There is provided a solid-state image pickup device including: a semiconductor substrate (21); a photodiode (11A, 11B) formed in the semiconductor substrate; a transistor (10) having a gate electrode (14) part or all of which is embedded in the semiconductor substrate, the transistor being configured to read a signal electric charge from the photodiode via the gate electrode; and an electric charge transfer layer (13) provided between the gate electrode and the photodiode.

Provided is a solid-state image pickup device that makes it possible to enhance image quality, and a manufacturing method thereof, and an electronic apparatus. A solid-state image pickup device includes a pixel section that includes a plurality of pixels, the pixels each including one or more organic photoelectric conversion sections, wherein the pixel section includes an effective pixel region and an optical black region, and the organic photoelectric conversion sections of the optical black region include a light-shielding film and a buffer film on a light-incidence side.

There is described a photodetector comprising a semiconductor material having at least a region substantially depleted of free moving carriers, the photodetector comprising: a substrate of one of n-type and p-type; at least one charge collector along a surface of the substrate and having a doping-type opposite from the substrate; a substrate contact along the surface of the substrate spaced apart from the at least one charge collector to allow current to flow between the at least one charge collector and the substrate contact; and at least one non-conductive electrode positioned along the surface of the substrate in an alternating sequence with the at least one charge collector, and separated from the substrate by an insulator, and adapted to apply an electric potential to the substrate and cause charge carriers generated therein by application of a light source to advance towards the at least one charge collector due to the effects of an electric field, such that the at least one charge collector can measure carrier concentration within the substrate.

A solid-state imaging device in which a pixel circuit formed on the first surface side of a semiconductor substrate is shared by a plurality of light reception regions and second surface side of the semiconductor substrate is the light incident side of the light reception regions. The second surface side regions of the light reception regions are arranged at approximately even intervals and the first surface side regions of the light reception regions e are arranged at uneven intervals. Respective second surface side regions and first surface side regions are joined in the semiconductor substrate so that the light reception regions extend from the second surface side to the first surface side of the semiconductor substrate.

A stacked image sensor includes a substrate including a first photoelectric conversion device, a second photoelectric conversion device and a first color signal storing device disposed between the first photoelectric conversion device and the second photoelectric conversion device. A second color filter and a third color filter are disposed at positions corresponding to the first photoelectric conversion device and the second photoelectric conversion device on the substrate. A conductive connecting member is disposed between the second color filter and the third color filter. A first color sensing photoelectric conversion device is disposed on the second color filter, the third color filter, and the conductive connecting member. The cross-sectional area of conductive connecting member is at least greater than the cross-sectional area of the first color signal storing device.

Ambient light sensing and proximity sensing is accomplished using pairs of stacked photodiodes. Each pair includes a shallow diode with a shallow junction depth that is more sensitive to light having a shorter wavelength and a deeper diode with a deeper junction depth more sensitive to light with longer wavelengths. Photodiodes receiving light passed through cyan, yellow, and magenta filters and light passed without a color filter are used to generate red, green, and blue information through a subtractive approach. The shallow diodes are used to generate lux values for ambient light and the deeper diodes are used for proximity sensing. One or more of the deep diodes may be used in correction to lux determinations of ambient light.

There is provided a solid-state image pickup device including: a semiconductor substrate (21); a photodiode (11A, 11B) formed in the semiconductor substrate; a transistor (10) having a gate electrode (14) part or all of which is embedded in the semiconductor substrate, the transistor being configured to read a signal electric charge from the photodiode via the gate electrode; and an electric charge transfer layer (13) provided between the gate electrode and the photodiode.

A solid-state image pickup unit includes substrate; a red pixel including a red charge storage section; a blue pixel including a blue charge storage section; and a green pixel including a plurality of green charge storage sections, the red charge storage section and the blue charge storage section being provided in the substrate. Then, the plurality of green charge storage sections are arranged in the substrate along a thickness direction of the substrate.

A high sensitivity image sensor comprises an epitaxial layer of silicon that is intrinsic or lightly p doped (such as a doping level less than about 10.sup.13 cm.sup.3). CMOS or CCD circuits are fabricated on the front-side of the epitaxial layer. Epitaxial p and n type layers are grown on the backside of the epitaxial layer. A pure boron layer is deposited on the n-type epitaxial layer. Some boron is driven a few nm into the n-type epitaxial layer from the backside during the boron deposition process. An anti-reflection coating may be applied to the pure boron layer. During operation of the sensor a negative bias voltage of several tens to a few hundred volts is applied to the boron layer to accelerate photo-electrons away from the backside surface and create additional electrons by an avalanche effect. Grounded p-wells protect active circuits as needed from the reversed biased epitaxial layer.

An embodiment of the invention provides a spectral imager for imaging a scene comprising a semiconductor photosensor comprising light sensitive pixels and a power source that applies voltage to the photosensor to control responsivity of the pixels to light incident on the pixels in different wavelengths bands of light.