Back to results
US 10,950,650 B2Granted
Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensors
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorHisanori Ihara
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A CMOS image sensor includes a substrate and at least one device isolation region in the substrate and defining first and second pixel regions and first and second active portions in each of the first and second pixel regions. A reset and select transistor gates are disposed in the first pixel region, while a source follower transistor gate is disposed in the second pixel region, such that pixels in the first and second pixel regions share the reset, select and source follower transistors. A length of the source follower transistor gate may be greater than lengths of the reset and selection transistor gates.
Claims20
An image sensor comprising:
- a substrate having a first surface and a second surface facing each other;
- a first photoelectric conversion element in the substrate;
- a second photoelectric conversion element in the substrate;
- a first gate having a first length in a first direction;
- a second gate having a second length in the first direction;
- a common floating diffusion region;
- a third gate having a third length in the first direction greater than the first length;
- a first contact disposed directly adjacent to the first gate;
- a second contact disposed directly adjacent to the second gate;
- a first transfer gate configured to transfer a first charge accumulated in the first photoelectric conversion element to the common floating diffusion region;
- and
- a second transfer gate configured to transfer a second charge accumulated in the second photoelectric conversion element to the common floating diffusion region,
- wherein the second contact, the second gate, the first gate, and the first contact are sequentially arranged along the first direction,
- wherein the second gate, the first transfer gate, and the second transfer gate are arranged along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and
- wherein the first, second, and third gates are connected both to the first and second photoelectric conversion elements.
12 more elements
An image sensor comprising:
- a substrate having a first surface and a second surface facing each other;
- a first photoelectric conversion element in the substrate;
- a second photoelectric conversion element in the substrate;
- a first gate having a first length in a first direction;
- a second gate having a second length in the first direction;
- a first floating diffusion contact;
- a second floating diffusion contact;
- a third gate having a third length in the first direction greater than the second length;
- a first contact disposed directly adjacent to the first gate;
- a second contact disposed directly adjacent to the second gate;
- a third contact disposed directly adjacent to the third gate;
- a fourth contact disposed on the third gate;
- a first transfer gate;
- and
- a second transfer gate,
- wherein the second contact, the second gate, the first gate, and the first contact are sequentially arranged along the first direction,
- wherein the first contact, the first transfer gate, and the second transfer gate are sequentially arranged along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction,
- wherein the third contact is offset from the fourth contact along the first direction, and
- wherein the first, second, and third gates are connected to both the first and second photoelectric conversion elements.
16 more elements
An image sensor comprising:
- a substrate having a first surface and a second surface facing each other;
- a first photoelectric conversion element in the substrate;
- a second photoelectric conversion element in the substrate;
- a selection gate having a first length in a first direction;
- a reset gate having a second length in the first direction;
- a common floating diffusion region;
- a floating diffusion contact connected to the common floating diffusion region;
- a source follower gate having a third length in the first direction, the third length is being greater than the first length;
- a first contact disposed right adjacent to the selection gate;
- a second contact disposed right adjacent to the reset gate;
- a first transfer gate configured to transfer a first charge accumulated in the first photoelectric conversion element to the common floating diffusion region;
- and
- a second transfer gate configured to transfer a second charge accumulated in the second photoelectric conversion element to the common floating diffusion region,
- wherein the selection gate, the first contact, the reset gate, and the second contact are arranged in the first direction,
- wherein the reset gate, the first transfer gate, the common floating diffusion, and the second transfer gate are sequentially arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and
- wherein the selection gate, the reset gate, and the source follower gate are connected both to the first and second photoelectric conversion elements.
13 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.