US 4,906,856 A · Semiconductive photodetection device having coplanar circuit components

Abstract

A photoelectric conversion array is comprised of a longitudinal semiconductor substrate formed with a plurality of doped regions electrically isolated from one another and equidistantly aligned in the longitudinal direction of the substrate. Each doped region is comprised of a first region containing therein base, collector and emitter regions arranged to constitute a bipolar phototransistor operative in response to irradiation of incident light onto the base region to induce a photoelectric current between the collector and emitter regions, and a second region disposed adjacent to and laterally of the first region and containing therein a drain region, a source region, a channel region between the drain and source regions and a gate region disposed on the channel region to constitute a MOS switching transistor electrically connected in series to the bipolar phototransistor and selectively operative in response to a control voltage applied to the gate region to enable the induced photoelectric current to flow through the channel region to thereby drive the corresponding bipolar phototransistor.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A photoelectric conversion array, comprising:

an elongate semiconductor substrate having a major surface portion;
means on defining on the substrate major surface portion a plurality of doped regions electrically isolated from one another and equi-distantly aligned in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, each doped region being comprised of a first region containing therein base, collector and emitter regions arranged to constitute a bipolar phototransistor operative in response to irradiation of incident light onto the base region to induce a photoelectric current between the collector and emitter regions, and a second region coplanar with the first region and containing therein a drain region, a source region, a channel region between the drain and source regions and a gate region disposed on the channel region to constitute a MOS transistor electrically connected in series to the bipolar phototransistor and operative in response to a control voltage applied to the gate region to enable to induced photoelectric current to flow through the channel region to thereby drive the bipolar phototransistor;
and drive means formed in the substrate major surface portion for sequentially applying a control voltage to the respective gate regions of the MOS transistors.

A photoelectric conversion array, comprising:

a semiconductor substrate having a major surface portion;
a plurality of bipolar transistors formed in a row on the substrate major surface portion and being equi-distantly spaced apart in the row direction, each of the bipolar transistors having a collector region, an emitter region and a base region and being operative in response to irradiation of incident light onto the base region to induce a photoelectric current signal between the collector and emitter regions;
and
read-out means formed on the substrate major surface portion for sequentially reading out the photoelectric current signals produced by the bipolar transistors, the read-out means comprising a plurality of signal transmitting elements formed in a row on the substrate major surface portion in parallel with and laterally spaced from the row of bipolar transistors, each signal transmitting element being electrically connected to a corresponding one of the bipolar transistors and operative when enabled to transmit therethrough the photoelectric current signal, and shift register means for sequentially enabling the signal transmitting elements to thereby read out the photoelectric current signals.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Semiconductive photodetection device having coplanar circuit components

Life of this patent

Semiconductive photodetection device having coplanar circuit components

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15