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Sony patents camera chip design that simplifies factory testing

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony has filed a patent for a camera sensor design that includes a specific structure called a through electrode with a hollow center. This setup allows manufacturers to check the chip's quality during production without spending extra time or effort on complex inspections.

Why it mattersThis is a manufacturing improvement that could make producing camera sensors for phones and cameras more efficient and less expensive.

In the filing’s own words

The present technology relates to an imaging element and an electronic device that make it possible to reduce time and effort required for inspection performed at the time of manufacturing. Included are: a pixel array unit in which pixels each including a photoelectric conversion element are two-dimensionally arranged; a pad including an opening on a side of a first surface on which the pixel array unit is provided; an electrode provided in a state of being exposed to the bottom of the pad; a through electrode including an opening on a second surface on an opposite side from the first surface; and a rewiring layer stacked on the second surface, and the inside of the through electrode is a cavity. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a wafer-level chip size package (WLCSP) imaging element.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An imaging element comprising: a pixel array unit in which pixels each including a photoelectric conversion element are two-dimensionally arranged; a pad including an opening on a side of a first surface on which the pixel array unit is provided; an electrode provided in a state of being exposed to a bottom of the pad; a through electrode including an opening on a second surface on an opposite side from the first surface; and a rewiring layer stacked on the second surface, wherein an inside of the through electrode is a cavity.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
IMAGING ELEMENT AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE
Publication number
US20260333924A1
Application number
19114809
Filed
Sep 28, 2023
Published
Oct 22, 2026
Inventors
6
Claims
19

Classified under

H10F 39/811 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/806 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.