Low power optical sensor for consumer, industrial, and automotive applications

An optical proximity sensor, comprising:

• a body of solid-state material with a band gap greater than or equal to 2.3 eV, the body having a surface;
• a light-emitter device in the body, the light-emitter device including:
• a cathode region having a first conductivity type;
• and
• an anode region having a second conductivity type and extending into the cathode region from the surface of the body, the anode region and the cathode region defining a junction,
• wherein the cathode region has, adjacent to the junction, a peak defectiveness area housing vacancies in a crystalline structure due to non-bound ions or atoms of Group IV or VIII of the periodic table,
• wherein the light-emitter device is a single-photon light-emitter element configured to emit a single-photon emission radiation having a wavelength within a first wavelength range;
• a light-receiver element configured to operate in avalanche operating mode or in photomultiplier operating mode and arranged, in use, to receive, directly or via reflection, radiation emitted from the light-emitter device;
• and
• a current-pulse counting stage configured to count current pulses supplied by the light-receiver element.

A method for manufacturing an optical sensor having a light-emitter device, the method comprising:

• receiving a body of solid-state material with a band gap greater than or equal to 2.3 eV, the body including a cathode region having a first conductivity type;
• forming an anode region of a second conductivity type extending within the cathode region from a surface of the body by doping a portion of the cathode region with dopant ion species of the second conductivity type, the anode region defining a junction with the cathode region;
• and
• forming a peak defectiveness area by implanting non-bound ions or atoms of Group IV or Group VIII of the periodic table within the cathode region and through the anode region, the peak defectiveness area having vacancies in a crystalline structure in the cathode region adjacent to the junction.