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Sony patents light sensor design to improve distance measurement accuracy

Sony has been granted a patent for a light detection device that combines a light receiver and a signal amplifier within a single semiconductor structure. The design uses specific internal layers and electrodes to boost weak electrical signals generated by incoming light, allowing for more precise detection.

Why it mattersThis type of sensor technology is fundamental to devices that measure distance, such as cameras in phones or sensors in cars, potentially leading to more accurate imaging or navigation features.

In the filing’s own words

A light detection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a semiconductor substrate that includes a first surface and a second surface opposed to each other, and includes a pixel array in which a plurality of pixels is disposed in an array; a semiconductor layer that is provided on a side of the first surface of the semiconductor substrate; a light receiver that is provided inside the semiconductor substrate for each of the pixels, and generates carriers corresponding to a received light amount by photoelectric conversion; a multiplier that includes a first conduction-type region and a second conduction-type region sequentially stacked on the side of the first surface, at least the second conduction-type region being provided in the semiconductor layer, and that performs avalanche multiplication on the carriers generated by the light receiver; a first electrode that is provided on the side of the first surface, and is electrically coupled to the light receiver; and a second electrode that is provided on the side of the first surface, and is electrically coupled to the multiplier.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A light detection device comprising: a semiconductor substrate that includes a first surface and a second surface opposed to each other, and includes a pixel array in which a plurality of pixels is disposed in an array; a semiconductor layer that is provided on a side of the first surface of the semiconductor substrate; a light receiver that is provided inside the semiconductor substrate for each of the pixels, and generates carriers corresponding to a received light amount by photoelectric conversion; a multiplier that includes a first conduction-type region and a second conduction-type region sequentially stacked on the side of the first surface, at least the second conduction-type region being provided in the semiconductor layer, and that performs avalanche multiplication on the carriers generated by the light receiver; a first electrode that is provided on the side of the first surface, and is electrically coupled to the light receiver; a second electrode that is provided on the side of the first surface, and is electrically coupled to the multiplier; an insulating layer disposed on the side of the first surface of the semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor layer being embedded in the insulating layer for each of the pixels; and a reflection layer that is provided in the insulating layer so as to surround the semiconductor layer for each of the pixels, wherein the reflection layer is split, a first end of the reflection layer is electrically coupled to the second electrode, and a second end of the reflection layer is electrically coupled to a readout circuit that reads out carriers multiplied by the multiplier.

Facts

Company
Sony (Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)
Official title
Light detection device and distance measurement apparatus
Patent number
US12765089B2
Application number
18258063
Filed
Jan 13, 2022
Granted
Oct 13, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
20

Classified under

H10F 39/8033 Electricity & electronicsG01S 7/4816 Physics & computingG01S 17/08 Physics & computingH10F 39/8057 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/8067 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/807 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.