Patents by Inventor Taiichiro Watanabe

Taiichiro Watanabe 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).

  • Patent number: 10468451
    Abstract: An imaging device is provided. The imaging device may include a substrate having a first photoelectric conversion unit and a second photoelectric conversion unit at a light-incident side of the substrate. The second photoelectric conversion unit may include a photoelectric conversion layer, a first electrode, a second electrode above the photoelectric conversion layer, a third electrode, and an insulating material between the third electrode and the photoelectric conversion layer, wherein a portion of the insulating material is between the first electrode and the third electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hideaki Togashi, Fumihiko Koga, Tetsuji Yamaguchi, Shintarou Hirata, Taiichiro Watanabe, Yoshihiro Ando, Toyotaka Kataoka, Satoshi Keino, Yukio Kaneda
  • Publication number: 20190132536
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a solid-state imaging device and an electronic apparatus that can reduce the influence on an OPB pixel in a case where blooming has occurred in an aperture pixel. A solid-state imaging device that is one aspect of the present disclosure has a first photoelectric conversion portion, an upper electrode, and a lower electrode formed outside a substrate, the first photoelectric conversion portion performing photoelectric conversion in accordance with incident light, the upper electrode and the lower electrode being formed to sandwich the first photoelectric conversion portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2017
    Publication date: May 2, 2019
    Inventors: TAIICHIRO WATANABE, FUMIHIKO KOGA
  • Publication number: 20190123093
    Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes: plural photodiodes formed in different depths in a unit pixel area of a substrate; and plural vertical transistors formed in the depth direction from one face side of the substrate so that gate portions for reading signal charges obtained by photoelectric conversion in the plural photodiodes are formed in depths corresponding to the respective photodiodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2018
    Publication date: April 25, 2019
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Taiichiro Watanabe, Akihiro Yamada, Hideo Kido, Hiromasa Saito, Keiji Mabuchi, Yuko Ohgishi
  • Patent number: 10199427
    Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes: plural photodiodes formed in different depths in a unit pixel area of a substrate; and plural vertical transistors formed in the depth direction from one face side of the substrate so that gate portions for reading signal charges obtained by photoelectric conversion in the plural photodiodes are formed in depths corresponding to the respective photodiodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Taiichiro Watanabe, Akihiro Yamada, Hideo Kido, Hiromasa Saito, Keiji Mabuchi, Yuko Ohgishi
  • Publication number: 20190006411
    Abstract: The present technology relates to a solid-state imaging device and an electronic apparatus that perform a stable overflow from a photodiode and prevent Qs from decreasing and color mixing from occurring. A solid-state imaging device according to an aspect of the present technology includes, at a light receiving surface side of a semiconductor substrate, a charge retention part that generates and retains a charge in response to incident light, an OFD into which the charge saturated at the charge retention part is discharged, and a potential barrier that becomes a barrier of the charge that flows from the charge retention part to the OFD, the OFD including a low concentration OFD and a high concentration OFD having different impurity concentrations of the same type, and the high concentration OFD and the potential barrier being formed at a distance. For example, the present technology is applicable to a CMOS image sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2018
    Publication date: January 3, 2019
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Taiichiro WATANABE, Ryosuke NAKAMURA, Yusuke SATO, Fumihiko KOGA
  • Patent number: 10109669
    Abstract: The present technology relates to a solid-state imaging device and an electronic apparatus that perform a stable overflow from a photodiode and prevent Qs from decreasing and color mixing from occurring. A solid-state imaging device according to an aspect of the present technology includes, at a light receiving surface side of a semiconductor substrate, a charge retention part that generates and retains a charge in response to incident light, an OFD into which the charge saturated at the charge retention part is discharged, and a potential barrier that becomes a barrier of the charge that flows from the charge retention part to the OFD, the OFD including a low concentration OFD and a high concentration OFD having different impurity concentrations of the same type, and the high concentration OFD and the potential barrier being formed at a distance. For example, the present technology is applicable to a CMOS image sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Taiichiro Watanabe, Ryosuke Nakamura, Yusuke Sato, Fumihiko Koga
  • Publication number: 20180175102
