Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20030209651?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=7222078
Timestamp: 2014-10-22 03:20:44
Document Index: 705476050

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 101', 'art 102', 'art 103', 'arts 101', 'art 501', 'art 502', 'art 503', 'art 1203', 'art 1202', 'art 1102', 'art 1301', 'art 1302', 'art 1303', 'art 102', 'art 103', 'art 102', 'art 103', 'art 502', 'art 503', 'art 101', 'art 102', 'art 103', 'art 102']

Patent US20030209651 - Color image pickup device and color light-receiving device - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsThe present invention provides a light-receiving device comprising, on a substrate, a first light-receiving part for detecting light of a first wavelength range, and a second light-receiving part for detecting light of a second wavelength range, wherein at least a part of incident light is transmitted...http://www.google.com/patents/US20030209651?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20030209651 - Color image pickup device and color light-receiving deviceAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20030209651 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 10/428,749Publication dateNov 13, 2003Filing dateMay 5, 2003Priority dateMay 8, 2002Also published asUS7129466Publication number10428749, 428749, US 2003/0209651 A1, US 2003/209651 A1, US 20030209651 A1, US 20030209651A1, US 2003209651 A1, US 2003209651A1, US-A1-20030209651, US-A1-2003209651, US2003/0209651A1, US2003/209651A1, US20030209651 A1, US20030209651A1, US2003209651 A1, US2003209651A1InventorsTatsuya IwasakiOriginal AssigneeCanon Kabushiki KaishaExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManReferenced by (45), Classifications (20), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetColor image pickup device and color light-receiving deviceUS 20030209651 A1Abstract The present invention provides a light-receiving device comprising, on a substrate, a first light-receiving part for detecting light of a first wavelength range, and a second light-receiving part for detecting light of a second wavelength range, wherein at least a part of incident light is transmitted through the first light-receiving part and then received by the second light-receiving part, and wherein the central wavelength of the first wavelength range is longer than the central wavelength of the second wavelength range. Images(16) Claims(32)
[0135] The image pickup device has a function of photoelectric conversion (light-receiving device), a function of storing converted signals, a function of reading out stored signals, a function of selecting pixel locations to read out and the like. [0136] The signal charge or signal current subjected to photoelectric conversion in the light-receiving part is stored in the light-receiving part itself or an additionally provided capacitor. The stored charge is read together with response to selection of the image location by the charge-coupled device (CCD) or the MOS-type image pickup device using an X-Y address system (so called CMOS sensor). The method of transferring and reading a signal using a CCD includes a method in which a charge transfer part for transferring the charge signal of the pixel to an analog shift register by a transfer switch is provided, and the signal is read in accordance with the output terminal by the operation of the register. There are a line address type system, a frame transfer type system, an interline transfer type system and a frame interline transfer system and the like. Also, for the CCD, a two-phase structure, a three-phase structure, a four-phase structure and a buried channel structure are known, but any structure may be applied without limitation. [0137] Other address selection methods include a method of selecting pixels one after another by a multiplexer switch and a digital shift register and reading to a common output line as a signal voltage (or charge). An image pickup device of X-Y address operation arrayed in a two-dimensional form is known as a CMOS sensor. In this image pickup device, a switch provided in the pixel connected to the point of intersection of X-Y is connected to a vertical shift register, and when the switch is turned on by a voltage from a vertical scan shift register, a signal read from a pixel provided in the same row is read to the output line in the column direction. This signal is read from the output terminal one after another through the switch driven by a horizontal scan shift register. [0138] For reading the output signal, a floating diffusion detector and a floating gate detector may be used. Also, an improvement in S/N can be achieved by providing a signal amplification circuit in the pixel area, using a method of correlated double sampling or the like. [0139] For signal processing, gamma correction by an ADC circuit, digitization by an AD converter, luminance signal processing and color signal processing may be performed. The color signal processing includes white balance processing, color separation processing and color matrix processing and the like. When using the NTSC signal, processing for converting the RGB signal into the YIQ signal may be performed. [0140] By the present invention, an image pickup device having a high sensitivity and