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Sony patents stacked camera sensor with two types of connection points

Sony describes a camera sensor design where three layers of chips are stacked vertically. The bottom layer captures light, while the middle and top layers process the resulting electrical signals. The filing details how two different sets of connection points link the middle and top layers, with each set occupying a different area when viewed from above.

Why it mattersThis design could help engineers pack more processing power into small camera sensors without increasing the overall size, potentially leading to better image quality in compact devices.

In the filing’s own words

A light detecting device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a third substrate, a first coupling section, and a second coupling section. The first substrate includes a plurality of photoelectric converters. The second substrate includes a first signal processor configured to perform first signal processing, and the second substrate is stacked on the first substrate. The third substrate includes a second signal processor configured to perform second signal processing and the third substrate is stacked on the second substrate. The first coupling section includes a plurality of first electrodes each coupling circuitry of the second substrate and circuitry of the third substrate. The second coupling section includes a plurality of second electrodes each coupling the circuitry of the second substrate and circuitry of the third substrate. An area of the first coupling section is different from an area of the second coupling section, in a plan view.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A light detecting device comprising: a first substrate including a plurality of photoelectric converters, the plurality of photoelectric converters configured to generate electric charges by photoelectric conversion; a second substrate including a first signal processor configured to perform first signal processing to generate a signal based on the electric charges generated by the plurality of photoelectric converters, the second substrate stacked on the first substrate; a third substrate including a second signal processor configured to perform second signal processing, the third substrate stacked on the second substrate; a first coupling section including a plurality of first electrodes, the plurality of first electrodes coupling circuitry of the second substrate and circuitry of the third substrate; and a second coupling section including a plurality of second electrodes, the plurality of second electrodes coupling the circuitry of the second substrate and circuitry of the third substrate, an area of the first coupling section being different from an area of the second coupling section in a plan view.

Facts

Company
Sony (Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)
Official title
IMAGING ELEMENT AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS
Publication number
US20260262316A1
Application number
18871336
Filed
May 29, 2023
Published
Sep 3, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
20

Classified under

H10F 39/809 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/772 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/79 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/811 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.