SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE, METHOD OF FABRICATING SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE, METHOD OF DRIVING SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE, AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

• US 20110216212A1
• Filed: 02/17/2011
• Published: 09/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Harada, Kouichi, Watanabe, Taiichiro, Yamaguchi, Tetsuji, Hirota, Isao, Mabuchi, Keiji
• Granted Patent: US 8,704,924 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/53 Control of the integration time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/616 involving a correlated sampling function, e.g. correlated double sampling [CDS] or triple sampling
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 39/32 Organic image sensors

Abstract

A solid-state imaging device includes a substrate, a photoelectric conversion element provided on the light incidence side of the substrate and including a photoelectric conversion film sandwiched between a first electrode provided separately for each of pixels, and a second electrode provided opposite the first electrode, the photoelectric conversion film being made of an organic material or an inorganic material and generating a signal charge according to the quantity of incident light, an amplifier transistor having an amplifier gate electrode connected to the first electrode, and a voltage control circuit that is connected to the second electrode, and supplies a desired voltage to the second electrode.

Claims

1. A solid-state imaging device, comprising:

a substrate;

a photoelectric conversion element provided on a light incidence side of the substrate and including a photoelectric conversion film sandwiched between a first electrode provided separately for each of pixels, and a second electrode provided opposite the first electrode, the photoelectric conversion film being made of an organic material or an inorganic material and generating a signal charge according to a quantity of incident light;

an amplifier transistor having an amplifier gate electrode connected to the first electrode; and

a voltage control circuit that is connected to the second electrode, and supplies a desired voltage to the second electrode.

2. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the voltage control circuit supplies, during a charge storage operation, a first voltage for moving the signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion film toward the first electrode, and supplies, at a reset operation, a second voltage for moving the signal charge toward the second electrode.

3. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the second electrode is provided separately for each of the pixels.

4. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the second electrode is provided common to all of the pixels.

5. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix, and the second electrode is provided common to each of rows of the pixels.

6. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the photoelectric conversion element is laminated in a plurality of layers on the light incidence side of the substrate.

7. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one photodiode provided within the substrate, the photodiode generating a signal charge according to a quantity of incident light.

8. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the photoelectric conversion element is formed on a front side of the substrate, and a connection between the first electrode and the amplifier gate electrode is made by a wiring layer provided between the photoelectric conversion element and the substrate.

9. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the photoelectric conversion element is formed on a back side of the substrate, and a connection between the first electrode and the amplifier gate electrode is made by a through electrode that extends through the substrate, and a wiring layer formed on the front side of the substrate.

10. A method of fabricating a solid-state imaging device, comprising the steps of:

forming a plurality of transistors in a substrate;

forming a wiring layer on the substrate, the wiring layer having a plurality of wires laminated via an interlayer insulating film;

forming a first electrode separately for each of pixels, on an illuminated side of the substrate, the first electrode being electrically connected to an amplifier gate electrode of an amplifier transistor of the plurality of transistors;

forming a photoelectric conversion film made of an organic material or an inorganic material, on top of the first electrode; and

forming a second electrode electrically connected to a voltage control circuit, on top of the photoelectric conversion film.

11. A method of driving a solid-state imaging device having

a substrate,

a photoelectric conversion element provided on a light incidence side of the substrate and including a photoelectric conversion film sandwiched between a first electrode provided separately for each of pixels, and a second electrode provided opposite the first electrode, the photoelectric conversion film being made of an organic material or an inorganic material and generating a signal charge according to a quantity of incident light,

an amplifier transistor having an amplifier gate electrode connected to the first electrode, and

a voltage control circuit that is connected to the second electrode, and supplies a desired voltage to the second electrode, the method comprising the steps of:

supplying a first voltage to the second electrode from the voltage control circuit during a charge storage operation, to move the signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion film toward the first electrode, and output a pixel signal by detecting a potential of the first electrode by the amplifier transistor; and

supplying a second voltage to the second electrode from the voltage control circuit at a reset operation, to discharge the signal charge stored on the first electrode side, the second voltage being different from the first voltage supplied during the charge storage operation.

12. The method of driving a solid-state imaging device according to claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

reading out a reset signal, by detecting the potential of the first electrode by the amplifier transistor immediately after discharging the signal charge stored on the first electrode side by the reset operation; and

detecting a noise signal by comparing the pixel signal with the reset signal.

13. The method of driving a solid-state imaging device according to claim 12, further comprising the step of:

starting exposure simultaneously for all of the pixels by opening a mechanical shutter, and finishing the exposure simultaneously for all of the pixels by closing the mechanical shutter, during the charge storage operation.

14. An electronic apparatus comprising:

an optical lens;

a solid-state imaging device on which light collected by the optical lens is made incident, the solid-state imaging device including

a substrate,

a photoelectric conversion element provided on a light incidence side of the substrate and including a photoelectric conversion film sandwiched between a first electrode provided separately for each of pixels, and a second electrode provided opposite the first electrode, the photoelectric conversion film being made of an organic material or an inorganic material and generating a signal charge according to a quantity of incident light,

an amplifier transistor having an amplifier gate electrode connected to the first electrode, and

a voltage control circuit that is connected to the second electrode, and supplies a desired voltage to the second electrode; and

a signal processing circuit that processes an output signal outputted from the solid-state imaging device.