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SamsungPatent applicationCameras & imagingInterest 6/10

Samsung patents image sensor with built-in auto-focus lens

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Samsung describes an image sensor design that places a lens directly over groups of light-sensitive pixels. This lens covers multiple pixel groups to help the sensor adjust focus automatically.

Why it mattersThis could lead to sharper photos in phones and cameras by improving how the sensor handles focus at the hardware level.

In the filing’s own words

The present disclosure relates to an image sensor and a method of operating the image sensor. An example image sensor include a first sub-pixel group including a first plurality of photodiodes arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns and sharing a first floating diffusion node, a second sub-pixel group adjacent to the first sub-pixel group, and including a second plurality of photodiodes arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns and sharing a second floating diffusion node separate from the first floating diffusion node, a color filter, at least a portion of which is disposed on the first sub-pixel group and the second sub-pixel group, and a first lens, at least a portion of which is overlapped planarly with the first sub-pixel group and the second sub-pixel group.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An image sensor comprising: a first sub-pixel group including a first plurality of photodiodes, the first plurality of photodiodes being arranged in a first plurality of rows and a first plurality of columns, and the first plurality of photodiodes sharing a first floating diffusion node; a second sub-pixel group adjacent to the first sub-pixel group, the second sub-pixel group including a second plurality of photodiodes, the second plurality of photodiodes being arranged in a second plurality of rows and a second plurality of columns, and the second plurality of photodiodes sharing a second floating diffusion node separate from the first floating diffusion node; a color filter, wherein at least a portion of the color filter is disposed on the first sub-pixel group and the second sub-pixel group; and a first lens, wherein at least a first portion of the first lens overlaps the first sub-pixel group and the second sub-pixel group in a plan view.

Facts

Company
Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
Official title
IMAGE SENSOR INCLUDING AN AUTO FOCUS LENS AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME
Publication number
US20260323179A1
Application number
19451878
Filed
Jan 16, 2026
Published
Oct 15, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
20

Classified under

H04N 25/704 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/182 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/8053 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/8063 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.