There is provided an image sensor including a first substrate including a plurality of pixels and a plurality of vertical signal lines and a plurality of first wiring layers and a second substrate including a plurality of second wiring layers. The first and second substrates are secured together between the pluralities of first and second wiring layers. First pads are provided between one of the plurality of first wiring layers and one of the plurality of second wiring layers and second pads are provided between another of the plurality of first wiring layers and another of the plurality of second wiring layers. First vias and second vias connect the first pads and the one of the plurality of first wiring layers and the one of the plurality of second wiring layers together.

A curved image sensor chip has a first side and a second side opposite the first side. The second side includes light sensors configured to generate electrical signals in response to receiving light. A substrate is in contact with the first side of the curved image sensor chip and is configured to increase in volume so as to apply a bending force to form the curved image sensor chip.

A hybrid pixel sensor array is provided. Each pixel of the array comprises: a sensor for generating an imaging signal; a Charged-Coupled Device (CCD) array, coupled to the sensor so as to receive samples from the imaging signal and configured for storage of a plurality of samples; and active CMOS circuitry, coupled to the CCD array for generating a pixel output signal from the stored samples. The sensors of the pixels are part of a sensor portion of the hybrid pixel sensor array that is separate from both the CCD array and active CMOS circuitry of the pixels.

An image capture device includes an image sensor, a reading component, a timing generator, and a voltage regulator. The image sensor includes a temperature sensor configured to measure temperature measurements of the image sensor. The reading component is configured to read the temperature measurements from the temperature sensor. The timing generator is configured to apply an electronic shutter pulse to the image sensor. The voltage regulator is coupled between the temperature sensor and the reading component for regulating increased voltage at the reading component resulting from the electronic shutter pulse.

A solid-state imaging device includes: a first electrode formed above a semiconductor substrate; a photoelectric conversion film formed on the first electrode and for converting light into signal charges; a second electrode formed on the photoelectric conversion film; a charge accumulation region electrically connected to the first electrode and for accumulating the signal charges converted from the light by the photoelectric conversion film; a reset gate electrode for resetting the charge accumulation region; an amplification transistor for amplifying the signal charges accumulated in the charge accumulation region; and a contact plug in direct contact with the charge accumulation region, comprising a semiconductor material, and for electrically connecting to each other the first electrode and the charge accumulation region.

There is provided a solid-state image pickup device that includes a functional region provided with an organic film, and a guard ring surrounding the functional region

An image sensor is provided which is capable of holding data for one frame period or longer and conducting a difference operation with a small number of elements. A photosensor is provided in each of a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, each pixel accumulates electric charge in a data holding portion for one frame period or longer, and an output of the photosensor changes in accordance with the electric charge accumulated in the data holding portion. As a writing switch element for the data holding portion, a transistor with small leakage current (sufficiently smaller than 110.sup.14 A) is used. As an example of the transistor with small leakage current, there is a transistor having a channel formed in an oxide semiconductor layer.

In a photoelectric conversion device, groups of unit pixels are arranged in a well, where each of the unit pixels includes photoelectric conversion elements, an amplifier transistor, and transfer transistors. The photoelectric conversion device includes a line used to supply a voltage to the well, a well-contact part used to connect the well-voltage-supply line to the well, and transfer-control lines used to control the transfer transistors. The transfer-control lines are symmetrically arranged with respect to the well-voltage-supply line in respective regions of the unit-pixel groups.

Methods for discriminating among x-ray beams of distinct energy content. A first volume of scintillation medium converts energy of incident penetrating radiation into scintillation light which is extracted from a scintillation light extraction region by a plurality of optical waveguides that convert the scintillation light to light of a longer wavelength. An x-ray beam initially incident upon the first volume of scintillation medium and traversing the first volume is then incident on a second volume of scintillation medium. The first and second scintillation media may be separated by an absorber or one or more further volumes of scintillation medium, and may also have differential spectral sensitivities. Scintillation light from the first and second scintillation volumes is detected in respective detectors and processed to yield a measure of respective low energy and high-energy components of the incident x-ray beam.

Channel stop sections formed by multiple times of impurity ion implanting processes. Four-layer impurity regions are formed across the depth of a semiconductor substrate (across the depth of the bulk), so that a P-type impurity region is formed deep in the semiconductor substrate; thus, incorrect movement of electric charges is prevented. Other four-layer impurity regions of another channel stop section are decreased in width step by step across the depth of the substrate, so that the reduction of a charge storage region of a light receiving section due to the dispersion of P-type impurity in the channel stop section is prevented in the depth of the substrate.