Photoelectric conversion apparatus and imaging system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10403664-B2
Application number	US-201514726148-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 29, 2015
Priority date	Jun 2, 2014
Publication date	Sep 3, 2019
Grant date	Sep 3, 2019

Abstract

A photoelectric conversion apparatus has light receiving elements disposed on an imaging plane. The light receiving element includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion portions arrayed in a first direction parallel to the imaging plane, across an isolation portion, and a light guide portion extending over the plurality of photoelectric conversion portions. In a first plane which is parallel to the imaging plane and which traverses the light guide portion, a greatest width of the light guide portion in the first direction is larger than a greatest width of the light guide portion in a second direction parallel to the imaging plane and orthogonal to the first direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A photoelectric conversion apparatus comprising:
light receiving elements disposed along a first plane, wherein a light receiving element of the light receiving elements includes:
first and second photoelectric conversion portions arrayed along and below the first plane, and arrayed in an arrayed direction so that an isolation portion is disposed between the photoelectric conversion portions, and
a light guide portion disposed above the first and the second photoelectric conversion portions so that the light guide portion overlaps the first and the second photoelectric conversion portions in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to the first plane,
wherein, in at least a second plane, which is parallel to the first plane and which traverses the light guide portion, the light guide portion is surrounded by an insulating film and a refractive index of the light guide portion is higher than a refractive index of the insulating film,
wherein the second plane has a first direction parallel to the arrayed direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and
wherein, in the second plane, a width of the light guide portion in the first direction is larger than a width of the light guide portion in the second direction.

2. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein in a third plane which is parallel to the first plane, which traverses the light guide portion, which is between the photoelectric conversion portions and the second plane, and which has a third direction parallel to the second direction, the light guide portion has a width in the third direction, and
wherein the width of the light guide portion in the third direction in the third plane is smaller than the width of the light guide portion in the second direction in the second plane.

3. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 2 ,
wherein in the third plane, the light guide portion has a width in a fourth direction parallel to the first direction, and
wherein the width of the light guide portion in the fourth direction in the third plane is larger than the width of the light guide portion in the third direction in the third plane.

4. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the light receiving element further includes a single color filter disposed over the photoelectric conversion portions,
wherein WY≤3×λ/√(n 1 2 −n 0 2 ) or WY≤2×λ/√(n 1 2 −n 0 2 ) is satisfied,
where n 1 represents the refractive index of the light guide portion in the second plane, no represents the refractive index of the insulating film surrounding the light guide portion, λ represents a primary transmitting wavelength of the color filter, and WY represents the width of the light guide portion in the second direction in the second plane.

5. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the light receiving element further includes a light condensing portion disposed over the first and the second photoelectric conversion portions.

6. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 5 ,
wherein the light receiving elements include a first light receiving element situated at a middle portion of a light receiving region where the light receiving elements are arrayed, and a second light receiving elements situated at a perimeter portion of the light receiving region, and
wherein a distance between a center-of-gravity of the light condensing portion of the first light receiving element and a center-of-gravity of the light condensing portion of the second light receiving element is smaller than a distance between a center-of-gravity of the light guide portion of the first light receiving elements and a center-of-gravity of the light guide portion of the second light receiving element.

7. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the light guide portion includes a refractive index distribution that varies as a varying refractive index distribution.

8. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the width of the light guide portion in the first direction in the second plane is 1.05 times or more larger than the width of the light guide portion in the second direction in the second plane.

9. An imaging system comprising:
the photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ; and
a unit configured to perform imaging and focus detection by a phase shift detection method based on signals acquired from the light receiving elements.

10. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the light receiving element further includes:
a first lens corresponding to the photoelectric conversion portions, and
a second lens disposed between the first lens and the light guide portion.

11. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein a film, having a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the light guide portion, is disposed between the second lens and the light guide portion.

12. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein an area of the light guide portion in a plane, which traverses the light guide portion, gradually becomes smaller from an entrance of the light guide portion to an exit of the light guide portion.

13. A photoelectric conversion apparatus comprising:
light receiving elements disposed along a first plane, wherein a light receiving element of the light receiving elements includes:
first and second photoelectric conversion portions arrayed along and below the first plane, and arrayed in an arrayed direction so that an isolation portion is disposed between the photoelectric conversion portions, and
a light guide portion disposed above the first and second photoelectric conversion portions so that the light guide portion overlaps the first and the second photoelectric conversion portions in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to the first plane,
wherein, in at least a second plane, which is parallel to the first plane and which traverses the light guide portion, and which has a first direction parallel to the arrayed direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, a width of the light guide portion in the first direction is larger than a width of the light guide portion in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and
wherein a width of the first and the second photoelectric conversion portions in the arrayed direction is larger than the width of the light guide portion in the second direction in the second plane.

14. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 13 ,
wherein the light guide portion includes a material and is surrounded by an insulating film in the second plane, and
wherein a film formed of the same material as the light guide portion covers the insulating film.

15. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein a width of one of the photoelectric conversion portions in the arrayed direction is smaller than a width of the one of the photoelectric conversion portions in an orthogonal arrayed direction to the arrayed direction.

16. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein a sum of each width of the photoelectric conversion portions and a distance between the photoelectric conversion portions in the arrayed direction is larger than the width of the light guide portion in the first direction in the second plane.

17. The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 13 ,
wherein the width of the light guide portion in the

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Kato Taro
• Iba Jun

Classifications

• H04N25/705

  Pixels for depth measurement, e.g. RGBZ · CPC title

• H04N25/704

  Pixels specially adapted for focusing, e.g. phase difference pixel sets · CPC title

• G02B7/36 Primary

  using image sharpness techniques {, e.g. image processing techniques for generating autofocus signals (image data processing per se G06T; in cameras having a solid state image sensor H04N23/67)} · CPC title

• H01L27/14625 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04N5/36961

  Electricity · mapped topic