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SamsungPatent applicationCameras & imagingInterest 6/10

Samsung patents tiny image sensor pixels using 3x3 light filters

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Samsung describes an image sensor where each pixel contains nine tiny light-absorbing elements arranged in a 3x3 grid. These elements are packed into an area smaller than 450 nanometers, which is below the physical limit where light usually spreads out. The design keeps the arrangement of these elements consistent across the center and edges of the sensor.

Why it mattersThis approach could help cameras capture color details more accurately by using a uniform structure across the entire sensor surface.

In the filing’s own words

An image sensor may include a pixel array including a plurality of two-dimensionally arranged pixels. Each pixel may include a first meta-photodiode absorbing light of a first wavelength band; a second meta-photodiode absorbing light in a second wavelength band; and a third meta-photodiode absorbing light of a third wavelength band, wherein the first meta-photodiode, the second meta-photodiode, and the third meta-photodiode may be arranged in an area having a size less than a diffraction limit. The arrangement form of the first meta-photodiode, the second meta-photodiode, and the third meta-photodiode arranged in the plurality of pixels in a central portion of the pixel array may be the same as the arrangement form of the first meta-photodiode, the second meta-photodiode, and the third meta-photodiode arranged in the plurality of pixels in a periphery of the pixel array.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An image sensor comprising: a pixel array comprising a plurality of two-dimensionally arranged pixels, wherein each of the plurality of pixels comprises: a first meta-photodiode configured to selectively absorb light of a first wavelength band; a second meta-photodiode configured to selectively absorb light of a second wavelength band different from the first wavelength band; and a third meta-photodiode configured to selectively absorb light of a third wavelength band different from the first wavelength band and second wavelength band, wherein, the first meta-photodiode, the second meta-photodiode, and the third meta-photodiode are arranged in an area having a size equal to or less than 450 nm×450 nm, wherein the first meta-photodiode, the second meta-photodiode, and the third meta-photodiode of one or more first pixels in a central portion of the pixel array, among the plurality of pixels, are arranged in a same form as the first meta-photodiode, the second meta-photodiode, and the third meta-photodiode of one or more second pixels in a periphery of the pixel array, among the plurality of pixels, wherein a sum of the number of the first meta-photodiodes, the second meta-photodiodes, and the third meta-photodiodes arranged in each of the plurality of pixels is nine, and the nine meta-photodiodes are arranged in the form of a 3×3 array.

Facts

Company
Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title
IMAGE SENSOR AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS INCLUDING THE IMAGE SENSOR
Publication number
US20260314087A1
Application number
19711459
Filed
Jun 17, 2026
Published
Oct 8, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
20

Classified under

H10F 39/182 Electricity & electronicsH10F 30/223 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/806 Electricity & electronicsH10F 77/147 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.