a high level of color separation capability and being free from false color could be achieved in the way described above. The image pickup device of the present invention can be applied for any image pickup device such as those of digital cameras, video cameras, facsimiles, scanners, copiers and X-ray image sensors. Also, it can be used not only as an image pickup device, but also as any optical sensor such as a color light-receiving device, a biosensor and a chemical sensor as a single product. [0141] The present invention will be described below using Examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the Examples described below, but any configuration and production method thereof may be applied as long as they are not deviated from the concept described above. EXAMPLE 1 [0142] In this Example, the superiority of the image pickup device having a configuration shown in FIG. 1 was demonstrated by numerical estimation. [0143] As shown in FIG. 1, the image pickup device is a stacked type image pickup device in which a light-receiving part 101 for detecting green light, a light-receiving part 102 for detecting blue light, and a light-receiving part 103 for detecting red light are stacked in this order. The light-receiving part constituted by an organic semiconductor having a peak of an absorption spectrum for green light is used, and light-receiving parts made of silicon for blue light and red light are used, as a model case. Blue light and red light are separated using a difference in absorption length in silicon. [0144] In the configuration used here, the first light-receiving part corresponds to the green light-receiving part, and the second light-receiving part corresponds to the blue light-receiving part and the third light-receiving port corresponds to the red light-receiving part. [0145] Also, the red light is detected by the red light-receiving part after transmitting the green and blue light-receiving parts. [0146] The results obtained in accordance with the following calculation model. [0147] A normal distribution having a central wavelength of 0.55 μm and a standard deviation of 0.03 μm as an absorption spectrum similar in shape to a color filter was assumed as the absorption spectrum for the green light-receiving part, and calculations were made with a model device using stacked-type light-receiving devices of Si for red and blue. At this time, the depths at which the blue and red light-receiving parts were located in the silicon substrate were about 0.15 μm and about 1.5 μm from the surface of Si, respectively. [0148] Comparative Example 1 represents an example of the configuration shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,875 in which color separation of red, blue and green is performed in the depth direction of the silicon substrate. At this time, the depths of the blue, green and red light-receiving parts in the silicon substrate were 0.2 μm, 0.6 μm and 2.0 μm, respectively. [0149] The results of calculating spectral sensitivities in the light-receiving parts of this system are shown in FIG. 24. Curves of G, B and R in FIG. 24 show spectral sensitivities of the light-receiving parts 101, 102 and 103, respectively. Also, the results of calculating the amounts of incident light and color separation capabilities for respective colors from this graph are shown in Table below. TABLE 1 Comparative Example 1 Example 1 Blue Light �38% 62% Reception Ratio Green Light �38% 100% Reception Ratio Red Light Reception �38% 62% Ratio Blue Color �68% 91% Separation Degree Green Color �48% 100% Separation Degree Red Color �53% 80% Separation Degree [0150] Here, the light reception ratio refers to the value showing a ratio of light detected in a desired light-receiving part to incident light under monochromatic light irradiation, and for example, the blue light reception ratio is a ratio of blue light capable of being received by the blue light-receiving part to incident blue light (e.g. light with the wavelength of 450 nm). The image pickup device with a high light reception ratio for a certain color corresponds to a high sensitivity to the color. [0151] Also, the color separation ratio is a value introduced as an index showing the color separation capability of the image pickup device, which corresponds to a ratio of signal assigned to a desired color to sum of RGB signals under monochromatic light irradiation. For example, the blue color separation ratio is a value expressed by (amount of light detected by blue light-receiving part)/((amount of light detected by blue light-receiving part)+(amount of light detected by green light-receiving part)+(amount of light detected by red light-receiving part)) when blue light (wavelength of 450 nm) enters. [0152] Here, as the wavelengths for blue, green and red, the values 450, 550 and 650 nm were used, respectively. [0153] As apparent from the Table, an image pickup device excellent in sensitivity (or light reception ratio in Table) and color separation can be provided by applying the configuration of this example in which the light-receiving device selectively receiving green light is placed in the uppermost layer. EXAMPLE 2 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2 [0154] In this Example, a CMOS sensor-type image pickup device having a configuration based on Example 