    Abstract: An imaging device is provided. The imaging device may include a substrate having a first photoelectric conversion unit and a second photoelectric conversion unit at a light-incident side of the substrate. The second photoelectric conversion unit may include a photoelectric conversion layer, a first electrode, a second electrode above the photoelectric conversion layer, a third electrode, and an insulating material between the third electrode and the photoelectric conversion layer, wherein a portion of the insulating material is between the first electrode and the third electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Inventors: Hideaki TOGASHI, Fumihiko KOGA, Tetsuji YAMAGUCHI, Shintarou HIRATA, Taiichiro WATANABE, Yoshihiro ANDO, Toyotaka KATAOKA, Satoshi KEINO, Yukio KANEDA
  • Patent number: 9985068
    Abstract: There is provided a solid state imaging device including a pixel including a photoelectric conversion unit that generates and accumulates a charge according to a received light amount, a charge accumulation unit that accumulates the generated charge, a first transfer transistor that transfers the charge of the photoelectric conversion unit to the charge accumulation unit, a charge holding unit that holds the charge to read out as a signal, and a second transfer transistor that transfers the charge of the charge accumulation unit to the charge holding unit, in which a gate electrode of the first transfer transistor is formed to be buried up to a predetermined depth from a semiconductor substrate interface, and the charge accumulation unit is formed in a longitudinally long shape to be extended in a depth direction along a side wall of the gate electrode of the first transfer transistor to be buried therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation
    Inventors: Taiichiro Watanabe, Fumihiko Koga
  • Publication number: 20180076252
    Abstract: An imaging device is provided. The imaging device may include a substrate having a first photoelectric conversion unit and a second photoelectric conversion unit at a light-incident side of the substrate. The second photoelectric conversion unit may include a photoelectric conversion layer, a first electrode, a second electrode above the photoelectric conversion layer, a third electrode, and an insulating material between the third electrode and the photoelectric conversion layer, wherein a portion of the insulating material is between the first electrode and the third electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2017
    Publication date: March 15, 2018
    Inventors: Hideaki TOGASHI, Fumihiko KOGA, Tetsuji YAMAGUCHI, Shintarou HIRATA, Taiichiro WATANABE, Yoshihiro ANDO, Toyotaka KATAOKA, Satoshi KEINO, Yukio KANEDA
  • Publication number: 20170338272
    Abstract: The present technology relates to a solid-state imaging device and an electronic apparatus that perform a stable overflow from a photodiode and prevent Qs from decreasing and color mixing from occurring. A solid-state imaging device according to an aspect of the present technology includes, at a light receiving surface side of a semiconductor substrate, a charge retention part that generates and retains a charge in response to incident light, an OFD into which the charge saturated at the charge retention part is discharged, and a potential barrier that becomes a barrier of the charge that flows from the charge retention part to the OFD, the OFD including a low concentration OFD and a high concentration OFD having different impurity concentrations of the same type, and the high concentration OFD and the potential barrier being formed at a distance. For example, the present technology is applicable to a CMOS image sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Publication date: November 23, 2017
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Taiichiro WATANABE, Ryosuke NAKAMURA, Yusuke SATO, Fumihiko KOGA
  • Publication number: 20170243906
    Abstract: There is provided a solid-state image pickup device including: a semiconductor substrate; a photodiode formed in the semiconductor substrate; a transistor having a gate electrode part or all of which is embedded in the semiconductor substrate, the transistor being configured to read a signal electric charge from the photodiode via the gate electrode; and an electric charge transfer layer provided between the gate electrode and the photodiode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2017
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Inventors: Ryosuke NAKAMURA, Fumihiko KOGA, Taiichiro WATANABE
  • Patent number: 9634047
    Abstract: There is provided a solid-state image pickup device including: a semiconductor substrate (21); a photodiode (11A, 11B) formed in the semiconductor substrate; a transistor (10) having a gate electrode (14) part or all of which is embedded in the semiconductor substrate, the transistor being configured to read a signal electric charge from the photodiode via the gate electrode; and an electric charge transfer layer (13) provided between the gate electrode and the photodiode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Ryosuke Nakamura, Fumihiko Koga, Taiichiro Watanabe
  • Patent number: 9620539
    Abstract: There is provided a solid-state image pickup device including: a semiconductor substrate (21); a photodiode (11A, 11B) formed in the semiconductor substrate; a transistor (10) having a gate electrode (14) part or all of which is embedded in the semiconductor substrate, the transistor being configured to read a signal electric charge from the photodiode via the gate electrode; and an electric charge transfer layer (13) provided between the gate electrode and the photodiode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Ryosuke Nakamura, Fumihiko Koga, Taiichiro Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20160268322
