Sony patents camera sensor design for easier wiring layout
Sony has filed a patent for a photodetection device used in image sensors. The design uses two transistors connected to the same control line, allowing engineers to adjust how electrical signals flow by changing the voltage. This setup aims to make laying out the tiny wires on the chip more flexible.
In the filing’s own words
A photodetection device capable of improving a degree of freedom in wiring layout is provided. Specifically, the photodetection device includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion units formed in a two-dimensional array on a semiconductor substrate and a plurality of pixel transistors. In addition, the plurality of pixel transistors includes a first transfer transistor having a first gate electrode facing a first channel formation region and a second transfer transistor having a second gate electrode facing a second channel formation region and electrically connected to the first gate electrode. Further, in a case where a first voltage is applied to the first and second gate electrodes, a channel is formed only in the first channel formation region, and in a case where a second voltage higher than the first voltage is applied to the first and second gate electrodes, a channel is formed in both the first and second channel formation regions.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A photodetection device comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a plurality of photoelectric conversion units formed in a two-dimensional array on the semiconductor substrate; and a plurality of pixel transistors, wherein a plurality of the pixel transistors includes a first transistor having a first gate electrode facing a first channel formation region, and a second transistor having a second gate electrode facing a second channel formation region and electrically connected to the first gate electrode, in a case where a first voltage is applied to the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode, a channel is formed only in the first channel formation region, and in a case where a second voltage higher than the first voltage is applied to the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode, a channel is formed in both the first channel formation region and the second channel formation region.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
- Official title
- PHOTODETECTION DEVICE, ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT, AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE
- Publication number
- US20260282573A1
- Application number
- 19469051
- Filed
- Feb 16, 2024
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Inventors
- 1
- Claims
- 16
Classified under
H10F 39/80373 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/182 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/807 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/811 Electricity & electronicsMore from Sony in Chips & hardware
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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.