The present invention refers to a photosensitive pixel structure comprising a substrate with a front surface and a back surface, wherein at least one photosensitive diode is provided on one of the surfaces of the substrate. A first material layer is provided at least partially on the back surface of the substrate, wherein the material layer comprises a reflective layer, in order to increase a reflectivity at the back surface of the substrate. Further, the present invention refers to an array and an implant comprising such a photosensitive pixel structure, as well as to a method to produce the pixel structure.

An image sensor comprises at least two vertically stacked photo-sensitive devices wherein each respective photo-sensitive device comprises a stack of a top electrode, a first charge transport layer and an active layer. Each respective stack generates electrical charges in response to a corresponding predefined range of wavelengths of light incident on the image sensor. Each photo-sensitive device further comprises a second charge transport layer having a first portion, vertically aligned underneath the active layer, and a second portion, transfer region, protruding laterally to extend beyond the active layer. A dielectric layer separates the first portion from a bottom electrode providing a voltage for depleting the first portion, and the transfer region from a transfer gate providing a voltage for transferring the generated electrical charge to a floating electrical connection, shared by all stacked photo-sensitive devices. The floating electrical connection couples to a read-out-circuitry.

An avalanche photodiode array for detecting electromagnetic radiation comprises: a semiconductor substrate (100) having a first main surface (101) and a second main surface (102), which are opposite one another, a plurality of n-doped anode regions (1) formed at the first main surface (101) and separated from one another by pixel isolation regions (7), a p-doped cathode region (3) arranged at the second main surface (102) opposite the anode regions, a drift region (4) between the plurality of anode regions (1) and the cathode region (3), and a p-doped multiplication layer (2) arranged below the plurality of anode regions (1) and below the pixel isolation regions (7), and is characterized by an n-doped field reduction layer (9) arranged below the plurality of anode regions (1) and the pixel isolation regions (7) and above the multiplication layer (2).

An optical sensing apparatus including: a substrate including a first material; an absorption region including a second material different from the first material; an amplification region formed in the substrate and configured to collect at least a portion of the photo-carriers from the absorption region and to amplify the portion of the photo-carriers; an interface-dopant region formed in the substrate between the absorption region and the amplification region; a buffer layer formed between the absorption region and the interface-dopant region; one or more field-control regions formed between the absorption region and the interface-dopant region and at least partially surrounding the buffer layer; and a buried-dopant region formed in the substrate and separated from the absorption region, where the buried-dopant region is configured to collect at least a portion of the amplified portion of the photo-carriers from the amplification region.

A photoelectric sensor and a substrate are disclosed. The photoelectric sensor includes a photoelectric conversion layer, a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein the first electrode is arranged on a side of the photoelectric conversion layer, and the second electrode is arranged on a side of the photoelectric conversion layer and is spaced apart from the first electrode; wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are configured to drive the photoelectric conversion layer; and in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the photoelectric conversion layer, the first electrode and the second electrode are overlapped with the photoelectric conversion layer respectively, and the photoelectric conversion layer includes an oxide semiconductor material.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards a method for forming a pixel sensor. The method comprises forming a photodetector in a substrate. The substrate is patterned to define an opening above the photodetector. A gate electrode is formed within the opening, where the gate electrode has a top conductive body overlying a bottom conductive body. A first segment of a sidewall of the top conductive body contacts the bottom conductive body. A floating diffusion node is formed in the substrate laterally adjacent to the gate electrode. A second segment of the sidewall of the top conductive body overlies the floating diffusion node.

A photoelectric conversion element includes a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type provided in contact with a first face of a semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor region of a second conductivity type provided closer to a second face of the semiconductor layer than the first semiconductor region, and a third semiconductor region provided closer to the second face than the second semiconductor region. The first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region constitute an avalanche photodiode, and the avalanche photodiode is configured to multiply a signal charge generated in the third semiconductor region. A width in a depth direction of a region having an effective impurity density of 110.sup.16 cm.sup.3 or more of the second semiconductor region is 0.5 m or less.

A solid-state imaging device includes a pixel including a photoelectric conversion element, a floating diffusion layer, a transfer transistor, a reset transistor, and an amplifier transistor, and a control unit configured to supply a first voltage to a gate of the reset transistor when the charges are accumulated in the photoelectric conversion element, the first voltage being set between a second voltage and a third voltage; subsequently supply the second voltage to the gate of the reset transistor when the reset transistor is turned on in order to reset the potential of the floating diffusion layer, and subsequently supply the third voltage to the gate of the reset transistor when the amplifier transistor outputs the signal based on the potential of the floating diffusion layer.

A backside illuminated image sensor includes a semiconductor material with a plurality of photodiodes disposed in the semiconductor material, and a transfer gate electrically coupled to a photodiode in the plurality of photodiodes to extract image charge from the photodiode. The image sensor also includes a storage gate electrically coupled to the transfer gate to receive the image charge from the transfer gate. The storage gate has a gate electrode disposed proximate to a frontside of the semiconductor material, an optical shield disposed in the semiconductor material, and a storage node disposed between the gate electrode and the optical shield. The optical shield is optically aligned with the storage node to prevent the image light incident on the backside illuminated image sensor from reaching the storage node.

The present disclosure relates to a solid-state imaging device, an electronic apparatus, and a manufacturing method that are designed to further increase conversion efficiency.

A solid-state imaging device includes a pixel in which element separation is realized by a first trench element separation region having a trench structure in a region between an FD unit and an amplifying transistor among element separation elements separating the elements constituting the pixel from one another, and a second trench element separation region having a trench structure in a region other than the region between the FD unit and the amplifying transistor among the element separation regions separating the elements constituting the pixel from one another, and the first trench element separation region is deeper than the second trench element separation region. The present technology can be applied to CMOS image sensors, for example.