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JP-2026076247-A - Image sensor and imaging device

JP2026076247AJP 2026076247 AJP2026076247 AJP 2026076247AJP-2026076247-A

Abstract

[Solution] The image sensor comprises a first semiconductor substrate having a first photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and a second photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge; a second semiconductor substrate laminated with the first semiconductor substrate, having a drive unit that outputs a control signal to the first semiconductor substrate to control the storage time for storing the charge converted by the first photoelectric conversion unit and the storage time for storing the charge converted by the second photoelectric conversion unit to be different storage times; and a plurality of junctions that electrically connect the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate, each having conductive members arranged to face each other in the stacking direction in which the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate are stacked. [Effect] By configuring the connection section redundantly, the possibility of causing pixel defects due to poor bonding can be reduced. The drive unit can independently control charge accumulation for the photometric pixels. [Selection Diagram] Figure 7

Inventors

  • 綱井 史郎

Assignees

  • 株式会社ニコン

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20260121
Priority Date
20120330

Claims (20)

  1. A first semiconductor substrate having a first photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and a second photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge, A semiconductor substrate laminated with the first semiconductor substrate, the second semiconductor substrate having a drive unit that outputs a control signal to the first semiconductor substrate to control the storage time for storing the charge converted by the first photoelectric conversion unit and the storage time for storing the charge converted by the second photoelectric conversion unit to be different storage times, An image sensor comprising a plurality of junctions that electrically connect the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate, each having conductive members arranged to face each other in the stacking direction in which the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate are stacked.
  2. In the image sensor according to claim 1, The plurality of junctions include a first junction having a first conductive member that outputs a first signal based on the charge converted by the first photoelectric conversion unit, and a second junction having a second conductive member that outputs a second signal based on the charge converted by the second photoelectric conversion unit. Image sensor.
  3. In the image sensor according to claim 2, An image sensor comprising a wiring layer disposed between the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate in the stacking direction, having a first output wiring that is electrically connected to the first conductive member and outputs the first signal, and a second output wiring that is electrically connected to the second conductive member and outputs the second signal.
  4. In the image sensor according to claim 2 or claim 3, The second semiconductor substrate includes a first conversion unit that converts the first signal output from the first conductive member into a digital signal, and a second conversion unit that converts the second signal output from the second conductive member into a digital signal. Image sensor.
  5. In the image sensor according to claim 4, The second semiconductor substrate has a first storage unit that stores a first digital signal converted from the first signal by the first conversion unit, and a second storage unit that stores a second digital signal converted from the second signal by the second conversion unit. Image sensor.
  6. In the image sensor according to claim 5, The second semiconductor substrate has a first arithmetic circuit for reading the first digital signal from the first storage unit and a second arithmetic circuit for reading the second digital signal from the second storage unit. Image sensor.
  7. In the image sensor according to claim 4, An image sensor comprising a third semiconductor substrate, which is laminated with the first semiconductor substrate, and has a first storage unit for storing a first digital signal converted from the first signal to a digital signal by the first conversion unit, and a second storage unit for storing a second digital signal converted from the second signal to a digital signal by the second conversion unit.
  8. In the image sensor according to claim 7, The third semiconductor substrate includes a first arithmetic circuit for reading the first digital signal from the first storage unit and a second arithmetic circuit for reading the second digital signal from the second storage unit. Image sensor.
  9. In the image sensor according to claim 4, The second photoelectric conversion unit is arranged in the row direction alongside the first photoelectric conversion unit. Image sensor.
  10. In the image sensor according to claim 9, The first semiconductor substrate includes a photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and is arranged alongside the first photoelectric conversion unit in the row direction, and a fourth photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and is arranged alongside the second photoelectric conversion unit in the row direction. The first conductive member outputs a third signal based on the charge converted by the third photoelectric conversion unit. The second conductive member outputs a fourth signal based on the charge converted by the fourth photoelectric conversion unit. The first conversion unit converts the third signal output from the first conductive member into a digital signal. The second conversion unit converts the fourth signal output from the second conductive member into a digital signal. Image sensor.
  11. In the image sensor according to claim 9, The first semiconductor substrate includes a photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and is arranged alongside the first photoelectric conversion unit in the row direction, and a fourth photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and is arranged alongside the second photoelectric conversion unit in the row direction. The plurality of junctions include a third junction having a third conductive member that outputs a third signal based on the charge converted by the third photoelectric conversion unit, and a fourth junction having a fourth conductive member that outputs a fourth signal based on the charge converted by the fourth photoelectric conversion unit. The first conversion unit converts the third signal output from the third conductive member into a digital signal. The second conversion unit converts the fourth signal output from the fourth conductive member into a digital signal. Image sensor.
