Photodiode and method for producing the same, photodiode array, spectrophotometer and solid-state imaging device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9568364-B2
Application number	US-201514937095-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 10, 2015
Priority date	Jun 7, 2011
Publication date	Feb 14, 2017
Grant date	Feb 14, 2017

Abstract

Provided is a photodiode having a high-concentration layer on its surface, in which the high-concentration layer is formed so that the thickness of a non-depleted region is larger than the roughness of an interface between silicon and an insulation film layer, and is smaller than a penetration depth of ultraviolet light.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A signal processing method for performing a signal processing based on a signal output from a photodiode depending on photocharges generated in the photodiode by a light illumination, comprising:
performing a signal processing using a photodiode based on a signal output from the photodiode,
wherein the photodiode includes a semiconductor layer made of silicon and an insulator layer in contact with the semiconductor layer,
wherein the semiconductor layer is provided with a first-conduction-type region and a second-conduction-type region located between the first-conduction-type region and an interface between the semiconductor layer and the insulator layer, the second-conduction-type region having a polarity opposite to the first-conduction-type region, and
wherein a thickness of a non-depleted region of the second-conduction-type region is larger than roughness of the interface, and is smaller than a penetration depth of ultraviolet light at which an intensity of the ultraviolet light in a wavelength range of 200-320 nm entering the semiconductor layer is equal to 1/e times the intensity of the same ultraviolet light at an outermost surface of the semiconductor layer.

2. The signal processing method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the signal processing is performed by a signal processing apparatus comprising:
a photodiode array comprising a plurality of pixels arranged in the form of a one-dimensional array or a two-dimensional array, one of the plurality of pixels including the photodiode; and
a means for scanning a signal from each of the plurality of pixels by predetermined procedures.

3. The signal processing method according to claim 2 ,
wherein the signal is an image signal.

4. The signal processing method according to claim 2 ,
wherein a light entering the photodiode array is dispersed in advance by a means for dispersing.

Assignees

• Univ Tohoku

Inventors

• Sugawa Shigetoshi
• Kuroda Rihito

Classifications

• G01J3/2823

  Imaging spectrometer · CPC title

• Y02E10/50

  Photovoltaic [PV] energy · CPC title

• G01J2003/2813

  2D-array · CPC title

• G01J3/2803 Primary

  using photoelectric array detector · CPC title

• H01L31/18

  Electricity · mapped topic