arranged along the second face such that the light-incidence faces are apart from each other in a direction along the second face.

An imaging device is provided. The imaging device may include a substrate having a first photoelectric conversion unit and a second photoelectric conversion unit at a light-incident side of the substrate. The second photoelectric conversion unit may include a photoelectric conversion layer, a first electrode, a second electrode above the photoelectric conversion layer, a third electrode, and an insulating material between the third electrode and the photoelectric conversion layer, wherein a portion of the insulating material is between the first electrode and the third electrode.

An integrated device, the device including: a first level including a first mono-crystal layer, the first mono-crystal layer including a plurality of single crystal transistors; an overlying oxide disposed on top of the first level; a second level including a second mono-crystal layer, the second level overlaying the oxide, where the second mono-crystal layer includes a plurality of image sensors, where the second level is bonded to the first level, where the bonded includes an oxide to oxide bond; and a plurality of pixel control circuits, where each of the plurality of image sensors is directly connected to at least one of the plurality of pixel control circuits, and where the integrated device includes a plurality of memory circuits.