  12. In the image sensor according to claim 10 or claim 11, The second semiconductor substrate includes a first storage unit for storing a first digital signal converted from the first signal to a digital signal by the first conversion unit, a second storage unit for storing a second digital signal converted from the second signal to a digital signal by the second conversion unit, a third storage unit for storing a third digital signal converted from the third signal to a digital signal by the first conversion unit, and a fourth storage unit for storing a fourth digital signal converted from the fourth signal to a digital signal by the second conversion unit. Image sensor.
  13. In the image sensor according to claim 10 or claim 11, An image sensor comprising a third semiconductor substrate laminated with the first semiconductor substrate, the third semiconductor substrate having a first storage unit for storing a first digital signal converted from the first signal to a digital signal by the first conversion unit, a second storage unit for storing a second digital signal converted from the second signal to a digital signal by the second conversion unit, a third storage unit for storing a third digital signal converted from the third signal to a digital signal by the first conversion unit, and a fourth storage unit for storing a fourth digital signal converted from the fourth signal to a digital signal by the second conversion unit.
  14. In the image sensor according to claim 4, The second photoelectric conversion unit is arranged in the row direction alongside the first photoelectric conversion unit. Image sensor.
  15. In the image sensor according to claim 14, The first semiconductor substrate includes a photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and is arranged alongside the first photoelectric conversion unit in the row direction, and a fourth photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and is arranged alongside the second photoelectric conversion unit in the row direction, The first conductive member outputs a third signal based on the charge converted by the third photoelectric conversion unit. The second conductive member outputs a fourth signal based on the charge converted by the fourth photoelectric conversion unit. The first conversion unit converts the third signal output from the first conductive member into a digital signal. The second conversion unit converts the fourth signal output from the second conductive member into a digital signal. Image sensor.
  16. In the image sensor according to claim 14, The first semiconductor substrate includes a photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and is arranged alongside the first photoelectric conversion unit in the row direction, and a fourth photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and is arranged alongside the second photoelectric conversion unit in the row direction, The plurality of junctions include a third junction having a third conductive member that outputs a third signal based on the charge converted by the third photoelectric conversion unit, and a fourth junction having a fourth conductive member that outputs a fourth signal based on the charge converted by the fourth photoelectric conversion unit. The first conversion unit converts the third signal output from the third conductive member into a digital signal. The second conversion unit converts the fourth signal output from the fourth conductive member into a digital signal. Image sensor.
  17. In the image sensor according to claim 15 or claim 16, The second semiconductor substrate includes a first storage unit for storing a first digital signal converted from the first signal to a digital signal by the first conversion unit, a second storage unit for storing a second digital signal converted from the second signal to a digital signal by the second conversion unit, a third storage unit for storing a third digital signal converted from the third signal to a digital signal by the first conversion unit, and a fourth storage unit for storing a fourth digital signal converted from the fourth signal to a digital signal by the second conversion unit. Image sensor.
  18. In the image sensor according to claim 15 or claim 16, An image sensor comprising a third semiconductor substrate laminated with the first semiconductor substrate, the third semiconductor substrate having a first storage unit for storing a first digital signal converted from the first signal to a digital signal by the first conversion unit, a second storage unit for storing a second digital signal converted from the second signal to a digital signal by the second conversion unit, a third storage unit for storing a third digital signal converted from the third signal to a digital signal by the first conversion unit, and a fourth storage unit for storing a fourth digital signal converted from the fourth signal to a digital signal by the second conversion unit.
  19. In the image sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 18, The first semiconductor substrate has a first transfer unit for transferring the charge converted by the first photoelectric conversion unit, and a second transfer unit for transferring the charge converted by the second photoelectric conversion unit. The drive unit outputs a transfer control signal to the first semiconductor substrate to control the timing at which charge is transferred from the first photoelectric conversion unit by the first transfer unit and the timing at which charge is transferred from the second photoelectric conversion unit by the second transfer unit to be different. Image sensor.
  20. In the image sensor according to claim 19, The first semiconductor substrate has a first reset unit for discharging the charge converted by the first photoelectric conversion unit, and a second reset unit for discharging the charge converted by the second photoelectric conversion unit. The drive unit outputs a reset control signal to the first semiconductor substrate to control the timing at which charge is discharged from the first photoelectric conversion unit by the first reset unit and the timing at which charge is discharged from the second photoelectric conversion unit by the second reset unit to be different. Image sensor.

