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Samsung patents image sensor design with deeper internal trenches

Patent drawing from the official filing.

Samsung describes a new layout for image sensor pixels that uses a lattice of trenches to separate individual pixels. Inside each pixel, deeper trenches are used to isolate two separate light-sensing areas from one another.

Why it mattersThis design aims to improve how image sensors handle light by physically separating different parts of the pixel, which could lead to better photo quality in future devices.

In the filing’s own words

A pixel array of an image sensor includes an inter-pixel trench structure, first and second photoelectric conversion regions, and an intra-pixel trench structure. The inter-pixel trench structure is provided in a semiconductor substrate to divide the semiconductor substrate into a plurality of pixel regions. The inter-pixel trench structure extends in a first horizontal direction and a second horizontal direction and has a lattice shape. The first and second photoelectric conversion regions are provided in a pixel region. The intra-pixel trench structure is provided in the plurality of pixel regions to isolate the first photoelectric conversion region and the second photoelectric conversion region. The inter-pixel trench structure has a first thickness, and at least a portion of the intra-pixel trench structure has a second thickness greater than the first thickness.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A pixel array of an image sensor, comprising: a substrate comprising an inter-pixel trench structure configured to divide the semiconductor substrate into a plurality of pixel regions, the inter-pixel trench structure comprising first portions extending in a first horizontal direction and second portions extending in a second horizontal direction perpendicular to the first horizontal direction and having a lattice shape when viewed in a vertical direction; a first photoelectric conversion region and a second photoelectric conversion region in a pixel region of the plurality of pixel regions; and an intra-pixel trench structure in the pixel region, the intra-pixel trench structure configured to separate the first photoelectric conversion region and the second photoelectric conversion region from each other, wherein the inter-pixel trench structure has a first thickness, and at least a portion of the intra-pixel trench structure has a second thickness greater than the first thickness.

Facts

Company: Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title: PIXEL ARRAY OF IMAGE SENSOR
Publication number: US20260304979A1
Application number: 19538479
Filed: Feb 12, 2026
Published: Oct 1, 2026
Inventors: 2
Claims: 20

Classified under

H10F 39/8053 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.