Solid-state image-capturing device and production method thereof, and electronic appliance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9978786-B2
Application number	US-201414900242-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 25, 2014
Priority date	Jul 3, 2013
Publication date	May 22, 2018
Grant date	May 22, 2018

Abstract

A high degree of phase difference detection accuracy can be obtained using a phase difference pixel ( 2 B) with a simpler configuration. A solid-state image-capturing device includes a pixel array unit in which a plurality of pixels including a phase difference pixel ( 2 B) which is a pixel for focal point detection and an image-capturing pixel ( 2 A) which is a pixel for image generation are arranged in a two-dimensional array. In this case, a predetermined layer ( 50 ) between a light shielding layer ( 47 ) and a micro lens ( 52 ) formed in the image-capturing pixel has a higher refraction index than a refraction index of the predetermined layer ( 51 ) formed in the phase difference pixel. The technique of the present disclosure can be applied to, for example, a back-illuminated-type solid-state image-capturing device and the like.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A solid-state image-capturing device, comprising:
a pixel array unit having a plurality of pixels arranged in a two-dimensional array, the plurality of pixels including a first pixel and a second pixel;
a first layer between a light shielding layer and a micro lens formed in the first pixel; and
a second layer between the light shielding layer and a micro lens formed in the second pixel,
wherein the first layer is not between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the second pixel,
wherein the second layer is not between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the first pixel, and
wherein the second layer between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the second pixel has a higher refraction index than a refraction index of the first layer formed in the first pixel.

2. The solid-state image-capturing device according to claim 1 , wherein a difference between the refraction index of the second layer between the light shielding layer and the micro lens of the second pixel and the refraction index of the first layer of the first pixel is greater than or equal to 0.2.

3. The solid-state image-capturing device according to claim 1 , wherein a planarization film having a refraction index less than the refraction index of the second layer between the light shielding layer and the micro lens of the second pixel is provided between the micro lens and the second layer of the second pixel.

4. The solid-state image-capturing device according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the second layer between the light shielding layer and the micro lens of the second pixel and the first layer between the light shielding layer and the micro lens of the first pixel is provided between the light shielding layer and a color filter layer at a lower side of the micro lens.

5. The solid-state image-capturing device according to claim 1 , wherein the first layer between the light shielding layer and the micro lens of the first pixel is made of a same material as a planarization film for planarizing an upper portion of the light shielding layer.

6. The solid-state image-capturing device according to claim 1 , wherein light incident upon the light shielding layer of the first pixel forms at least two corner areas, and wherein an aperture shape of the light shielding layer of the first pixel is a shape having at least two edges inset from the at least two corner areas.

7. The solid-state image-capturing device according to claim 6 , wherein the aperture shape of the light shielding layer of the first pixel is a polygonal shape.

8. The solid-state image-capturing device according to claim 1 , wherein an aperture shape of the light shielding layer of the first pixel is a semicircular shape.

9. The solid-state image-capturing device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pixels include a plurality of first pixels, and wherein the first pixels are phase difference pixels having light shielding layers forming a different aperture than at least an aperture width of the second pixel.

10. The solid-state image-capturing device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pixels include a plurality of first pixels, and wherein the first pixels are phase difference pixels having light shielding layers of different aperture directions.

11. The solid-state image-capturing device according to claim 1 , wherein the first pixel is a pixel for focal point detection and the second pixel is a pixel for image generation.

12. A production method for producing a solid-state image-capturing device having a plurality of pixels including a first pixel and a second pixel, the method comprising:
forming a light shielding layer in at least the first pixel;
forming a first layer in the first pixel at a first distance from the light shielding layer in a direction perpendicular to a back surface of a substrate, wherein the first layer is between the light shielding layer and a micro lens formed in the first pixel;
forming a second layer in the second pixel at the first distance from the light shielding layer in the direction perpendicular to the back surface of the substrate, wherein the second layer is between the light shielding layer and a micro lens formed in the second pixel, wherein the first layer is not between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the second pixel, wherein the second layer is not between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the first pixel, wherein a material of the second layer has a higher refraction index than a refraction index of a material of the first layer in the first pixel.

13. An electronic appliance comprising a solid-state image-capturing device including a pixel array unit having a plurality of pixels including a first pixel and a second pixel arranged in a two-dimensional array;
a first layer between a light shielding layer and a micro lens formed in the first pixel; and
a second layer between the light shielding layer and a micro lens formed in the second pixel, wherein the first layer is not between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the second pixel, wherein the second layer is not between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the first pixel, wherein the second layer between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the second pixel has a higher refraction index than a refraction index of the first layer formed between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the first pixel, and wherein the second layer between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the second pixel is horizontally adjacent to the first layer formed in the first pixel.

14. An electronic appliance comprising a solid-state image-capturing device including a pixel array unit having a plurality of first pixels and a plurality of second pixels arranged in a two-dimensional array,
wherein the first pixels include a low refraction index layer formed on a first one of a light shielding layer and a color filter layer,
wherein the low refraction index layer is between the light shielding layer and a micro lens formed in the first pixels,
wherein the second pixels include a high refraction index layer formed on the first one of the light shielding layer and the color filter layer,
wherein the high refraction index layer is between the light shielding layer and a micro lens formed in the second pixels,
wherein the low refraction index layer is not between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the second pixels,
wherein the high refraction index layer is not between the light shielding layer and the micro lens formed in the first pixels, and
wherein an aperture shape of the light shielding layer of the first pixels is a shape for shielding light in areas in proximity to the four corners of a rectangular pixel area.

Assignees

• Sony Corp

Inventors

• Asatsuma Tomohiko

Classifications

• H01L27/14609 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L27/1464

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L27/14621

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L27/14623

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L27/14627

  Electricity · mapped topic