/Patent Tracker
SonyPatent applicationCameras & imagingInterest 6/10

Sony patents stacked camera sensor that captures infrared light

Sony describes a camera sensor design where two layers of pixels are stacked vertically. The top layer captures standard visible light, while the bottom layer captures infrared light that passes through the top layer, with a filter ensuring the bottom layer only sees infrared.

Why it mattersThis design could allow cameras to detect heat or low-light details without needing separate sensors, potentially improving night vision or object detection in phones and cars.

In the filing’s own words

To more appropriately receive light in an infrared light band. A solid-state imaging device includes a first pixel, a second pixel, a wiring layer, and an infrared light transmission filter. The first pixel receives light in a visible light band and generates a pixel signal in a visible light band. The second pixel is formed by being stacked with the first pixel, and receives light in an infrared light band transmitted through the first pixel and generates a pixel signal in an infrared light band. The wiring layer is formed between the first pixel and the second pixel and includes a wiring that propagates a signal output from the first pixel. The infrared light transmission filter includes an infrared light transmission filter on a light incident surface of the second pixel.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A solid-state imaging device, comprising: a first pixel that receives light in a visible light band and generates a pixel signal in a visible light band; a second pixel that is formed by being stacked with the first pixel, and receives light in an infrared light band transmitted through the first pixel and generates a pixel signal in an infrared light band; a wiring layer that is formed between the first pixel and the second pixel and includes a wiring that propagates a signal output from the first pixel; and an infrared light transmission filter on a light incident surface of the second pixel.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS
Publication number
US20260293342A1
Application number
19474180
Filed
Apr 4, 2024
Published
Sep 24, 2026
Inventors
8
Claims
17

Classified under

H10F 39/8053 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/184 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/811 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

More from Sony in Cameras & imaging

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.