1 was achieved. [0155] The image pickup device is a stacked-type image pickup device in which a light-receiving part for detecting the green light, a light-receiving part for detecting blue light, and a light-receiving part for detecting red light are stacked in this order similarly as in the case of Example 1. [0156] In this Example, as shown in the outlined configuration of a pixel area in FIG. 14, a stacked-type image pickup device is formed that employs an organic light-receiving device using a light absorption layer of an organic semiconductor made of merocyanine of which the structural formula and absorption intensity are shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B as the green light-receiving part, and using light-receiving parts of Si for the red and blue light-receiving parts. That is, green light is absorbed and detected by a light-receiving part 501 composed of an organic semiconductor, blue light is detected by a second light-receiving part 502 provided at a shallow depth from the surface in a silicon substrate 504, and red light is detected by a third light-receiving part 503 provided at a deeper depth from the surface of the substrate. That is, color separation for blue and red is performed using the dependency of the absorption coefficient on the wavelength in silicon. Each received light is read via an amplifier 505 provided on the silicon substrate. [0157] First, a stacked-type silicon image sensor with a blue light-receiving part (pn junction) and a red light-receiving part stacked on a silicon substrate was fabricated based on the conventional method of fabricating a CMOS sensor. [0158] P-type wells and n-type wells were formed on the silicon substrate having n-type wells by the normal ion doping method to obtain a structure having stacked pn junctions. The pn junctions serve as blue and red light-receiving parts, respectively. The depths of the blue and red light-receiving parts were about 0.15 μm and 1.5 μm. [0159] A green organic light-receiving part was stacked thereon using merocyanine. A zinc oxide film with the thickness of 100 nm was formed by the spattering method, and a merocyanine film with the thickness of 100 nm, and an Ag film with the thickness of 80 nm were formed by vacuum evaporation to fabricate a transparent electrode in the light-receiving part. The Ag film was patterned in such a manner that an opening was provided in the center of the light-receiving part. [0160] The green light-receiving part is connected to the silicon transistor of each pixel, and a signal of the part is read in the same way as a usual CMOS sensor. That is, a switch provided in the pixel connected to the point of intersection of X-Y is connected to a vertical shift register, and when the switch is turned on by a voltage from a vertical scan shift register, a signal read from a pixel provided in the same row is read to the output line in the column direction. This signal is read from the output terminal one after another through the switch driven by a horizontal scan shift register. A four-transistor amplifier was placed in each pixel. [0161] On the other hand, as Comparative Example 2, a CMOS sensor with color separation of red, blue and green performed in the depth direction was prepared based on U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,875. The depths of blue, green and red light-receiving parts in the silicon substrate were 0.2 μm, 0.6 μm and 2.0 μm, respectively. [0162] The image pickup device of this Example was free of false color. [0163] Also, the image pickup device of this Example was excellent in color separation and sensitivity compared to Comparative Example 2. Particularly, it had a high sensitivity and a high color separation capability for green. The sensitivity to red was 1.1 times greater, the sensitivity to blue was 1.3 times greater, and the sensitivity to green was 1.4 times greater compared to Comparative Example. Also, the color separation capability of red was 1.1 times greater, the color separation capability of blue was 1.3 times greater, and the color separation capability of green was 1.6 times greater compared to Comparative Example. [0164] Also, in this Example, the device can be driven with a relatively low voltage to reduce a power consumption because the signal is read by the Si-CMOS sensor. EXAMPLE 3 [0165] In this Example, an organic light-receiving part for green light was used for the uppermost layer, an organic light-receiving part for blue light was used for the middle layer, and a light-receiving part made of silicon was used for the lowermost layer. The structure is shown in FIG. 15. For reading the signal, a CCD 1205 in a silicon substrate 1204 is used for blue and green as well as red. The CCD was an interline-type CCD. [0166] First, based on the usual method of fabricating a CCD, a red light-receiving part 1203 and a charge transfer part were fabricated in the silicon substrate, and organic light-receiving devices for blue and green were stacked thereon in this order in the same manner as Example 2 to fabricate the CCD. DCM 1 was used for the light-receiving layer of blue light-receiving part 1202, and eosine Y was used for the green light-receiving layer 1201. [0167] In the light-receiving part, a zinc oxide film with the thickness of 100 nm was formed by the