Patents by Inventor Hiroshi Sakoh

Hiroshi Sakoh has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20070194209
    Abstract: A solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of light-receiving elements arranged in a light-receiving area, and a plurality of micro-lenses corresponding to the light-receiving elements, and has a flattening film formed on the plurality of the micro-lenses. At a center of the light-receiving area, the micro-lenses are placed in positions directly above corresponding photodiodes, and placed in positions which are progressively offset from positions directly above the corresponding photodiodes, towards a center of the light receiving area, as micro-lenses are located farther from the center of the light-receiving area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2007
    Publication date: August 23, 2007
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sakoh, Masato Kobayashi, Nobukazu Teranishi
  • Publication number: 20070187576
    Abstract: A solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of light-receiving elements arranged in a light-receiving area, and a plurality of micro-lenses corresponding to the light-receiving elements, and has a flattening film formed on the plurality of the micro-lenses. At a center of the light-receiving area, the micro-lenses are placed in positions directly above corresponding photodiodes, and placed in positions which are progressively offset from positions directly above the corresponding photodiodes, towards a center of the light receiving area, as micro-lenses are located farther from the center of the light-receiving area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2007
    Publication date: August 16, 2007
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sakoh, Masato Kobayashi, Nobukazu Teranishi
  • Publication number: 20070187575
    Abstract: A solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of light-receiving elements arranged in a light-receiving area, and a plurality of micro-lenses corresponding to the light-receiving elements, and has a flattening film formed on the plurality of the micro-lenses. At a center of the light-receiving area, the micro-lenses are placed in positions directly above corresponding photodiodes, and placed in positions which are progressively offset from positions directly above the corresponding photodiodes, towards a center of the light receiving area, as micro-lenses are located farther from the center of the light-receiving area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2007
    Publication date: August 16, 2007
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sakoh, Masato Kobayashi, Nobukazu Teranishi
  • Patent number: 7253399
    Abstract: A solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of light-receiving elements arranged in a light-receiving area, and a plurality of micro-lenses corresponding to the light-receiving elements, and has a flattening film formed on the plurality of the micro-lenses. At a center of the light-receiving area, the micro-lenses are placed in positions directly above corresponding photodiodes, and placed in positions which are progressively offset from positions directly above the corresponding photodiodes, towards a center of the light receiving area, as micro-lenses are located farther from the center of the light-receiving area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sakoh, Masato Kobayashi, Nobukazu Teranishi
  • Publication number: 20070057153
    Abstract: A solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of light-receiving elements arranged in a light-receiving area, and a plurality of micro-lenses corresponding to the light-receiving elements, and has a flattening film formed on the plurality of the micro-lenses. At a center of the light-receiving area, the micro-lenses are placed in positions directly above corresponding photodiodes, and placed in positions which are progressively offset from positions directly above the corresponding photodiodes, towards a center of the light receiving area, as micro-lenses are located farther from the center of the light-receiving area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2006
    Publication date: March 15, 2007
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sakoh, Masato Kobayashi, Nobukazu Teranishi
  • Publication number: 20060172453
    Abstract: In a manufacturing method of an image sensor, a lightproof film (an antireflective film for avoiding flares) is formed over a wiring area; a transparent film is formed over an imaging area using a material capable of patterning; a transparent film, for forming micro lenses on top, is formed on the transparent film, wherein a height of the top surfaces of the transparent film and the lightproof film are evenly formed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2006
    Publication date: August 3, 2006
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sakoh, Hiroshi Okamoto, Ryoichi Nagayoshi
  • Publication number: 20060138499
    Abstract: A solid-state image sensor of the present invention is a solid-state image sensor in which pixel cells are arranged on a semiconductor substrate, wherein each of the pixel cells includes: a photoelectric conversion unit that performs photoelectric conversion of incident light; and a microlens formed above the photoelectric conversion unit, the microlens corresponding to the photoelectric conversion unit, wherein the microlens includes a transparent layer and a color filter layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2005
    Publication date: June 29, 2006
    Inventor: Hiroshi Sakoh
  • Publication number: 20060044449
    Abstract: The solid-state image sensor of the present invention includes unit pixel cells arranged in a matrix form, each unit pixel cell having a photoelectric conversion element formed on a semiconductor substrate, a color filter formed on the photoelectric conversion element and a micro-lens formed on the color filter, where a thickness of the color filter is greater in the center than in the periphery, and the color filters adjoin in vertical and horizontal directions in the arrangement of the unit pixel cells. A cross-sectional shape of the color filter is, for example, triangular, trapezoidal, convex, lens-shaped or semielliptic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2005
    Publication date: March 2, 2006
    Inventor: Hiroshi Sakoh
  • Publication number: 20050045805
    Abstract: The solid-state image-sensor in the present invention is made by stacking a flattened transparent insulating film 2 made out of material such as boron phosphate silicate glass (BPSG), a convex-topped high refractive index (n>1.8) in-layer lens 3, a color filter layer 5 made out of a color resist containing a dye or pigment, a transparent film 6 made out of an acrylic transparent resin, and a micro-lens (also known as a top lens) 7, on top of a photodiode 1 formed on a silicon semiconductor substrate 10, where the color filter layer 5 is directly applied on the in-layer lens 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2004
    Publication date: March 3, 2005
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sakoh, Michiyo Ichikawa, Yoshiaki Nishi
  • Publication number: 20050029433
    Abstract: The solid-state image sensor in the present invention includes a plurality of light-receiving elements arranged in a light-receiving area, and a plurality of micro-lenses 7 corresponding to the light-receiving elements, and has a flattening film 8 formed on the plurality of the micro-lenses. At the center of the light-receiving area, micro-lenses 7 are placed in positions directly above the corresponding photodiodes 1, and placed in positions which are progressively offset from the positions directly above the corresponding photodiodes 1, towards the center of the light receiving area, as micro-lenses 7 are located farther from the center of the light-receiving area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2004
    Publication date: February 10, 2005
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sakoh, Masato Kobayashi, Nobukazu Teranishi
  • Publication number: 20040241898
    Abstract: According to the manufacturing method of the image sensor of the present invention, the lightproof film4 (the antireflective film for avoiding flares) is formed over the wiring area3; the transparent film10 is formed over the imaging area2 using the material capable of patterning; the transparent film8, for forming micro lenses on top, is formed on the transparent film10; and the top surface of the transparent film10 and the lightproof film4 is evenly formed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2004
    Publication date: December 2, 2004
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sakoh, Hiroshi Okamoto, Ryoichi Nagayoshi