# US 12,191,331 B2 · Image sensor

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- Number: US 12,191,331 B2
- Document ID: US12191331B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/319,101
- Filed: 2023-05-17
- Published: 2023-09-14
- Granted: 2025-01-07
- Earliest claimed: 2019-12-05
- Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Masato Fujita; Yunki Lee; Eunsub Shim; Kyungho Lee; Bumsuk Kim; Taehan Kim
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12191331B2

## CPC

- H10F 39/803: {Pixels having integrated switching, control, storage or amplification elements}
- H10F 39/8037: {the integrated elements comprising a transistor}
- H04N 25/59: by controlling the amount of charge storable in the pixel, e.g. modification of the charge conversion ratio of the floating node capacitance
- H04N 25/60: Noise processing, e.g. detecting, correcting, reducing or removing noise
- H04N 25/704: Pixels specially adapted for focusing, e.g. phase difference pixel sets
- H04N 25/709: Circuitry for control of the power supply
- H04N 25/772: comprising A/D, V/T, V/F, I/T or I/F converters
- H04N 25/778: comprising amplifiers shared between a plurality of pixels, i.e. at least one part of the amplifier must be on the sensor array itself
- H10F 39/18: Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor [CMOS] image sensors; Photodiode array image sensors
- H10F 39/182: {Colour image sensors}
- H10F 39/802: {Geometry or disposition of elements in pixels, e.g. address-lines or gate electrodes}
- H10F 39/8053: {Colour filters}
- H10F 39/8063: {Microlenses}
- H10F 39/807: {Pixel isolation structures}
- H10F 39/811: {Interconnections}
- H10F: INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

An image sensor includes a first photodiode group, a second photodiode group, a first transfer transistor group, a second transfer transistor group, a floating diffusion region of a substrate in which electric charges generated in the first photodiode group are stored, and a power supply node for applying a power supply voltage to the second photodiode group. A barrier voltage is applied to at least one transfer transistor of the second transfer transistor group. The power supply voltage allows electric charges, generated in the second photodiode group, to migrate to the power supply node, and the barrier voltage forms a potential barrier between the second photodiode group and the floating diffusion region.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An image sensor comprising:
a pixel array including a normal pixel group and an autofocusing pixel group, the autofocusing pixel group including unit pixels sharing a single microlens, and a device isolation layer electrically isolating the unit pixels from each other, and
a drain terminal connected to a drain photodiode, wherein
the unit pixels included in the autofocusing pixel group includes first unit pixels and second unit pixels,
each of the first unit pixels includes an autofocusing photodiode and each of the second unit pixels includes the drain photodiode,
the autofocusing photodiode is configured to generate electric charges that migrate to a floating diffusion region of a substrate,
the drain photodiode is configured to generate electric charges that discharge to the drain terminal, and
the pixel array having either one of a red-green-green-blue (RGGB) pattern and a red-green-blue-white (RGBW) pattern; and
a controller configured to generate an image based on a signal generated from the normal pixel group and to provide an autofocusing function based on a signal generated from the autofocusing pixel group.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The image sensor of claim 1, wherein
the pixel array has the RGGB pattern, and
at least one of the unit pixels of the autofocusing pixel group includes a green color filter among the green color filter, a blue color filter, and a red color filter.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The image sensor of claim 2, wherein at least two unit pixels among the unit pixels of the autofocusing pixel group have different color filters to each other.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The image sensor of claim 1, wherein when
the pixel array has the RGBW pattern, and
at least one of the unit pixels of the autofocusing pixel group includes a white color filter among a green color filter, a blue color filter, a red color filter, and the white color filter.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The image sensor of claim 4, wherein at least two unit pixels among the unit pixels of the autofocusing pixel group have different color filters to each other.