spattering method, an aluminum trisquinolinol (hereinafter referred to as Alq3) film was formed in thickness of 50 nm as an electron transportation layer by the vacuum evaporation method, a DCM1 film with the thickness of 100 nm was formed as a blue adsorption layer, and an N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-(1,1′-biphenyl)-4-4′-diamine (hereinafter abbreviated as TPD) film with the thickness of 150 nm was formed as a hole transportation layer by the vacuum evaporation method. In addition, Eosine Y with the thickness of 100 nm, and a polypyridine film with the thickness of 80 nm were formed. The polypyridine film was patterned in such a manner that an opening was provided for the light-receiving part. The TPD film and the polypyridine film were connected to a charge accumulation part of the silicon substrate via electrodes of aluminum, W-Si and the like. [0168] The image pickup device of this Example was free of false color and excellent in color separation and sensitivity. Particularly, it had a high sensitivity to green. [0169] Also, in this Example, it is characterized in that the S/N is relatively high because the signal is read by the Si-CCD. EXAMPLE 4 [0170] This Example shows an example of a color line sensor, as shown in the outlined sectional view of the pixel area in FIG. 16, in which an organic light-receiving device 1101 for green light was placed as the uppermost layer, and a light-receiving part 1102 made of a-Si capable of performing color separation for blue and red by the absorption length, and further a TFT, capacitor or the like 1104 made of a-Si were placed as the lower layer on a glass substrate 1103. [0171] First, a glass substrate having a TFT transistor made of amorphous Si (a-Si) was prepared. Subsequently, a p-i-n-i-p-type tandem a-Si light-receiving part was prepared. The thicknesses of their type layers were 80 nm, 700 nm, 180 nm, 90 nm and 10 nm in the order from the bottom layer. This a-Si light-receiving part is capable of making the switch between the reception of light in an upper pin part and the reception of light in a lower pin part by switching the voltage between +2.5 V and −2.5 V. The a-Si was formed by the PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) method. [0172] In addition, an organic light-receiving part for green light was formed thereon. [0173] The organic light-receiving part for green light was fabricated by forming a zinc oxide film with the thickness of 100 nm in the light-receiving part by the spattering method, followed by forming a merocyanine film with the thickness of 100 nm and a TDP film as a charge transportation layer with the thickness of 1 μm, and forming an Ag film with the thickness of 80 nm as an electrode, by vapor deposition. The Ag film was patterned in such a manner that an opening was provided in the center of the light-receiving part. The Ag electrode was connected to the capacitor made of a-Si and further the TFT via electrodes of aluminum and the like. The signal from each light-receiving part was read via the TFT by the address selection method. [0174] The image pickup device of this Example was free of false color and excellent in color separation and sensitivity. Particularly, it had a high sensitivity to green. [0175] Also, in this Example, an image pickup device having a large area could be achieved because the signal was read using the TFT using a-Si. EXAMPLE 5 [0176] This example represents an example of a color light-receiving device using an organic light-receiving part 1301 for green light as the uppermost layer, an organic light-receiving part 1302 for blue light as the middle layer, and an organic light-receiving part 1303 for red light as the lowermost layer. The sectional structure is shown in FIG. 17. [0177] Cupper phtalocyanine was used for a red absorption layer, rhodamine B was used for a green absorption layer, and tetracene was used for a blue absorption layer. [0178] A ZnO film with the thickness of 100 nm was formed as a transparent electrode on the back surface of a quartz substrate 1304, followed by forming a tetracene film with the thickness of 200 nm, a TPD film with the thickness of 150 nm, a copper phtalocyanine film with the thickness of 150 nm and an Ag film with the thickness of 200 nm. [0179] Then, an ITO film with the thickness of 100 nm, a rhodamine B film with the thickness of 100 nm, and an Ag film with the thickness of 80 nm having an opening of a light-receiving part were formed at the same location on the front surface of the quartz substrate. The stacked-type light-receiving device had an arrangement of the order of Ag having an opening/rhodamine B/ITO/quartz substrate/ZnO/tetracene/TPD/copper phtalocyanine/Ag when viewed from the front surface, namely the photoirradiation direction. Signals corresponding to green, blue and red can be fetched from an ammeter connected to Ag and ITO on the surface side, an ammeter connected to ZnO and tetracene on the back surface side, and an ammeter connected to TPD and an Ag electrode on the back surface side, respectively. [0180] In this configuration, signals could be fetched from the red, blue and green light-receiving devices, in correspondence to red light, blue light and green light, respectively. That is, it was recognized that the light-receiving device