A polymer substrate and back contact structure for a photovoltaic element, and a photovoltaic element include a CIGS photovoltaic structure, a polymer substrate having a device side at which the photovoltaic element can be located and a back side opposite the device side. A layer of dielectric is optionally formed at the back side of the polymer substrate. A metal structure is formed at the device side of the polymer substrate.

A solid-state image sensing element including a transistor with stable electrical characteristics (e.g., significantly low off-state current) is provided. Two different element layers (an element layer including an oxide semiconductor layer and an element layer including a photodiode) are stacked over a semiconductor substrate provided with a driver circuit such as an amplifier circuit, so that the area occupied by a photodiode is secured. A transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer in a channel formation region is used as a transistor electrically connected to the photodiode, which leads to lower power consumption of a semiconductor device.

A solid-state imaging device includes a light receiving section formed by such exposure as to stitch a plurality of patterns in a first direction on a semiconductor substrate. The light receiving section includes a plurality of pixels disposed in a two-dimensional array in the first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. Electric charges are transferred in the second direction in each of pixel columns consisting of a plurality of pixels disposed in the second direction, among the plurality of pixels.

Embodiments of mechanisms for forming an image sensor device structure are provided. The image sensor device structure includes a substrate and a transfer transistor formed on the substrate. The image sensor device structure also includes a floating node formed in the substrate and a photosensitive element formed in the substrate. The transfer transistor is formed between the floating node and the photosensitive element, and the photosensitive element includes a first doping region with a lateral doping gradient.

A unit pixel element that acts as an image sensor or a solar cell according to the present invention comprises a photo detector that drives a photocurrent flow, induced by light incident onto the gate, along the channel between the source and the drain; a first switch that is wired and switched on or switched off between the source terminal of the photo detector and the first solar cell bus; and a second switch that is wired and switched on or switched off between the gate terminal of the photo detector and the second solar cell bus, and features a function of light energy harvesting and high-efficiency photoelectric conversion that generates and supplies effective electric power.

A hetero-junction phototransistor with a first layer comprising an InP N buffer and substrate, a second layer comprising an InGaAs N collector on the InP N buffer and substrate, a plurality of InGaAs P bases on the InGaAs N collector layer, and a plurality of InAIAs N emitters is described. Each emitter of the plurality of InAIAs N emitters is on a different base of the plurality of InGaAs P bases. The hetero-junction phototransistor comprises a plurality of InGaAs N+ caps, wherein each cap of the plurality of InGaAs N+ caps is on a different emitter of the plurality of InAIAs N emitters. The hetero-junction phototransistor comprises one or more electrical contacts. Each of the one or more electrical contacts is on a different cap of the plurality of InGaAs N+ caps.

A system and method for blocking heat from reaching an image sensor in a three dimensional stack with a semiconductor device. In an embodiment a heat sink is formed in a back end of line process either on the semiconductor device or else on the image sensor itself when the image sensor is in a backside illuminated configuration. The heat sink may be a grid in either a single layer or in two layers, a zig-zag pattern, or in an interleaved fingers configuration.

A photoelectric conversion apparatus includes a charge accumulation region of a first conductivity type, a first semiconductor region of a second conductivity type, a second semiconductor region of the second conductivity type, and an element isolation. The first semiconductor region is arranged so as to extend downward from a portion between the charge accumulation region and the element isolation, and the second semiconductor region includes a portion arranged below the charge accumulation region, and impurity concentration distributions of the charge accumulation region, the first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region in a depth direction respectively have peaks at depth Rp1, Rp2, and Rp3, and Rp1<Rp2<Rp3 is satisfied. Impurity concentration C1 of the first semiconductor region at Rp2 is higher than impurity concentration C2 of the second semiconductor region at Rp3.

A layer structure for a thin-film solar cell and production method are provided. The layer structure for the thin-film solar cell includes a photovoltaic absorber layer doped, at least in a region which borders a surface of the photovoltaic absorber layer, with at least one alkali metal. The layer structure has an oxidic passivating layer on the surface of the photovoltaic absorber layer, which is designed to protect the photovoltaic absorber layer from corrosion.

The present disclosure relates to a method the present disclosure relates to an integrated chip having an active pixel sensor with a gate dielectric protection layer that reduces damage to an underlying gate dielectric layer during fabrication, and an associated method of formation. In some embodiments, the integrated chip has a photodetector disposed within a substrate, and a gate structure located over the substrate. A gate dielectric protection layer is disposed over the substrate and extends from along a sidewall of the gate structure to a location overlying the photodetector. The gate dielectric protection layer has an upper surface that is vertically below an upper surface of the gate structure.