Image sensor and electronic camera

• US 10,574,930 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2016
• Issued: 02/25/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Kamashita, Atsushi, Komai, Atsushi, Takagi, Toru, Ishida, Tomohisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye, Lin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yoder, III, Chriss S
• Application Number:
  US15/765,152
• Publication Number:
  US 20180324374A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,246 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1203 the substrate comprising an insulating body on a semiconductor body, e.g. SOI three-dimensional layout H01L27/0688
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14612 involving a transistor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14621 Colour filter arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14627 Microlenses
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14634 Assemblies, i.e. Hybrid structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1464 Back illuminated imager structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14643 Photodiode arrays; MOS imagers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1469 Assemblies, i.e. hybrid integration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/70 SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/709 Circuitry for control of the power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/79 Arrangements of circuitry being divided between different or multiple substrates, chips or circuit boards, e.g. stacked image sensors

Abstract

An image sensor includes a first semiconductor layer provided with a pixel, including a photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts incident light to generate an electric charge, an accumulation unit that accumulates the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit, and a transfer unit that transfers the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit to the accumulation unit, a second semiconductor layer provided with a supply unit that supplies the transfer unit with a transfer signal for transferring the electric charge from the photoelectric conversion unit to the accumulation unit, and a third semiconductor layer into which a signal is inputted, the signal being based on the electric charge that has been transferred to the accumulation unit.

Claims

1. An image sensor comprising:

a first semiconductor layer provided with a pixel, including a photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts incident light to generate an electric charge, an accumulation unit that accumulates the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit, and a transfer unit that transfers the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit to the accumulation unit;

a second semiconductor layer provided with a supply unit that supplies the transfer unit with a transfer signal for transferring the electric charge from the photoelectric conversion unit to the accumulation unit; and

a third semiconductor layer into which a signal is inputted, the signal being based on the electric charge that has been transferred to the accumulation unit.

2. The image sensor according to claim 1, wherein:

the second semiconductor layer has a thin-film transistor.

3. The image sensor according to claim 2, wherein:

the first semiconductor layer and the third semiconductor layer are configured by semiconductor substrates.

4. The image sensor according to claim 2, wherein:

the second semiconductor layer is arranged in an insulating unit provided between a semiconductor substrate constituting the first semiconductor layer and a semiconductor substrate constituting the third semiconductor layer.

5. The image sensor according to claim 1, wherein:

the first semiconductor layer is one of a silicon substrate and a silicon layer of a SOI substrate having the silicon substrate, an embedded oxide layer, and the silicon layer, and the second semiconductor layer is the other of the silicon substrate and the silicon layer.

6. The image sensor according to claim 5, wherein:

the third semiconductor layer is configured by a semiconductor substrate.

7. The image sensor according to claim 1, wherein:

the supply unit supplies the transfer signal for transferring the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit during a first period to the accumulation unit or the transfer signal for transferring the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit during a second period to the accumulation unit, the second period having a length different from that of the first period.

8. The image sensor according to claim 1, wherein:

the supply unit comprises a first diffusion unit to which a voltage higher than a voltage of the first substrate layer is applied by a first power supply unit and a second diffusion unit to which a voltage lower than the voltage of the first substrate layer is applied by a second power supply unit, and the supply unit supplies the transfer unit with a first voltage based on the voltage applied by the first power supply unit and supplies the transfer unit with a second voltage based on the voltage applied by the second power supply unit.

9. The image sensor according to claim 8, wherein:

the photoelectric conversion unit is a pinned photodiode; and

the transfer unit transfers the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit to the accumulation unit if the transfer signal represents the first voltage, and does not transfer the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit to the accumulation unit if the transfer signal represents the second voltage.

10. The image sensor according to claim 9, wherein:

the supply unit has a level shift circuit that converts a drive signal having a third voltage which is not less than a ground voltage and a fourth voltage which is not less than the ground voltage and higher than the third voltage, into the transfer signal having the first voltage and the second voltage.

11. The image sensor according to claim 10, further comprising:

an inverter circuit that outputs the drive signal to the level shift circuit, wherein;

the level shift circuit includes at least six transistors, and the level shift circuit outputs the transfer signal representing the first voltage if the drive signal is the third voltage and outputs the transfer signal representing the second voltage if the drive signal is the fourth voltage.

12. The image sensor according to claim 1, wherein:

the photoelectric conversion unit is provided on a surface of the first semiconductor layer onto which incident light is incident, and the transfer unit and the accumulation unit are provided on a surface of the first semiconductor layer on the second semiconductor layer side.

13. An electronic camera having the image sensor according to claim 1.

14. An image sensor comprising:

a first semiconductor layer provided with a pixel including a photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts incident light to generate an electric charge, an accumulation unit that accumulates the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit, and a transfer unit that transfers the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit to the accumulation unit; and

a semiconductor layer that is arranged to be stacked on the first semiconductor substrate, in which a supply unit is provided, the supply unit supplying the transfer unit with a transfer signal for transferring the electric charge from the photoelectric conversion unit to the accumulation unit.

15. An image sensor comprising:

a first semiconductor substrate having an insulating unit formed therein and having a preset predetermined substrate voltage;

an photoelectric conversion unit that is provided in the first semiconductor substrate and photoelectrically converts incident light to generate an electric charge;

a transfer unit that is provided in the first semiconductor substrate and transfers the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion unit to an accumulation unit based on a transfer signal; and

a supply unit that is electrically insulated from the first semiconductor substrate by the insulating unit, the supply unit supplying the transfer unit with the transfer signal including a first positive signal voltage and a second negative signal voltage.