functions as a color light-receiving device. [0181] This color light-receiving device was a stacked-type light-receiving device having a high sensitivity to green and a high color separation capability. Also, the green light-receiving part placed on the surface was sensitive to green, and allowed blue light (wavelength of 450 nm) and red light (wavelength of 650 nm) to transmit through in the transmittance level of 50% or more, and thus the light-receiving device had satisfactory characteristics from a practical viewpoint. EXAMPLE 6 [0182] In this Example, the superiority of the image pickup device having a configuration shown in FIG. 6 was demonstrated by numerical estimation. [0183] As shown in FIG. 6, in the image pickup device, the first area 201 for detecting green light, and the second area 202 for detecting blue light and red light are arranged, and in the second area, a light-receiving part 102 for detecting blue light and a light-receiving part 103 for detecting red light are stacked in this order. The light-receiving part constituted by an organic semiconductor having a peak of an absorption spectrum for green light is used, and light-receiving parts made of silicon for blue light and red light are used, as a model case. Blue light and red light are separated using a difference in absorption length in silicon. That is, a configuration based on that of FIG. 11A is used as a model. [0184] Specifically, the image pickup device is an image pickup device in which the first area for detecting light of a first wavelength range, and the second area for detecting light of second and third wavelength ranges are arranged, wherein in the second area, a part for detecting light of the second wavelength-range and a part for detecting light of the third wavelength ranges are stacked, and wherein particularly the first wavelength range corresponds to green, the second wavelength range corresponds to blue, and the third wavelength range corresponds to red. [0185] For the calculation model, a normal distribution having a central wavelength of 0.55 μm and a standard deviation of 0.03 μm as an absorption spectrum similar in shape to a color filter was assumed as an absorption spectrum of the green light-receiving device. Calculations were made on the model in which color separation for red and blue is performed in the depth direction using the dependency of the absorption spectrum of Si on the wavelength. The depths of the blue and red light-receiving parts (PN junctions) in the silicon substrate were 0.15 μm and 2.0 μm, respectively. [0186] The area ratio between the first and second areas was 1, and the numerical aperture of each light-receiving part was 50%. [0187] On the other hand, as Comparative Example 3, a model in which color separation for three colors of blue, green and red are performed in the depth direction using the dependency of the absorption spectrum of Si on the wavelength was used similarly as in the case of Comparative Example 1. The depths of blue, green and red light-receiving parts in the silicon substrate were 0.2 μm, 0.6 μm and 2.0 μm, respectively. Here, the numerical aperture was 50%. [0188] The results of estimating the amount of incident light and the color separation capability for this system are shown in Table 2. TABLE 2 Comparative Example 3 Example 6 Blue Light �19% 31% Reception Ratio Green Light �19% 50% Reception Ratio Red Light Reception �19% 31% Ratio Blue Color �68% 91% Separation Ratio Green Color �48% 56% Separation Ratio Red Color �53% 80% Separation Ratio [0189] As apparent from the Table, by applying a configuration based on those shown in FIGS. 6 and 11A in this Example, an image pickup device excellent in sensitivity (surface light reception ratio), and particularly having a high sensitivity to green can be provided. Also, it can be understood that the image pickup device is excellent in color separation. EXAMPLE 7 [0190] In this Example, a color filter allowing red light and blue light to pass through and absorbing-green light was placed in the second area in addition to the system of Example 6. That is, a model corresponding to the configuration of FIG. 12 was used. [0191] A filter having an absorption spectrum of a normal distribution having a central wavelength of 0.55 μm and a standard deviation of 0.03 μm was assumed as the color filter. This implies that the color filter is constituted by a material the same as a light absorption material constituting the first light-receiving part. [0192] The results of estimating the amount of incident light and the color separation capability of this system and making a comparison with Comparative Example 3 described previously are shown in Table 3. TABLE 3 Comparative Example 3 Example 7 Blue Light �19% 31% Reception Ratio Green Light �19% 50% Reception Ratio Red Light Reception �19% 31% Ratio Blue Color �68% 91% Separation Ratio Green Color �48% ≦100% Separation Ratio Red Color �53% 80% Separation Ratio [0193] Compared with Example 6, the color filter is placed in the second area to prevent green light from being detected in the red and blue light-receiving parts, and therefore the green color separation ratio is further increased. EXAMPLE 8 [0194] In this Example, a CMOS sensor-type image pickup device having a configuration based on that of Example 6 was