    Abstract: There is provided a solid state imaging device including a pixel including a photoelectric conversion unit that generates and accumulates a charge according to a received light amount, a charge accumulation unit that accumulates the generated charge, a first transfer transistor that transfers the charge of the photoelectric conversion unit to the charge accumulation unit, a charge holding unit that holds the charge to read out as a signal, and a second transfer transistor that transfers the charge of the charge accumulation unit to the charge holding unit, in which a gate electrode of the first transfer transistor is formed to be buried up to a predetermined depth from a semiconductor substrate interface, and the charge accumulation unit is formed in a longitudinally long shape to be extended in a depth direction along a side wall of the gate electrode of the first transfer transistor to be buried therein.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2014
    Publication date: September 15, 2016
    Applicant: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Taiichiro WATANABE, Fumihiko KOGA
  • Publication number: 20160247848
    Abstract: There is provided a solid-state image pickup device including: a semiconductor substrate (21); a photodiode (11A, 11B) formed in the semiconductor substrate; a transistor (10) having a gate electrode (14) part or all of which is embedded in the semiconductor substrate, the transistor being configured to read a signal electric charge from the photodiode via the gate electrode; and an electric charge transfer layer (13) provided between the gate electrode and the photodiode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2016
    Publication date: August 25, 2016
    Inventors: Ryosuke NAKAMURA, Fumihiko KOGA, Taiichiro WATANABE
  • Publication number: 20160093659
    Abstract: There is provided a solid-state image pickup device including: a semiconductor substrate (21); a photodiode (11A, 11B) formed in the semiconductor substrate; a transistor (10) having a gate electrode (14) part or all of which is embedded in the semiconductor substrate, the transistor being configured to read a signal electric charge from the photodiode via the gate electrode; and an electric charge transfer layer (13) provided between the gate electrode and the photodiode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2014
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Inventors: Ryosuke NAKAMURA, Fumihiko KOGA, Taiichiro WATANABE
  • Patent number: 9006855
    Abstract: There is provided a solid-state image pickup element including a pixel array part in which a plurality of pixels are arranged on a silicon substrate in arrays, and a drive part driving the pixel. The pixel includes a photoelectric conversion part formed near a second face of the silicon substrate opposite to a first face on which a wiring layer is laminated, for generating a charge corresponding to incident light, an overflow part formed in contact with the second face and fixed to a predetermined voltage, and a potential barrier part formed to be connected with the photoelectric conversion part and the overflow part, for serving as a barrier against a charge overflowed from the photoelectric conversion part on the overflow part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Taiichiro Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20140151533
    Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes: plural photodiodes formed in different depths in a unit pixel area of a substrate; and plural vertical transistors formed in the depth direction from one face side of the substrate so that gate portions for reading signal charges obtained by photoelectric conversion in the plural photodiodes are formed in depths corresponding to the respective photodiodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2013
    Publication date: June 5, 2014
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Taiichiro Watanabe, Akihiro Yamada, Hideo Kido, Hiromasa Saito, Keiji Mabuchi, Yuko Ohgishi
  • Patent number: 8704924
    Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes a substrate, a photoelectric conversion element provided on the light incidence side of the substrate and including a photoelectric conversion film sandwiched between a first electrode provided separately for each of pixels, and a second electrode provided opposite the first electrode, the photoelectric conversion film being made of an organic material or an inorganic material and generating a signal charge according to the quantity of incident light, an amplifier transistor having an amplifier gate electrode connected to the first electrode, and a voltage control circuit that is connected to the second electrode, and supplies a desired voltage to the second electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Taiichiro Watanabe, Keiji Mabuchi, Tetsuji Yamaguchi, Isao Hirota, Kouichi Harada
  • Patent number: 8614759
    Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes: plural photodiodes formed in different depths in a unit pixel area of a substrate; and plural vertical transistors formed in the depth direction from one face side of the substrate so that gate portions for reading signal charges obtained by photoelectric conversion in the plural photodiodes are formed in depths corresponding to the respective photodiodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Taiichiro Watanabe, Akihiro Yamada, Hideo Kido, Hiromasa Saito, Keiji Mabuchi, Yuko Ohgishi