A semiconductor device includes n semiconductor chips stacked via electrical contacting means in the silicon substrate thickness direction, n being an integer larger than 2, a side face of the stacked semiconductor device in the substrate thickness direction being covered by a non-conductive layer. The shape of the side face with respect to a plan view of the stacked semiconductor device may be one of curved, convex, concave or circular.

A solid state imaging device has: a photosensitive part containing a plurality of charge transfer parts that transfer, in column units, the signal charges of a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements disposed in a matrix; a conversion/output unit that converts, to an electrical signal, the signal charges forwarded by the charge transfer parts; a peripheral circuit part that performs a predetermined process with respect to the electrical signals from the conversion/output part; a relay part that relays the forwarding to the peripheral circuit part of the electrical signal from the conversion/output part; a first substrate where a photosensitive part and the conversion/output part are formed; and a second substrate where the peripheral circuit part is formed. The first and second substrates are stacked together, and the relay part electrically connects the conversion/output part formed at the first substrate to the peripheral circuit part formed at the second substrate.

A semiconductor device includes n semiconductor chips stacked via electrical contacting means in the silicon substrate thickness direction, n being an integer larger than 2, a side face of the stacked semiconductor device in the substrate thickness direction being covered by a non-conductive layer. The shape of the side face with respect to a plan view of the stacked semiconductor device may be one of curved, convex, concave or circular.

A solid-state imaging device includes a photoelectric converter including a photoelectric conversion film, a first electrode arranged on one surface side of the photoelectric conversion film, and a plurality of second electrodes arranged on the other surface side of the photoelectric conversion film, a plurality of charge accumulation portions each connected to corresponding one of the plurality of second electrodes, an output unit that outputs a plurality of signals each corresponding to an amount of charges accumulated in each of the plurality of charge accumulation portions, and a control unit that individually controls a drive voltage applied to each of the plurality of second electrodes. The control unit controls the drive voltage applied to each of the second electrodes such that, in an accumulation period of charges of one frame, each of the second electrodes sequentially becomes the lowest potential relative to the charges of the second electrodes.

A semiconductor device includes n semiconductor chips stacked via electrical contacting means in the silicon substrate thickness direction, n being an integer larger than 2, a side face of the stacked semiconductor device in the substrate thickness direction being covered by a non-conductive layer. The shape of the side face with respect to a plan view of the stacked semiconductor device may be one of curved, convex, concave or circular.

An imaging system including a sensor wafer and a logic wafer. The sensor wafer includes a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns, the plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns and including at least a first pixel and a second pixel positioned in a first row included in the rows. The sensor wafer includes a first transfer control line associated with the first row, the first transfer control line coupled to both a first transfer gate of the first pixel and a second transfer gate of the second pixel. The logic wafer includes a first storage capacitor associated with the first pixel and a second storage capacitor associated with the second pixel, a first storage control line coupled to a first storage gate associated with the first pixel and a second storage control line coupled to a second storage gate associated with the second pixel.

A semiconductor device includes n semiconductor chips stacked via electrical contacting means in the silicon substrate thickness direction, n being an integer larger than 2, a side face of the stacked semiconductor device in the substrate thickness direction being covered by a non-conductive layer. The shape of the side face with respect to a plan view of the stacked semiconductor device may be one of curved, convex, concave or circular.

A solid-state imaging device includes a photoelectric converter including a photoelectric conversion film, a first electrode arranged on one surface side of the photoelectric conversion film, and a plurality of second electrodes arranged on the other surface side of the photoelectric conversion film, a plurality of charge accumulation portions each connected to corresponding one of the plurality of second electrodes, an output unit that outputs a plurality of signals each corresponding to an amount of charges accumulated in each of the plurality of charge accumulation portions, and a control unit that individually controls a drive voltage applied to each of the plurality of second electrodes. The control unit controls the drive voltage applied to each of the second electrodes such that, in an accumulation period of charges of one frame, each of the second electrodes sequentially becomes the lowest potential relative to the charges of the second electrodes.

A CCD image sensor of the type for providing charge multiplication by impact ionisation has an image area and a plurality of pixels. A separate multiplication register has a plurality of multiplication elements arranged to receive charge from the pixels of the image area. Each multiplication element comprises a sequence of electrodes operable to cause multiplication, the electrodes of each multiplication element being adjacent one another and non-overlapping. The non-overlapping arrangement may be manufactured by a CMOS process thereby providing a CCD image sensor with the advantages of CCD multiplication but using a CMOS manufacturing process.

This solid-state imaging device 100 has: a photosensitive part that includes pixel portions 211, which are disposed in a matrix, and charge transfer parts 212 for transferring, by the column, the signal charge of the pixel portions; a plurality of charge storage parts 220 that accumulate the signal charges transferred by the plurality of charge transfer parts of the photosensitive part; a relay part 240 that relays the transfer of the signal charges transferred by the plurality of charge transfer parts to each charge storage part; an output part 230 that outputs the signal charges of the plurality of charge storage parts as electric signals; a first substrate 110 at which the photosensitive unit 210 is formed; and a second substrate 120 at which the charge storage part 220 and output unit 230 are formed. The first substrate and second substrate are stacked together, and the relay part 240 electrically couples the charge transfer parts of the first substrate to the charge storage parts of the second substrate by means of a connecting parts passing through the substrates outside the photosensitive region of the photosensitive part.