provided. [0195] In the image pickup device, the first area for detecting green light, and the second area for detecting blue light and red light are arranged, and in the second area, a light-receiving part 102 for detecting blue light and a light-receiving part 103 for detecting red light are stacked in this order similarly as in the case of Example 6. [0196] As shown in FIG. 11A, the blue and red light-receiving parts are provided in the second area on a silicon substrate. On the other hand, the green light-receiving part is provided in the first area on a wiring layer. A transistor and a capacitor are placed in the first area on the silicon substrate. [0197] Also, in this Example, the first and second areas are placed in an enclosed arrangement as shown in FIG. 7D. [0198] In the image pickup device, an organic light-receiving device using a light absorption layer of an organic semiconductor made of merocyanine is used as the green light-receiving part, and light-receiving parts of Si are used for the red and blue light-receiving parts. Blue light is detected in a second light-receiving part 502 provided at a shallow depth from the surface in the silicon substrate 504, and red light is detected in a second light-receiving part 503 provided at a deeper depth. That is, color separation for red and blue is performed using the dependency of the absorption coefficient on the wavelength in silicon. Each light-receiving part is read via an amplifier 505 provided on the silicon substrate. [0199] First, a stacked-type silicon image sensor with a blue light-receiving part (pn junction) and a red light-receiving part stacked on a silicon substrate was fabricated based on the usual method of fabricating a CMOS sensor. [0200] The depths of blue and red light-receiving parts in the silicon substrate were 0.15 μm and 2.0 μm, respectively. A wiring layer was formed, and an organic light-receiving part for green light was stacked thereon to fabricate the sensor. The organic light-receiving part for green light is connected to the silicon substrate by a via wiring (not shown). Each light-receiving part is connected to a silicon transistor of each pixel, and a signal of each light-receiving part is read in the same manner as a usual CMOS sensor. That is, a switch provided in the pixel connected to the point of intersection of X-Y is connected to a vertical shift register, and when the switch is turned on by a voltage from a vertical scan shift register, a signal read from a pixel provided in the same row is read to the output line in the column direction. This signal is read from the output terminal one after another through the switch driven by a horizontal scan shift register. Each pixel has a four-transistor structure. [0201] The green light-receiving part placed in the first area was fabricated by forming a zinc oxide film with the thickness of 100 nm by the spattering method, a merocyanine film with the thickness of 100 nm by vacuum evaporation, and an Ag film with the thickness of 80 nm in the light-receiving part. The Ag film was patterned in such a manner that an opening was provided in the center of the light-receiving part. [0202] For characteristics, a comparison was made with Comparative Example 2 described previously. [0203] Also, as Comparative Example 4, an image pickup device with a usual via-arranged color filter like FIG. 22B was prepared. [0204] The image pickup device of this Example had a reduced level of false color compared to that of Comparative Example 4. Also, the green light-receiving part is placed at the same in-plane location as the wiring and the transistor, and the red and blue light-receiving parts are stacked to achieve effective area usage, thus making it possible to place pixels with high definition. This leads to an advantage that a larger area can be provided for placing the transistor and the wiring, and so on. Also, the sensitivity was also high because no color filter was required. [0205] Also, compared with Comparative Example 2, the image pickup device was excellent in color separation and sensitivity. Particularly, it had a high sensitivity to green and a high color separation capability for green. Compared with Comparative Example 2, in this Example, the sensitivity to red was 1.2 times greater, the sensitivity to blue was 1.2 times greater, and the sensitivity to green was 1.3 times greater. Also, in this Example, the color separation ratio for red was 1.2 times greater, the color separation ratio for blue was 1.1 times greater, and the color separation ratio for green was 1.6 times greater. Also, the light-receiving part has two-layered structure in design, and therefore the structural degree of free is increased in the interconnect wiring and the layout of the transistor. EXAMPLE 9 [0206] The structure of Example 9 of the present invention is shown in FIG. 18. In this Example, the merocyanine film was formed on the entire surface, namely it was formed not only in the first area 201 but also in the second area 202, and was made to function as a color filter 1407 absorbing green light in the second area, and consequently an image pickup device having a high color separation capability was formed although the sensitivity was slightly reduced. This result supports the result of calculation in Example 7. Reference