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US 12,119,285 B2Granted
Image sensor with actively cooled sensor array
AssigneeMicrosoft Technology Licensing, LLC
InventorsMinseok Oh, Satyadev Hulikal Nagaraja, Cyrus Soli Bamji
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Abstract
An image sensor comprises an array of sensor elements, each responsive to incident photon flux, and a readout circuit coupled electronically to the array of sensor elements and configured to release an electronic signal varying in dependence on the incident photon flux. A thermal-barrier zone separates the array of sensor elements from the readout circuit, and a solid-state cooler is coupled thermally to the array of sensor elements.
Claims14
An image sensor comprising:
- an array of sensor elements each responsive to incident photon flux;
- a readout circuit coupled electronically to the array of sensor elements and configured to release an electronic signal varying in dependence on the incident photon flux;
- a thermal-barrier zone separating the array of sensor elements from the readout circuit;
- and
- a solid-state cooler coupled thermally to the array of sensor elements, the solid-state cooler including:
- an alternating series of p+-doped and n+-doped silicon bridges that lay across the thermal-barrier zone, between the array of sensor elements and the readout circuit, and
- a plurality of bridge links, each joining a pair of adjacent, non-terminal bridges of the alternating series, on opposite ends of the thermal-barrier zone.
4 more elements
An image sensor comprising:
- a carrier-wafer substrate;
- a sensor-wafer substrate supporting an epitaxial structure bonded to the carrier-wafer substrate;
- formed in the epitaxial structure, an array of sensor elements each responsive to incident photon flux;
- formed in the epitaxial structure, a readout circuit coupled electronically to the array of sensor elements and configured to release an electronic signal varying in dependence on the incident photon flux;
- a thermal-barrier zone separating the array of sensor elements from the readout circuit, the thermal-barrier zone including a sensor-wafer trench etched into the sensor-wafer substrate and a co-registered carrier-wafer trench etched into the carrier-wafer substrate;
- and
- a Peltier-effect cooler including:
- an alternating series of p+-doped and n+-doped silicon bridges that lay across the thermal-barrier zone, between the array of sensor elements and the readout circuit;
- and
- a plurality of bridge links, each joining a pair of adjacent, non-terminal bridges of the alternating series, on opposite ends of the thermal-barrier zone.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.