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SonyPatent applicationChips & hardwareInterest 6/10

Sony patents camera sensor design that bonds two chip layers together

Sony describes a light detection device where a pixel layer that captures light is bonded to a separate layer containing the circuitry that reads the data. The two layers are joined using a specific pattern of insulating film on the bonding surface to connect them. This structure allows the sensor to use a standard bulk substrate rather than a more specialized silicon-on-insulator (SOI) material.

Why it mattersThis design could make high-performance camera sensors easier or cheaper to manufacture by avoiding specialized substrate materials.

In the filing’s own words

Provided is a light detection device in which a transistor has an oxide film at the fin bottom in a bulk substrate without using an SOI substrate. The light detection device includes a first substrate portion and a second substrate portion. The first substrate portion has pixels that photoelectrically convert incident light. The second substrate portion is joined to a surface of the first substrate portion opposite to a surface on which the light is incident. Furthermore, the second substrate portion has a plurality of elements constituting a readout circuit configured to output a pixel signal based on charges output from the pixels. A pattern of an insulating film is formed on a bonding surface of the second substrate portion to the first substrate portion.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A light detection device comprising: a first substrate portion having pixels that photoelectrically convert incident light; and a second substrate portion that is joined to a surface of the first substrate portion opposite to a surface on which the light is incident and has a plurality of elements constituting a readout circuit configured to output a pixel signal based on charges output from the pixels, wherein a pattern of an insulating film is formed on a bonding surface of the second substrate portion to the first substrate portion.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
LIGHT DETECTION DEVICE, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE
Publication number
US20260262286A1
Application number
19165085
Filed
Feb 13, 2024
Published
Sep 3, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
13

Classified under

H10D 86/215 Electricity & electronicsH10D 86/011 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/80373 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/80377 Electricity & electronicsH10W 10/181 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/78 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.