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Samsung patents image sensor with blank pixels to measure filter thickness

Samsung describes an image sensor design that includes specific pixels without color filters. These blank spots allow manufacturers to accurately measure the thickness of the color filters on the rest of the sensor during production.

Why it mattersThis is a manufacturing improvement that helps ensure consistent quality in camera sensors, which are used in phones and other devices.

In the filing’s own words

An image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate including a plurality of pixels, an insulating film disposed on the semiconductor substrate, a plurality of color filters disposed on the insulating film, and a plurality of microlenses disposed on the plurality of color filters. The plurality of pixels include at least one non-filter pixel having no color filter disposed on the insulating film. The thickness of the color filters included in the image sensor may be measured precisely using the non-filter pixels that do not include color filters.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An image sensor comprising: a semiconductor substrate including a plurality of pixels; an insulating film disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a plurality of color filters disposed on the insulating film; and a plurality of microlenses disposed on the plurality of color filters, wherein the plurality of pixels include at least one non-filter pixel having no color filter disposed on the insulating film.

Facts

Company
Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
Official title
IMAGE SENSOR INCLUDING NON-FILTER PIXEL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Publication number
US20260271418A1
Application number
19655172
Filed
Apr 22, 2026
Published
Sep 10, 2026
Inventors
7
Claims
20

Classified under

H10F 39/8053 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/024 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/8063 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.