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Sony patents camera sensor with polygonal gate to move light data faster

Sony has secured a patent for an imaging element that uses a vertical transistor with a polygonal-shaped opening to transfer charge from the light-sensing area to the storage area. The design involves embedding a gate within this specific geometric opening to reduce the path length for moving electrical charge, which is generated when light hits the sensor.

Why it mattersThis is a detailed hardware improvement for camera sensors that could help make image processing more efficient, though the filing focuses on the physical structure rather than a specific new product feature.

In the filing’s own words

A charge transfer path of a transfer transistor constituted by a vertical transistor is reduced. An imaging element includes a photoelectric conversion unit, a charge holding unit, a charge transfer unit, and an image signal generation unit. The photoelectric conversion unit is disposed on a semiconductor substrate and generates charge corresponding to incident light by photoelectric conversion. The charge holding unit holds the charge. The charge transfer unit includes an opening portion, which is formed in the semiconductor substrate and having a polygonal shape in a plan view, and an embedded gate disposed in the opening portion and transfers the charge from the photoelectric conversion unit to the charge holding unit. The image signal generation unit generates an image signal based on the held charge.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An imaging element, comprising: a photoelectric conversion unit disposed in a semiconductor substrate, wherein a first surface of the photoelectric conversion unit is adjacent a first surface of the semiconductor substrate, and wherein a second surface of the photoelectric conversion unit is adjacent a second surface of the semiconductor substrate; a charge holding unit disposed in the semiconductor substrate; a charge transfer unit, wherein an opening portion of the charge transfer unit is formed in the first surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the opening portion of the charge transfer unit has a first polygonal shape in a plan view, wherein an embedded gate is disposed in the opening portion and extends from a first point adjacent to the first surface of the semiconductor substrate to a second point between the first surface of the semiconductor substrate and the second surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the second point is between the first surface of the photoelectric conversion unit and the second surface of the photoelectric conversion unit, wherein the embedded gate extends through an area that intersects an area of the photoelectric conversion unit in the plan view, wherein a portion of the photoelectric conversion unit is disposed between a portion of the embedded gate and the second surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the embedded gate has the first polygonal shape; and an image signal generation unit configured to generate an image signal based on charge transferred from the charge holding unit to the image signal generation unit, wherein the opening portion having the first polygonal shape is formed by performing recrystallization of a member constituting the semiconductor substrate, so that crystal orientation planes are formed at sides of the first polygonal shape.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
Imaging element and imaging device having a polygonal transfer gate opening
Patent number
US12733274B2
Application number
17910599
Filed
Feb 2, 2021
Granted
Sep 8, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
18

Classified under

H10F 39/80377 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/014 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/182 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/8027 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/8033 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/80373 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.