Provided is a method for reliably and simply evaluating the quality of an oxide semiconductor thin film and a laminated body having a protective film on the surface of this oxide semiconductor thin film. Also provided is a method for reliably and simply managing the quality of an oxide semiconductor thin film. This method, which is for evaluating the quality of an oxide semiconductor thin film and a laminated body having a protective film on the surface of this oxide semiconductor thin film, has: a first step, wherein an oxide semiconductor thin film is formed on a substrate, after which the electron state of the oxide semiconductor thin film is measured by a contact method or a noncontact method, thereby evaluating defects arising from in-film defects in the oxide semiconductor thin film; and a second step, wherein the oxide semiconductor thin film is processed on the basis of a condition determined on the basis of that evaluation, after which a protective film is formed on the surface of the oxide semiconductor thin film, and then the electron state of the oxide semiconductor thin film is measured by a contact method or a noncontact method, thereby evaluating defects arising from defects at the interface between the oxide semiconductor thin film and the protective film.

A method for fabricating a signal-separating CFA includes forming a multi-height CFA on a substrate. The multi-height CFA includes a plurality of tall spectral filters and a plurality of short spectral filters. Each of the tall spectral filters is taller than each of the short spectral filters. The method also includes disposing a spectral-blocking layer on the multi-height CFA, and planarizing the spectral-blocking layer to expose a top surface of each of the plurality of tall spectral filters.

One innovation includes an IR sensor having an array of sensor pixels to convert light into current, each sensor pixel of the array including a photodetector region, a lens configured to focus light into the photodetector region, the lens adjacent to the photodetector region so light propagates through the lens and into the photodetector region, and a substrate disposed with photodetector region between the substrate and the lens, the substrate having one or more transistors formed therein. The sensor also includes reflective structures positioned between at least a portion of the substrate and at least a portion of the photodetector region and such that at least a portion of the photodetector region is between the one or more reflective structures and the lens, the one or more reflective structures configured to reflect the light that has passed through at least a portion of the photodetector region into the photodetector region.

An optical sensor device may include a set of optical sensors. The optical sensor device may include a substrate. The optical sensor device may include a multispectral filter array disposed on the substrate. The multispectral filter array may include a first dielectric mirror disposed on the substrate. The multispectral filter array may include a spacer disposed on the first dielectric mirror. The spacer may include a set of layers. The multispectral filter array may include a second dielectric mirror disposed on the spacer. The second dielectric mirror may be aligned with two or more sensor elements of a set of sensor elements.

Various embodiments comprise apparatuses and methods including an image sensor. In one example, the image sensor includes a read-out integrated circuit, a plurality of pixel electrodes, an optically sensitive layer, and a top electrical contact. In a first low-power mode, electrical current passing through the top electrical contact is configured to be sensed, and independent currents passing through the plurality of pixel electrodes are configured not to be sensed independently. In a second high-resolution mode, independent currents passing through the plurality of pixel electrodes are configured to be sensed independently. Additional methods and apparatuses are described.

A semiconductor device is disclosed, which includes: at least one device layer being a crystallized layer for example including: a superlattice layer and/or a layer of group III-V semiconductor materials; and a passivation structure comprising one or more layers wherein at least one layer of the passivation structure is a passivation layer grown in-situ in a crystallized form on top of the device layer, and at least one of the one or more layers of the passivation structure includes material having a high density of surface states which forces surface pinning of an equilibrium Fermi level within a certain band gap of the device layer, away from its conduction and valence bands.

An image pickup element includes a first substrate, a second substrate, first pixels, and second pixels irradiated with light transmitted through the first pixels, and the second pixel includes a first PN junction surface parallel to a light-receiving surface, and a second PN junction surface positioned deeper than the first PN junction surface and parallel to the light-receiving surface, and the second pixel generates a second signal corresponding to light of a second wavelength band from electric charge obtained by the second PN junction surface.

A two-terminal detector has a back-to-back p/n/p SWIR/MWIR stack structure, which includes P-SWIR absorber, N-SWIR, wide bandgap bather, N-MWIR absorber, and P-MWIR layers, with contacts on the P-MWIR and P-SWIR layers. The junction between the SWIR layers and the junction between the MWIR layers are preferably passivated. The detector stack is preferably arranged such that a negative bias applied to the top of the stack reverse-biases the MWIR junction and forward-biases the SWIR junction, such that the detector collects photocurrent from MWIR radiation. A positive bias forward-biases the MWIR junction and reverse-biases the SWIR junction, such that photocurrent from SWIR radiation is collected. A larger positive bias induces electron avalanche at the SWIR junction, thereby providing detector sensitivity sufficient to provide low light level passive amplified imaging. Detector sensitivity in this mode is preferably sufficient to provide high resolution 3-D eye-safe LADAR imaging.

A light receiving apparatus includes a light receiving device including a compound semiconductor substrate, photodiodes, and bump electrodes; and a semiconductor integrated device including a silicon substrate and read-out circuits. Bonded, the integrated device and the light receiving device face each other in a direction of a first axis through the bump electrodes. The light receiving device has a back surface with first and second back edges extending in a direction of a second axis intersecting with the first axis. The light receiving device has a first slope face extending from the first back edge along a first reference plane, and a second slope face extending from the second back edge along a second reference plane. The back surface of the light receiving device extends along a third reference plane intersecting with the first axis. The first and second reference planes are inclined with respect to the third reference plane.

A 4-color pixel image sensor having a visible color noise reduction function in a near infrared ray (NIR) pixel may include an active pixel region having a plurality of photodiodes, a plurality of first metal layers, a plurality of color filters, a first NIR pixel and a micro-lens, which are stacked, wherein the plurality of photodiodes are arranged in series and the plurality of color filters are formed to be adjacent to each other in series; an NIR optical black pixel region having a plurality of photodiodes and a second NIR pixel, which are stacked, wherein the plurality of photodiodes are arranged in series; and a visible optical black pixel region having a plurality of photodiodes, a second metal layer, a plurality of color filters and a micro-lens, which are stacked, wherein the plurality of photodiodes are arranged in series, and the plurality of color filters are formed to be adjacent to each other in series, wherein the active pixel region, the NIR optical black pixel region and the visible optical black pixel region are arranged on a same substrate in series.