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SonyPatent applicationCameras & imagingInterest 6/10

Sony patents curved camera sensors with built-in infrared filters

Sony describes an imaging device where the light-sensing chip and an infrared-blocking filter are both curved and recessed. This design allows the components to sit lower in the camera housing while maintaining a curved shape.

Why it mattersThis design could help manufacturers create thinner cameras or lenses by reducing the overall height of the sensor stack.

In the filing’s own words

An imaging device includes: an infrared-absorbing filter that absorbs infrared light; and a solid-state imaging element including a base in which a plurality of pixels is arranged in a two-dimensional array, the pixels each including a photoelectric conversion region that converts incident light having passed through the infrared-absorbing filter into an electric signal, in which the infrared-absorbing filter and the base are recessed in an incident direction of the incident light, and are curved as a whole.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An imaging device, comprising: an infrared-absorbing filter that absorbs infrared light; and a solid-state imaging element including a base in which a plurality of pixels is arranged in a two-dimensional array, the pixels each including a photoelectric conversion region that converts incident light having passed through the infrared-absorbing filter into an electric signal, wherein the infrared-absorbing filter and the base are recessed in an incident direction of the incident light, and are curved as a whole.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
IMAGING DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING IMAGING DEVICE
Publication number
US20260282576A1
Application number
19167515
Filed
Mar 29, 2024
Published
Sep 17, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
20

Classified under

H10F 39/8053 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/024 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/804 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.