numeral 1401 denotes a first light-receiving part (G) having a light-receiving layer made of merocyanine, reference numeral 1402 denotes a second light-receiving part (B), reference numeral 1403 denotes a third light-receiving part (R), reference numeral 1404 denotes a silicon substrate, reference numeral 1405 denotes a transistor, CCD or the like, and reference numeral 1406 denotes a wiring layer (SiO2/Al) EXAMPLE 10 [0207] In this Example, a CCD was placed in the first area on a silicon substrate and a red light-receiving part was placed in the second area on the silicon substrate, and an organic light-receiving part for green light was placed in the first area on a wiring and an organic light-receiving part for blue light was placed in the second area. [0208] For reading signals, the signal was read using the CCD on the silicon substrate for not only red but also blue and green. [0209] The CCD was an interline-type CCD. [0210] The first and second areas were placed in a checker arrangement as shown in FIG. 7A. [0211] First, based on a usual method of fabricating a CCD, the red light-receiving part and a charge transfer part were formed on the silicon substrate, a wiring layer was formed thereon, and blue and green organic light-receiving parts were formed thereon. DCM1 was employed for the layer of the blue light-receiving part, and eosine-Y was employed for the layer the green light-receiving part. [0212] The green light-receiving device was formed similarly as in Example 8. For the blue light-receiving part, a zinc oxide film with the thickness of 100 nm was formed by the spattering method, an aluminum trisquinolinol (hereinafter abbreviated as Alq3) with the thickness of 50 nm was formed as an electron transportation layer, a DCM1 film with the thickness of 100 nm was formed as a blue absorption layer, an N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-(1,1′-biphenyl)-4-4′-diamine (hereinafter abbreviated as TPD) film with the thickness of 150 nm was formed as a hole transportation layer, and a polypyridine film with the thickness of 80 nm was formed, by the vacuum evaporation method. The polypyridine film was patterned in such a manner that an opening was provided for the light-receiving part. The TDP film and the polypyridine film were connected to a charge storage part of the silicon substrate via electrodes of aluminum, W-Si and the like. [0213] The image pickup device of this Example had a reduced level of false color and was excellent in color separation and sensitivity. EXAMPLE 11 [0214] In this Example, as shown in FIG. 19, the first area for detecting green light and the second area for detecting blue light and red light were arranged, and red light, blue light and green light were all detected in light-receiving parts made of silicon. [0215] In this Example, the first area 201 and the second area 202 of the silicon substrate 504 each have a light-receiving part having a structure in which three PN junctions are stacked. The junctions corresponded to the depths of the blue, green and red light-receiving parts, respectively, and their depths were 0.2 μm, 0.6 μm and 2.0 μm, respectively. [0216] Also, a color filter (G) absorbing red light and blue light and allowing green light to pass through was placed in the first area 201, and a color filter (BR) allowing red light and blue light to pass through and absorbing green light was placed in the second area. The first and second areas were placed in a checker arrangement as shown in FIG. 7A. [0217] Green light is detected in the first area, and red light and blue light are detected in the second area. That is, the green light-receiving part is connected with a transistor so that a signal of the green light-receiving part is detected in the first area (detection circuits for red and blue light-receiving parts are not required), and the red and blue light-receiving parts are connected with the transistor so that signals of red and blue light-receiving parts are detected in the second area. [0218] The image pickup device of this Example had a reduced level of false color compared with Comparative Example 4. Also, red and blue light-receiving parts are stacked to achieve effective area usage, and therefore pixels can be arranged with high definition, thereby resulting in an advantage that a larger area can be provided for placing the transistor and the wiring, and so on. [0219] Also, compared with Comparative Example 2, the image pickup device was excellent in color separation and sensitivity. Particularly, it had a high sensitivity to green and a high color separation capability for green. Compared with Comparative Example 2, in this Example, the color separation ratio for red was 1.3 times greater, the color separation ratio for blue was 1.2 times greater, and the color separation ratio for green was 1.6 times greater. Also, the light-receiving part has substantially two-layered structure in design, and therefore the structural degree of free is increased in the interconnect wiring and the layout of the transistor and so on. EXAMPLE 12 [0220] In this Example, an organic light-receiving part for green light 1201 was placed in the first area 201 on a glass substrate 1203, and a light-receiving device 1202 made of a-Si capable of performing color separation for blue and red by the