Description

This invention relates to an image sensor and an imaging device. Image sensors that control a circuit connected to a photodiode using a control signal to read out pixel signals have been known for some time. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-49361 The image sensor in the first aspect of the present invention comprises a first semiconductor substrate having a first photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge and a second photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electric charge; a second semiconductor substrate laminated with the first semiconductor substrate, having a drive unit that outputs a control signal to the first semiconductor substrate to control the storage time for storing the charge converted by the first photoelectric conversion unit and the storage time for storing the charge converted by the second photoelectric conversion unit to be different storage times; and a plurality of junctions that electrically connect the first and second semiconductor substrates, each having conductive members arranged to face each other in the stacking direction in which the first and second semiconductor substrates are stacked. The imaging device according to the second aspect of the present invention comprises the image sensor described above. Furthermore, the above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention. Subcombinations of these features may also constitute an invention. This is a cross-sectional view of a back-illuminated MOS type image sensor according to this embodiment.This diagram illustrates the pixel arrangement and unit groups of the imaging chip.This is a circuit diagram corresponding to a unit group of imaging chips.This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an image sensor.This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the imaging device according to this embodiment.This is a diagram illustrating an example scene and its subdivision.This diagram illustrates the control of charge accumulation in each divided region.This figure shows the relationship between the number of cumulative operations and the dynamic range.A flowchart illustrating the processing of the shooting operation.This block diagram shows a specific configuration as an example of a signal processing chip.This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the flow of pixel signals transmitted from the imaging chip to the signal processing chip. The present invention will be described below through embodiments, but these embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Furthermore, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a back-illuminated image sensor 100 according to this embodiment. The image sensor 100 comprises an imaging chip 113 that outputs a pixel signal corresponding to incident light, a signal processing chip 111 that processes the pixel signal, and a memory chip 112 that stores the pixel signal. These imaging chip 113, signal processing chip 111, and memory chip 112 are stacked and electrically connected to each other by conductive bumps 109 made of Cu or the like. As shown in the figure, the incident light primarily enters in the Z-axis positive direction, indicated by the white arrow. In this embodiment, the side of the imaging chip 113 that receives the incident light is referred to as the back surface. Furthermore, as shown in the coordinate axes, the direction to the left of the paper perpendicular to the Z-axis is defined as the X-axis positive direction, and the direction towards the viewer perpendicular to both the Z-axis and X-axis is defined as the Y-axis positive direction. In the following figures, the coordinate axes are displayed using the coordinate axes of Figure 1 as a reference, so that the orientation of each figure is clear. An example of the imaging chip 113 is a back-illuminated MOS image sensor. The PD layer 106 is located on the back side of the wiring layer 108. The PD layer 106 has a plurality of two-dimensionally arranged PDs (photodiodes) 104, and transistors 105 provided corresponding to the PDs 104. A color filter 102 is provided on the incident light side of the PD layer 106 via a passivation film 103. The color filter 102 has multiple types that transmit different wavelength regions and has a specific arrangement corresponding to each PD 104. The arrangement of the color filter 102 will be described later. A set of color filter 102, PD 104, and transistor 105 forms a single pixel. On the incident light side of the color filter 102, a microlens 101 is provided, corresponding to each pixel. The microlens 101 focuses the incident light toward the corresponding PD 104. The wiring layer 108 has wiring 107 that transmits pixel signals from the PD layer 106 to the signal processing