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Sony patents camera sensor design with air gaps to improve image quality

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony has filed a patent for an imaging device that uses a specific arrangement of layers in camera pixels. The design includes an air gap between color filters and a metal layer to help separate the light-sensing parts of the sensor.

Why it mattersThis is a technical improvement to camera hardware that could help reduce interference between pixels, potentially leading to sharper images in future Sony devices.

In the filing’s own words

An imaging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of pixels including a photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts light, a color filter provided for each pixel, a separation unit provided between the adjacent photoelectric conversion units, a structure having an air gap provided between the adjacent color filters, and a metal compound layer provided on the photoelectric conversion unit between the color filter and the photoelectric conversion unit. The structure is provided from between the adjacent color filters to the metal compound layer and is coupled to the separation unit.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An imaging device, comprising: a plurality of pixels including a photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts light; a color filter provided for each of the pixels; a separation unit provided between the adjacent photoelectric conversion units; a structure having an air gap provided between the adjacent color filters; and a metal compound layer provided on the photoelectric conversion unit between the color filter and the photoelectric conversion unit, wherein the structure is provided from between the adjacent color filters to the metal compound layer and is coupled to the separation unit.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
IMAGING DEVICE
Publication number
US20260314094A1
Application number
18998625
Filed
Jul 25, 2023
Published
Oct 8, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
20

Classified under

H10F 39/8053 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/024 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/182 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/807 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.