Solid-state image pickup unit and electronic apparatus for achieving high sensitivity and high saturation charge amount

• US 9,728,579 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2013
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Toda, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): HENRY, CALEB E
• Application Number:
  US14/428,262
• Publication Number:
  US 20150228693A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,420 Days
• Field of Search: 257 40, 257229
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14612 involving a transistor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14623 Optical shielding
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14627 Microlenses
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1463 Pixel isolation structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1464 Back illuminated imager structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14689 MOS based technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14812 Special geometry or disposition of pixel-elements, address lines or gate-electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14818 Optical shielding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/77 Pixel circuitry, e.g. memories, A/D converters, pixel amplifiers, shared circuits or shared components

Abstract

There is configured a solid-state image pickup unit including a photoelectric conversion section formed on a light incident side of a substrate; a first charge accumulation section accumulating a signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion section; a second charge accumulation section formed in a region other than a light-condensing region where incident light is condensed in the substrate on a side opposite to a light incident side and formed to be laminated together with the first charge accumulation section in a depth direction of the substrate; and a floating diffusion section formed in a region other than the light-condensing region in the substrate on the side opposite to the light incident side and converting the signal charge into a voltage.

Claims

1. A solid-state image pickup unit, comprising:

a substrate;

a photoelectric conversion section on a light incident side of the substrate, wherein the photoelectric conversion section is configured to generate a signal charge based on a light amount;

a first charge accumulation section in the substrate on the light incident side, wherein the first charge accumulation section is configured to accumulate the signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion section;

a second charge accumulation section in a first region, other than a light-condensing region, on a side opposite to the light incident side, and laminated together with the first charge accumulation section in a depth direction of the substrate, wherein the light-condensing region is a second region where incident light is condensed in the substrate;

a floating diffusion section in a third region, other than the light-condensing region in the substrate, on the side opposite to the light incident side, wherein the floating diffusion section is configured to convert the signal charge into a voltage;

a discharge section in the light-condensing region in the substrate on the side opposite to the light incident side, wherein the discharge section is configured to discharge a charge from the first charge accumulation section; and

a vertical gate electrode configured to discharge the charge from the first charge accumulation section to the discharge section.

2. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, wherein the light-condensing region comprises an optical electric field strength in a range of up to 1/e of a peak optical electric field strength.

3. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, further comprising a reset section in the light-condensing region in the substrate on the side opposite to the light incident side, wherein the reset section is configured to reset the floating diffusion section.

4. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, wherein the vertical gate electrode is configured to transfer the signal charge from the first charge accumulation section to the second charge accumulation section.

5. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state image pickup unit has a configuration in which the signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion section is collected into the first charge accumulation section by an internal electric field in the substrate.

6. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state image pickup unit has a configuration in which the signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion section is collected into the first charge accumulation section by an external electric field by a transparent electrode.

7. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, wherein the photoelectric conversion section is configured to act as a light shielding section.

8. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, wherein the photoelectric conversion section includes a photoelectric conversion film of a first compound semiconductor with a chalcopyrite structure.

9. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 8, wherein the first compound semiconductor with the chalcopyrite structure is made of a copper-aluminum-gallium-indium-sulfur-selenium-based mixed crystal.

10. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, wherein the photoelectric conversion section includes a photoelectric conversion film of a silicide-based material.

11. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 8, wherein the photoelectric conversion film is lattice-matched to the substrate.

12. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 11, wherein the substrate is an off substrate.

13. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, further comprising an intermediate layer, between the substrate and the photoelectric conversion section, with a first electron affinity larger than a second electron affinity of the substrate, wherein the first electron affinity of the intermediate layer is between the second electron affinity of the substrate and a third electron affinity of the photoelectric conversion section.

14. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, wherein the photoelectric conversion section includes a photoelectric conversion film of an organic material.

15. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 8, further comprising a pixel isolation section in the substrate, wherein the pixel isolation section is of a second compound semiconductor of which a doping concentration or a composition is controlled to serve as a potential barrier between each pixel of a plurality of pixels on the substrate, and the pixel isolation section is configured to isolate a pixel of the plurality of pixels from an adjacent pixel of the plurality of pixels.

16. The solid-state image pickup unit according to claim 1, wherein each pixel of a plurality of pixels includes the photoelectric conversion section, the floating diffusion section, the first charge accumulation section, and the second charge accumulation section,

wherein the plurality of pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional array, and the signal charge accumulated in the first charge accumulation section of each pixel of the plurality of pixels is concurrently transferred to the second charge accumulation section of each pixel of the plurality of pixels, and the signal charge held by the second charge accumulation section of each pixel of the plurality of pixels is transferred to the floating diffusion section, of each pixel of the plurality of pixels, from a first pixel row of a plurality of pixel rows to a second pixel row of the plurality of pixel rows.

17. An electronic apparatus, comprising:

an optical lens;

a solid-state image pickup unit including a substrate, a photoelectric conversion section, a first charge accumulation section, a second charge accumulation section, and a floating diffusion section,

wherein the photoelectric conversion section is on a light incident side of the substrate, and is configured to generate a signal charge based on a light amount,

wherein the first charge accumulation section is in the substrate on the light incident side, and is configured to accumulate the signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion section,

wherein the second charge accumulation section is in a first region, other than a light-condensing region, on a side opposite to the light incident side, and laminated together with the first charge accumulation section in a depth direction of the substrate, wherein the light-condensing region is a second region where incident light is condensed in the substrate, and

wherein the floating diffusion section is formed in a third region, other than the light-condensing region in the substrate, on the side opposite to the light incident side, and is configured to convert the signal charge into a voltage;

a discharge section in the light-condensing region in the substrate on the side opposite to the light incident side, wherein the discharge section is configured to discharge a charge from the first charge accumulation section;

a vertical gate electrode configured to discharge the charge from the first charge accumulation section to the discharge section; and

a signal processing circuit configured to process an output signal from the solid-state image pickup unit.