Light receiving device, method for manufacturing same, and distance measuring device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12439712-B2
Application number	US-202117920524-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 27, 2021
Priority date	Jun 10, 2020
Publication date	Oct 7, 2025
Grant date	Oct 7, 2025

Abstract

The present technology relates to a light receiving device, a method for manufacturing the same, and a distance measuring device capable of improving distance measurement accuracy by maintaining the balance of transfer capability between transfer transistors.A light receiving device includes a pixel including: an embedded photodiode having a charge storage layer of a second conductivity type different from a first conductivity type of a photoelectric conversion region in a region in the vicinity of a second surface on the opposite side to a first surface that is a light incident surface of a substrate; at least two transfer transistors that transfer a charge stored in the photodiode; and at least one discharge transistor that discharges a charge stored in the photodiode; in the light receiving device, the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type is placed to be, in a planar view, surrounded by gates and sidewalls of the transfer transistors, or gates and sidewalls of the transfer transistors and the discharge transistors. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a distance measuring module that measures the distance to a subject, or the like.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A light receiving device comprising a pixel including:
an embedded photodiode having a charge storage layer of a second conductivity type different from a first conductivity type of a photoelectric conversion region in a region in a vicinity of a second surface on an opposite side to a first surface that is a light incident surface of a substrate;
at least two transfer transistors that transfer a charge stored in the photodiode; and
at least one discharge transistor that discharges a charge stored in the photodiode,
wherein the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type is placed to be, in a planar view, surrounded by gates and sidewalls of the transfer transistors, or gates and sidewalls of the transfer transistors and the discharge transistors.

2. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
the pixel includes two transfer transistors and two discharge transistors, and
is placed to be surrounded by the two transfer transistors and the sidewalls arranged facing each other and the two discharge transistors and the sidewalls arranged facing each other.

3. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type has a substantially square planar shape, and
each of the gate of the transfer transistor and the gate of the discharge transistor has a trapezoidal planar shape.

4. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
the pixel further includes the same number of amplification transistors as the transfer transistors, and
a drain of the amplification transistor and of the discharge transistor is shared.

5. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
the transfer transistor includes a vertical transistor.

6. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
the pixel further includes, with the transfer transistor taken as a first transfer transistor,
memory sections a number of which corresponds to the number of first transfer transistors, the memory section being configured to hold a charge until a charge transferred by the first transfer transistor is read out from the pixel, and
second transfer transistors a number of which corresponds to the number of first transfer transistors, the second transfer transistor being configured to transfer a charge held in the memory section to an FD.

7. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
the pixel includes four transfer transistors and two discharge transistors, and
the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type is placed to be surrounded by the four transfer transistors and the sidewalls arranged facing each other and the two discharge transistors and the sidewalls arranged facing each other.

8. The light receiving device according to claim 7 , wherein
two of the transfer transistors and two of the sidewalls arranged laterally and two of the transfer transistors and two of the sidewalls arranged laterally are arranged facing each other.

9. The light receiving device according to claim 7 , wherein
the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type has a substantially square planar shape, and
each of the gate of the transfer transistor and the gate of the discharge transistor has a trapezoidal planar shape.

10. The light receiving device according to claim 7 , wherein
the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type has a substantially regular hexagonal planar shape, and
each of the gate of the transfer transistor and the gate of the discharge transistor has a trapezoidal planar shape.

11. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
the pixel includes two transfer transistors and one discharge transistor, and
the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type has a substantially regular triangular planar shape.

12. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
the pixel includes four transfer transistors and four discharge transistors, and
the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type has a substantially regular octagonal planar shape.

13. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
the pixel includes two transfer transistors, and
a charge stored in the photodiode is alternately distributed to the two transfer transistors.

14. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
a pixel array region where pixels are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix form and a logic circuit region that processes signals outputted from the pixels are formed in different regions in a planar view of one substrate.

15. The light receiving device according to claim 1 , wherein
a first substrate in which a pixel array region where pixels are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix form is formed and a second substrate in which a logic circuit region that processes signals outputted from the pixels is formed are stacked, and
the pixel array region and the logic circuit region are formed in an overlapping region in a planar view.

16. A method for manufacturing a light receiving device including a pixel including:
an embedded photodiode having a charge storage layer of a second conductivity type different from a first conductivity type of a photoelectric conversion region in a region in a vicinity of a second surface on an opposite side to a first surface that is a light incident surface of a substrate;
at least two transfer transistors that transfer a charge stored in the photodiode; and
at least one discharge transistor that discharges a charge stored in the photodiode,
the method comprising: forming the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type of the light receiving device by self-alignment by using, as a mask, gates and sidewalls of the transfer transistors, or gates and sidewalls of the transfer transistors and the discharge transistors.

17. The method for manufacturing a light receiving device according to claim 16 , wherein
a gap between sidewalls of two pixel transistors of adjacent transfer transistors or adjacent discharge transistors is set to a gap through which an implanted ion does not pass in an ion implantation process of forming the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type.

18. A distance measuring device comprising:
a predetermined light source; and
a light receiving device that receives reflected light obtained by irradiation light being applied from the predetermined light source, being reflected by an object, and returning,
wherein the light receiving device includes a pixel including:
an embedded photodiode having a charge storage layer of a second conductivity type different from a first conductivity type of a photoelectric conversion region in a region in a vicinity of a second surface on an opposite side to a first surface that is a light incident surface of a substrate;
at least two transfer transistors that transfer a charge stored in the photodiode; and
at least one discharge transistor that discharges a charge stored in the photodiode, and

the charge storage layer of the second conductivity type is placed to be, in a planar view, surrounded by gates and sidewalls of the transfer transistors, or gates and sidewalls of the transfer transistors and the discharge transistors.

Assignees

• Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp

Inventors

• Isogai Yuji
• Otake Yusuke
• Watanabe Ryota

Classifications

• H10F39/802 Primary

  Geometry or disposition of elements in pixels, e.g. address-lines or gate electrodes · CPC title

• H10F39/18

  Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor [CMOS] image sensors; Photodiode array image sensors · CPC title

• H10F39/014

  of CMOS image sensors · CPC title

• G01S7/4816

  of receivers alone · CPC title

• H10F39/811

  Interconnections · CPC title