Sony patents lens alignment fix for consistent distance sensors
Sony describes a light sensor design that uses a tiny lens to focus light onto a chip. The lens is deliberately shifted slightly so that light hits two internal storage areas equally, preventing one side from being more sensitive than the other.
In the filing’s own words
The present technology relates to a light receiving element and a distance measuring device that prevent occurrence of a difference in sensitivity between charge accumulation units in a light receiving element including two or more charge accumulation units. A photoelectric conversion unit that performs photoelectric conversion, first and second charge accumulation units that accumulate charge obtained by the photoelectric conversion unit, and an on-chip lens that collects incident light to the photoelectric conversion unit are included, and a center of the on-chip lens and a center of the photoelectric conversion unit are separated from each other by an amount of correction set such that light incident on the center of the on-chip lens is directed to a position where a distance from a center of gravity of the first charge accumulation unit is equal to a distance from a center of gravity of the second charge accumulation unit. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a light receiving element included in a distance measuring device.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A light receiving element comprising: a photoelectric conversion unit that performs photoelectric conversion; first and second charge accumulation units that accumulate charge obtained by the photoelectric conversion unit; and an on-chip lens that collects incident light to the photoelectric conversion unit, wherein a center of the on-chip lens and a center of the photoelectric conversion unit are separated from each other by an amount of correction set such that light incident on the center of the on-chip lens is directed to a position where a distance from a center of gravity of the first charge accumulation unit is equal to a distance from a center of gravity of the second charge accumulation unit.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
- Official title
- LIGHT RECEIVING ELEMENT AND DISTANCE MEASURING DEVICE
- Publication number
- US20260282580A1
- Application number
- 19166844
- Filed
- Mar 6, 2024
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Inventors
- 2
- Claims
- 8
Classified under
H10F 39/8063 Electricity & electronicsG01S 7/4816 Physics & computingG01S 17/08 Physics & computingH10F 39/8057 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.