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Sony patents transistor design with uneven channel for better image sensors

Sony describes a semiconductor component where the gate electrode digs into the chip material from two sides. The space between these two sections, called the channel, is shaped unevenly rather than being symmetrical. This specific geometry is designed to help the transistor control electricity more effectively while preventing performance issues in small circuits.

Why it mattersThis design could lead to more efficient transistors in camera sensors, potentially improving the quality of images captured by phones and cameras.

In the filing’s own words

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor device capable of achieving both suppression of a short channel effect and an increase in driving capability, and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes: a field effect transistor having a source region and a drain region formed in a semiconductor substrate; and a gate electrode including a planar electrode portion formed in a plane higher than the semiconductor substrate, and two dug-in electrode portions that are dug in the semiconductor substrate. The shape of a channel portion between the two dug-in electrode portions of the field effect transistor is formed asymmetrically in the direction of the source region and the drain region. The present disclosure can be applied to an amplification transistor or the like of each pixel of a solid-state imaging device, for example.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A semiconductor device, comprising a field effect transistor including: a source region and a drain region that are formed in a semiconductor substrate; and a gate electrode including a planar electrode portion formed in a plane higher than the semiconductor substrate, and two dug-in electrode portions that are dug in the semiconductor substrate, wherein a shape of a channel portion between the two dug-in electrode portions of the field effect transistor is formed asymmetrically in a direction of the source region and the drain region.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Publication number
US20260293248A1
Application number
19100623
Filed
Jul 27, 2023
Published
Sep 24, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
9

Classified under

H10D 62/235 Electricity & electronicsH10D 30/024 Electricity & electronicsH10D 30/6211 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/80377 Electricity & electronics

More from Sony in Chips & hardware

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.