absorption wave length, a TFT made of a-Si, and a capacitor, wiring or the like 1204 were placed in the second area 202 to obtain a line sensor. The sectional structure is shown in FIG. 20. For the arrangement, pixels with the first area surrounding the second area are placed in a line. [0221] First, the glass substrate 1203 having a TFT transistor 1204 made of a-Si was prepared. Subsequently, a p-i-n-i-p-type tandem a-Si light-receiving device 1202 was fabricated. The thicknesses of their types are 80 nm, 700 nm, 180 nm, 90 nm and 10 nm in the order form the bottom layer. This a-Si light-receiving device is capable of making the switch between the reception of light in an upper pin part and the reception of light in a lower pin part by switching the voltage between +2.5 V and −2.5 V. The a-Si was formed by the PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) method. [0222] In addition, an organic light-receiving device for green light was fabricated. [0223] The organic light-receiving device for green light 1201 was fabricated by forming a zinc oxide film with the thickness of 100 nm in the light-receiving part by the spattering method, followed by forming a merocyanine film with the thickness of 100 nm and a TDP film as a charge transportation layer with the thickness of 1 μm, and forming an Ag film with the thickness of 80 nm as an electrode, by vapor deposition. The Ag film was patterned in such a manner that an opening was provided in the center of the light-receiving part. The Ag electrode was connected to the capacitor made of a-Si, and the TFT via electrodes of aluminum and the like. The signal from each light-receiving device was read via the TFT by the address selection method. [0224] The image pickup device of this Example had a reduced level of false color and was excellent in color separation and sensitivity. Also, in this Example, the signal was read using the TFT using a-Si, thus making it possible to achieve an image pickup device having a large area. EXAMPLE 13 [0225] In this Example, a color light-receiving device in which an organic light-receiving part 101 for green light is placed in the first area 201, an organic light-receiving part 102 for red light is placed in the second area 202, and an organic light-receiving part 103 for blue light is placed below the organic light-receiving part 102 for red light with a substrate therebetween as shown in FIG. 21 was provided. The first area 201 was placed in such a manner that it concentrically surrounds the second area 202. [0226] For red, green and blue light-receiving parts, copper phtalocyanine, rhodamine B and tetracene were used, respectively. [0227] A ZnO film was formed with the thickness of 100 nm as a transparent electrode on the back surface of a quartz substrate, followed by forming a copper phtalocyanine film with the thickness of 150 nm and an Ag film with the thickness of 200 nm in the second area to form the red light-receiving part. [0228] Then, an ITO film with the thickness of 100 nm was formed on the front surface of the quartz substrate, followed by placing rhodamine B with the thickness of 100 nm in the first area and placing tetracene with the thickness of 150 nm in the second area, and forming an Ag film with the-thickness 80 nm having an opening of the light-receiving part in each area. The first area has the Ag having opening/rhodamine B/ITO/quartz substrate stacked in this order when viewed from the front surface, namely along the photoirradiation direction, and forms the green light-receiving device. The second area has the Ag having opening/tetracene/ITO/quartz substrate/ZnO/copper phtalocyanine/Ag when viewed from the front surface, namely along the photoirradiation direction, and forms the blue and red stacked-type light-receiving device. Signals corresponding to green, blue and red can be fetched from ammeters connected to electrodes of the light-receiving devices, respectively. [0229] The color light-receiving device of this [0230] Example was compact and had a high color separation capability. [0231] Furthermore, in these Examples, only some examples of image pickup devices and light-receiving devices according to the present invention and image pickup devices employing the light-receiving device are shown, and applications of image pickup devices and light-receiving devices obtained according to the present invention are not limited thereto as a matter of course. For example, circuits associated with functions that are not necessary for intended applications, of components, may be omitted. Conversely, components may be added depending on applications. For example, a configuration in which a transistor is used in conjunction with an organic TFT will be practicable in the future. 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ClassificationH01L27/30D2, H01L27/30B2, H01L31/101, H01L51/42D2D, H01L51/42F2Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionApr 2, 2014FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Apr 21, 2010FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Apr 15, 2008CCCertificate of correctionMay 5, 2003ASAssignmentOwner name: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:IWASAKI, TATSUYA;REEL/FRAME:014040/0106Effective date: 20030430RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google