Detailed Description
The above figures illustrate the present invention, an image sensor with a dark-field full-color function and a method of manufacturing the same. Various embodiments of an image sensor are disclosed herein. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring particular aspects.
According to the invention, the infrared cut-off film is arranged below the color filter, the color filter array mode is changed, and the white color filter with full spectral response is introduced, so that the full-color effect of a dark light scene can be achieved by using only one image sensor chip.
Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an image sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image sensor includes a plurality of photosensitive elements 110, a plurality of filters 410/420, a transparent film 330, and an infrared-suppressing film 310. The plurality of photosensitive elements 110 are disposed in the semiconductor substrate 100. The plurality of optical filters are disposed on the light receiving surface of the light sensing unit 110, the plurality of optical filters include color filters 410 with different light responses and white filters 420 with full spectral responses, the light sensing element below the color filters 410 is used for collecting color signals of an image, and the light sensing element below the white filters is used for collecting brightness signals of the image. The transparent film 330 is disposed between the white filter 420 and the photosensitive element 110. The infrared suppressing film 310 is disposed between the color filter 410 and the photosensitive element 110 to suppress infrared light from entering the photosensitive element 110.
The image sensor shown in fig. 2 is a backside illuminated (BSI) image sensor, and the image sensor includes a metal wiring layer 200 disposed on the backlight surface of the photosensitive element 110, where the metal wiring layer 200 is provided with a metal wiring structure 210 to implement connection of circuit components. In one embodiment, the image sensor further includes a plurality of microlenses 500 disposed on the color filter 410 and the white filter 420 to concentrate incident light onto the photosensitive element 110. In one embodiment, the microlens 500 is the same clear material as the transparent film 330, white color filter 420, such as quartz, glass, or any other suitable transparent material. Accordingly, the transparent film 330 may be a white color filter 420, i.e., a white color filter 420 having a double layer or a double layer thickness is provided on the corresponding photosensitive element.
In one embodiment, an isolation structure 120 is disposed between adjacent photosensitive elements 110. The photosensitive element 110 includes a photoelectric conversion portion for converting incident light into photoelectric charges and a charge transfer portion, such as a photodiode and a plurality of transistors, for reading out and transferring signal charges from the photoelectric conversion portion. The transistor is not shown in fig. 2, but the gate 212 of the transistor is shown in the metal wiring layer 200 to indicate the presence of the transistor. The isolation structure 120 is an oxide region. In one embodiment, the isolation structure 120 is STI isolation (Shallow Trench Isolation ), and in another embodiment, the isolation structure 120 is LOCOS isolation (Local Oxidation of Silicon ), and the isolation structure 120 is used to reduce problems such as signal crosstalk and leakage current between the pixel regions 222.
The infrared suppressing film 310 is a material that allows visible light to pass through while suppressing infrared light, and is placed under the color filter 410, so that normal color information can be obtained without optical elements such as an infrared CUT-off (IR-CUT) and the like, and is not affected by infrared light, so that accurate color reproduction can be obtained even when infrared light is used at night. While this material is not required under the white filter 420, in one embodiment, the infrared suppression film is an infrared cut-off material having a light transmittance of 0.1% -2%. In one embodiment, the material of the infrared-suppression film 310 is organic. In one embodiment, the infrared-suppression film 310 material is polyurethane or polyimide. In other embodiments, the infrared-suppressing film may be made of an inorganic material. In one embodiment, the thickness of the infrared-suppression film 310 is 0.6-1.5um, preferably the thickness of the infrared-suppression film is 1um. In one embodiment, the infrared-suppression film 310 has a width of 0.5-10um, preferably the infrared-suppression film 310 has a width of 2um.
In one embodiment, a gap 320 is provided between the infrared-suppression film 310 and the transparent film 330. The gap 320 is used to prevent crosstalk of light between the photosensitive elements 110, thereby ensuring the best luminance signal-to-noise ratio. The gap 320 is made of a material with a low refractive index. In one embodiment, the gap 320 may be made of metal such as AL, W, or an inorganic thin film material such as SiO2, siN, or the like, to prevent infrared light from interfering with each other. In one embodiment, the refractive index of the gap 320 is 1.3-1.5, and preferably, the refractive index of the gap 320 is 1.4. In one embodiment, the gap 320 has a thickness of 0.75-1um, preferably the gap 320 has a thickness of 0.8um. In one embodiment, the gap 320 has a width of 0.3-1um, preferably the gap 320 has a width of 0.3um. In one embodiment, the ir-suppressing film 310 and the transparent film 330 have the same width, and the gap 320 is located in the middle of the ir-suppressing film 310 and the transparent film 330 and below the interface between the color filter 410 and the white filter 420.
In one embodiment, the color filter 410 includes a first light responsive color filter, a second light responsive color filter, and a third light responsive color filter. In one embodiment, the first light responsive color filter is a green filter, the second light responsive color filter is a blue filter, and the third light responsive color filter is a red filter.
Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an image sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the transparent film 330 is narrower than the infrared-suppressing film 310, and the gap 330 is offset toward the transparent film 320 and is located entirely under the white filter 420, so that light crosstalk can be prevented better. The structure in fig. 2, which is numbered identically to that of fig. 1, has the same function and is not described in detail herein.
