An apparatus includes a substrate on which a pixel with a color filter is formed. The pixel includes a first conversion portion and a second conversion portion in an in-plane direction of the substrate, the second conversion portion having a lower sensitivity to light than a sensitivity of the first conversion portion. In a depth direction of the substrate, the apparatus includes a first member between the first conversion portion and the color filter and a second member between the second conversion portion and the color filter in a depth direction of the substrate. The first member is adjacent to the second member in the in-plane direction of the substrate. A refractive index of the first member is higher than a refractive index of the second member.

A pixel array includes octagon-shaped pixel sensors and a combination of visible light pixel sensors (e.g., red, green, and blue pixel sensors) and near infrared (NIR) pixel sensors. The color information obtained by the visible light pixel sensors and the luminance obtained by the NIR pixel sensors may be combined to increase the low-light performance of the pixel array, and to allow for low-light color images in low-light applications. The octagon-shaped pixel sensors may be interspersed in the pixel array with square-shaped pixel sensors to increase the utilization of space in the pixel array, and to allow for pixel sensors in the pixel array to be sized differently. The capability to accommodate different sizes of visible light pixel sensors and NIR pixel sensors permits the pixel array to be formed and/or configured to satisfy various performance parameters.

An image sensing device for preventing a crosstalk path is disclosed. The image sensing device includes a substrate including a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements, each of which generates and accumulates photocharges corresponding to incident light and a plurality of lenses disposed over the substrate, and arranged to receive the incident light and to direct received incident light to the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements, wherein the plurality of lenses includes a first lens and a second lens that are arranged to contact each other and have different refractive indexes from each other.

A semiconductor device is provided. The semiconductor device includes a substrate having photoelectric conversion elements. The semiconductor device also includes a first light-shielding layer disposed on the substrate and having first apertures. The semiconductor device further includes a light-adjusting structure disposed on the first light-shielding layer. Moreover, the semiconductor device includes a second light-shielding layer disposed on the light-adjusting structure and having second apertures. The semiconductor device also includes first light-condensing structures covering the second apertures. The semiconductor device further includes a third light-shielding layer disposed on the first light-condensing structure and having third apertures. Furthermore, the semiconductor device includes second light-condensing structures covering the third apertures. The semiconductor device also includes a first light-transmitting layer disposed between the second light-shielding layer and the third light-shielding layer. The refractive index of each first light-condensing structure and the refractive index of the first light-transmitting layer are different.

An image sensor is provided. The image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate including a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other. A semiconductor pattern is disposed on the first surface of the semiconductor substrate and it extends in a first direction perpendicular to the first surface. A buried transmission gate electrode is disposed in a transmission gate trench extending from the first surface of the semiconductor substrate to an interior of the semiconductor substrate. A first gate electrode at least partially surrounds a side wall of the semiconductor pattern and has a ring-shaped horizontal cross-section. A color filter is disposed on the second surface of the semiconductor substrate.

An image sensor comprises a first and second chips. The first chip includes a first semiconductor substrate, a photoelectric conversion layer in the first semiconductor substrate, a color filter, a micro lens, a first transistor adjacent to the photoelectric conversion layer, a first insulating layer, and a first metal layer in the first insulating layer and connected to the first transistor. The second chip includes a second insulating layer, a second semiconductor substrate, a second transistor on the second semiconductor substrate, a second metal layer in the second insulating layer and connected to a gate structure of the second transistor through a gate contact, a landing metal layer below the second metal layer, and a through via in direct contact with the landing metal layer and vertically passing through the second semiconductor substrate. A width of the through via becomes narrower as the width approaches the third surface.

The present technology relates to a solid-state imaging element and electronic equipment that allow an increase in the signal charge amount Qs that each pixel can accumulate. A solid-state imaging element according to the first aspect of the present technology includes: a photoelectric conversion section formed in each pixel; and an inter-pixel separation section separating the photoelectric conversion section of each pixel, in which the inter-pixel separation section includes a protruding section having a shape protruding toward the photoelectric conversion section. The present technology can be applied to a back-illuminated CMOS image sensor, for example.

An image sensor in which a shading phenomenon is decreased and the quality is increased includes a substrate comprising a first face on which light is incident, and a second face opposite to the first face and a plurality of unit pixels. Each of the plurality of unit pixels includes a photoelectric conversion layer in the substrate. The image sensor further includes a pixel separation pattern which separates unit pixels from the plurality of the unit pixels from each other, a plurality of color filters disposed on the first face of the substrate and arranged in a Bayer pattern, and a grid pattern disposed on the first face of the substrate and interposed within the plurality of color filters. A light-receiving area of the red color filter and a light-receiving area of the blue color filter are smaller than a light-receiving area of the green color filter.

A photodetector including a substrate having a semiconductor material layer, such as a silicon-containing layer, and a germanium-based well embedded in the semiconductor material layer, where a gap is located between a lateral side surface of the germanium-based well and the surrounding semiconductor material layer. The gap between the lateral side surface of the germanium-based well and the surrounding semiconductor material layer may reduce the surface contact area between the germanium-containing material of the well and the surrounding semiconductor material, which may be a silicon-based material. The formation of the gap located between a lateral side surface of the germanium-based well and the surrounding semiconductor material layer may help minimize the formation of crystal defects, such as slips, in the germanium-based well, and thereby reduce the dark current and improve photodetector performance.

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor device. One example semiconductor device includes a plurality of unit pixels, where each unit pixel of the plurality of unit pixels includes a pair of transfer gates including a first transfer gate and a second transfer gate, a photoelectric converter, and a floating diffusion region spaced apart from the photoelectric converter. The first transfer gate and the second transfer gate are disposed asymmetrically with respect to the photoelectric converter and the floating diffusion region.