The present disclosure provides an image sensor semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a first type of dopant; a semiconductor layer having a second type of dopant different from the first type of dopant and disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a photo-sensitive structure formed in the semiconductor layer; a multi-layer interconnect (MLI) structure disposed on the semiconductor layer; a color filter disposed on the MLI structure and disposed above the photo-sensitive structure; and a microlens disposed over the color filter and disposed above the photo-sensitive structure.

A sensor includes a plurality of image sensors, wherein each image sensor of the plurality of image sensors is configured to detect a first spectrum of light. The sensor further includes a depth sensing pixel bonded to each image sensor of the plurality of image sensors, wherein the depth sensing pixel is configured to detect a second spectrum of light different from the first spectrum.

Provided is an image sensor having improved performance. An image sensor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention including a pixel array in which a plurality of pixels are two-dimensionally arranged, wherein each of the plurality of pixels may include: a photoelectric conversion element formed in a substrate; a transfer gate overlapping with a portion of the photoelectric conversion element and formed on the substrate; and a color filter over the photoelectric conversion element, wherein the plurality of pixels include two adjacent pixels which have the same color filter, and wherein one of the two adjacent pixels comprises an incident light control pattern.

A method of manufacturing a photoelectric conversion apparatus includes forming a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type in a trench provided in a semiconductor substrate, forming an insulating member on the semiconductor substrate, and forming a second semiconductor region of a second conductivity type that forms a photoelectric conversion portion. The first semiconductor region is present between the second semiconductor region and the insulating member in a direction perpendicular to a depth direction of the semiconductor substrate.

A solid-state imaging device includes a layout in which one sharing unit includes an array of photodiodes of 2 pixels by 4n pixels (where, n is a positive integer), respectively, in horizontal and vertical directions.

A solid-state image pickup unit includes: a substrate made of a first semiconductor; a substrate made of a first semiconductor; a photoelectric conversion device provided on the substrate and including a first electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and a second electrode in order from the substrate; and a plurality of field-effect transistors configured to perform signal reading from the photoelectric conversion device. The plurality of transistors include a transfer transistor and an amplification transistor, the transfer transistor includes an active layer containing a second semiconductor with a larger band gap than that of the first semiconductor, and one terminal of a source and a drain of the transfer transistor also serves the first electrode or the second electrode of the photoelectric conversion device, and the other terminal of the transfer transistor is connected to a gate of the amplification transistor.

An image sensor according to an example embodiment concepts includes a pixel array including pixels, and each of the pixels includes photoelectric conversion elements. The photoelectric conversion elements independently operating to detect a phase difference. The image sensor further includes a control circuit configured to independently control exposure times of each of the photoelectric conversion elements included in each of the pixels.

An imaging apparatus is provided which, in a case where an optical signal is smaller than a threshold, performs more AD conversions for generating digital signals than the number of times of AD conversions in a case where an optical signal is larger than the threshold.

Pixel array with shared pixels in a single column and associated devices, systems, and methods are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a pixel array includes a floating diffusion region, a source a source follower transistor having a gate coupled to the floating diffusion region, a plurality of first pixels associated with a first color, and a plurality of second pixels associated with a second color different than the first color and arranged in a single column with the first pixels. The first and second pixels are configured to transfer charge to the floating diffusion region.

A hybrid analog-digital pixel circuit is fabricated on two wafers. A first wafer includes the analog pixel circuitry and a second wafer includes the digital control and processing circuitry. Externally accessible contact structures for electrically interconnecting the two wafers are arranged in groups. Each group includes externally accessible contact structures for carrying signals associated solely with operation of a corresponding pixel.