Fig. 4 and 5 are schematic structural diagrams of an image sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention. The image sensor shown in fig. 4 and 5 is a front-illuminated (FSI) image sensor. The metal wiring layer 200 is disposed on the light receiving surface of the photosensitive element 110. The structures in fig. 4 and 5, which are identical to those in fig. 2 and 1, have the same functions and are not described in detail herein.
The invention also provides a preparation method of the image sensor, which comprises the following steps:
Providing a semiconductor substrate, wherein a pixel region and an isolation region are arranged, and the pixel region comprises a color pixel region and a white pixel region;
disposing an infrared suppression film over the color pixel region;
disposing a color filter over the infrared suppression film;
A white color filter is disposed over the white pixel region, the white color filter being on the same layer as the color filter.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the method 600 for manufacturing an image sensor provided by the present invention includes the following steps:
Step 610, providing a semiconductor substrate, wherein a pixel region and an isolation region are arranged, wherein the pixel region comprises a color pixel region and a white pixel region;
Step 620, arranging an infrared inhibition film above the color pixel region, arranging a transparent film above the white pixel region, and arranging a gap layer between the infrared inhibition film and the transparent film;
Step 630, disposing a color filter over the infrared suppression film;
and 640, arranging a white color filter above the transparent film, wherein the white color filter and the color filter are positioned on the same layer.
In one embodiment, the method 600 further comprises the step of disposing a microlens over the color filter and the white filter, wherein the microlens is molded in synchronization with the white filter.
In one embodiment, the step 620 specifically includes disposing the gap layer, disposing the infrared-suppressing film, and disposing the transparent film.
In another embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, the method 700 for manufacturing an image sensor provided by the present invention includes the following steps:
step 710, providing a semiconductor substrate, wherein a pixel area and an isolation area are arranged, wherein the pixel area comprises a color pixel area and a white pixel area;
step 720, arranging an infrared suppression film above the color pixel region, and arranging a gap layer on the edge of the infrared suppression film;
Step 730, disposing a color filter over the infrared suppression film;
And 740, arranging a transparent film above the white pixel region, and arranging a white color filter above the transparent film, wherein the transparent film, the infrared suppression film and the gap layer are positioned on the same layer, and the white color filter and the color filter are positioned on the same layer.
In one embodiment, the method 700 further comprises the step of disposing a microlens over the color filter and the white filter, wherein the microlens is molded in synchronization with the transparent film and the white filter. Wherein in one embodiment the microlenses are of the same clear material as the transparent film, white color filter, such as quartz, glass, or any other suitable transparent material.
In one embodiment, the step 720 specifically includes disposing a gap layer and disposing the infrared-suppression film.
The manufacturing method 700 is different from the manufacturing method in that the manufacturing method 700 does not make a transparent film but makes a color filter part after finishing the manufacturing steps of an infrared cut-off film and a gap layer, and then synchronously finishes the filling of materials of a micro lens, a white color filter and the transparent film, so that an intermediate interface can be reduced, and the sensitivity can be improved.
In one embodiment, the color filters include a first light responsive color filter, a second light responsive color filter, and a third light responsive color filter, the first light responsive color filter being a green filter, the second light responsive color filter being a blue filter, and the third light responsive color filter being a red filter. In step 630 or step 730, the method specifically includes setting the green filter, then setting the red filter, and then setting the blue filter.
In one embodiment, the method further comprises the step of providing a metal wiring layer on the back side of the semiconductor substrate. In further embodiments, a metal wiring layer is disposed on the light-receiving surface of the semiconductor substrate and below the infrared-suppression film.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of wavelength and transmittance of an image sensor according to the present invention. According to the present invention, the infrared suppressing film having different thickness has almost 0 transmittance for infrared light having a wavelength of about 850 nm and has higher transmittance for other visible light, so that visible light can pass and infrared light is suppressed, and the white filter can secure luminance information, so that the image sensor can secure the best luminance signal to noise ratio.
The invention relates to a dark-scene full-color image sensor and a preparation method thereof, wherein an infrared cut-off film is arranged below a color filter, a color filter array mode is changed, and a white color filter with full spectral response is introduced, so that the full-color effect of a dark-light scene can be achieved by using only one image sensor chip, infrared signals are received especially in a night environment, the sensitivity of the chip in different environments is improved, and the chip can accurately restore images and colors in extremely dark scenes.
Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "one example" or "an example" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment. Or an example of the invention. Thus, phrases such as "in one embodiment" or "in one example" that appear throughout the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Directional terms such as "top", "downward", "above", "below" are used with reference to the orientation of the drawings being described. Furthermore, the terms "having," "including," "containing," and similar terms are defined to mean "comprising," unless specifically indicated otherwise. The specific features, structures, or characteristics may be included in an integrated circuit, electronic circuit, combinational logic circuit, or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. In addition, it is to be understood that the drawings provided herein are for illustrative purposes only and that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.
The above description of illustrated examples of the invention, including what is described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise forms disclosed. Although specific embodiments and examples of the invention have been described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Indeed, it should be understood that the specific example structures and materials are provided for purposes of explanation and that other structures and materials may be used in other embodiments and examples in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. These modifications can be made to embodiments of the invention in light of the above detailed description. The terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims. Rather, the scope is to be determined entirely by the following claims, which are to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation.
Examples given in the embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, the explanation and illustration of the summary of the invention presented. The above examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Reasonable revisions are made to embodiments of the present invention.