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SonyGranted patentCameras & imagingInterest 4/10

Sony patents camera sensor design with sealed gaps to reduce noise

Sony has been granted a patent for a solid-state imaging device, which is the core component in digital cameras and phone sensors. The design features small grooves between the light-sensitive areas, which are lined with a protective film and capped with a thicker layer of material to seal the space.

Why it mattersThis technical improvement aims to refine how camera sensors handle light and electrical signals, potentially leading to clearer images in future Sony cameras or other devices using their sensors.

In the filing’s own words

Groove portions are provided between adjacent photoelectric conversion portions, and sidewall surfaces and bottom surfaces of the groove portions are covered with a first fixed charge film, and open ends of the groove portions are closed by a second fixed charge film with voids inside of the groove portions.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A solid-state imaging device, comprising: a substrate; a plurality of photoelectric conversion portions formed on the substrate; groove portions provided between adjacent photoelectric conversion portions; a first fixed charge film which covers sidewall surfaces and a bottom surface of each of the groove portions; and a second fixed charge film which closes a top surface, opposite to the bottom surface, of each of the groove portions, wherein the second fixed charge film covers a back surface of the first fixed charge film, and wherein a portion of the second fixed charge film that closes the top surface of each of the groove portions has a greater thickness than portions of the second fixed charge film that covers the back surface of the first fixed charge film.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
Solid-state imaging device and electronic apparatus
Patent number
US12733268B2
Application number
18755000
Filed
Jun 26, 2024
Granted
Sep 8, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
20

Classified under

H10F 39/014 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/76 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/18 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/199 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/8057 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/806 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.