Patent Description:
In recent years, the technology of integrating optical sensors into electronic products develops flourishingly. For example, the optical sensors may be cooperated with collimator-like structures and applied in display devices such as smart phones or tablet computers for fingerprint recognition. However, according to the design of the conventional light collimating structure, stray light or ambient light may affect the operation of the optical sensors, resulting in poor signal-to-noise ratio.

A document D1 (<CIT>) discloses an image sensing device including a noise blocking structure. The image sensing device includes a semiconductor substrate structured to support a plurality of image pixels producing signals response to received incident light, a logic circuit configured to process the signals read out from the image pixels, and a noise blocking structure coupled to the logic circuit to reduce a noise generated by the logic circuit. The noise blocking structure formed to extend in a straight line without any bending portion in a first direction, and to pass through the semiconductor substrate in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. However, the document D1 fails to disclose that an edge of a light shielding layer adjacent to a driving circuit extends outward from the driving circuit by a first extension distance, which is greater than or equal to a first spacing between the light shielding layer and the driving circuit, and the document D1 fails to disclose that an edge of a light shielding layer adjacent to a sensing pixel extends outward from the sensing pixel by a second extension distance, which is greater than or equal to a second spacing between the light shielding layer and the sensing pixel.

A document D2 (<CIT>) discloses an image-capture element which is provided with: a first light absorption film which is formed, in an effective pixel peripheral area surrounding an outer side of an effective pixel area in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a matrix, so as to cover a semiconductor substrate; a microlens layer which is disposed over the first light absorption film, and in which a microlens for collecting light for each pixel in the effective pixel area is formed; and a second light absorption film which is disposed over the microlens layer and which is formed in the effective pixel peripheral area. However, the document D2 fails to disclose that an edge of a light shielding layer adjacent to a driving circuit extends outward from the driving circuit by a first extension distance, which is greater than or equal to a first spacing between the light shielding layer and the driving circuit, and the document D2 fails to disclose that an edge of a light shielding layer adjacent to a sensing pixel extends outward from the sensing pixel by a second extension distance, which is greater than or equal to a second spacing between the light shielding layer and the sensing pixel.

A document D3 (<CIT>) discloses a solid state imaging device including: a pixel region that is formed on a light incidence side of a substrate and to which a plurality of pixels that include photoelectric conversion units is arranged; a peripheral circuit unit that is formed in a lower portion in the substrate depth direction of the pixel region and that includes an active element; and a light shielding member that is formed between the pixel region and the peripheral circuit unit and that shields the incidence of light, emitted from an active element, to the photoelectric conversion unit. However, the document D3 fails to disclose that an edge of a light shielding layer adjacent to a driving circuit extends outward from the driving circuit by a first extension distance, which is greater than or equal to a first spacing between the light shielding layer and the driving circuit, and the document D3 fails to disclose that an edge of a light shielding layer adjacent to a sensing pixel extends outward from the sensing pixel by a second extension distance, which is greater than or equal to a second spacing between the light shielding layer and the sensing pixel.

A document D4 (<CIT>) discloses an image capture apparatus including a cover plate, a sensor, and an optical collimator disposed between the cover plate and the sensor and including a first, a second, and a third light shielding pattern layers that are overlapped with each other. The first, second, and third light shielding pattern layers have first, second, and third light-transmitting openings, respectively. A size of each third light-transmitting opening is larger than or equal to a size of each second light-transmitting opening, and the size of each second light-transmitting opening is larger than a size of each first light-transmitting opening. Alternatively, the size of each third light-transmitting opening is larger than the size of each second light-transmitting opening, and the size of each second light-transmitting opening is larger than or equal to the size of each first light-transmitting opening. However, the document D4 fails to disclose that an edge of a light shielding layer adjacent to a driving circuit extends outward from the driving circuit by a first extension distance, which is greater than or equal to a first spacing between the light shielding layer and the driving circuit, and the document D4 fails to disclose that an edge of a light shielding layer adjacent to a sensing pixel extends outward from the sensing pixel by a second extension distance, which is greater than or equal to a second spacing between the light shielding layer and the sensing pixel.

This in mind, the present disclosure aims at providing an optical sensing device with the design of the light shielding layer to solve the problems encountered by the conventional optical sensing device, such that the influence of stray light or ambient light can be reduced, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio of optical signals. Based on the design of the present disclosure, the complexity of the manufacturing process may be reduced, or the adhesion between layers may be improved.

This is achieved by an optical sensing device according to the claims. The dependent claims pertain to corresponding further developments and improvements.

As will be seen more clearly from the detailed description following below, an optical sensing device in accordance with the invention is provided by the present disclosure. The optical sensing device includes a sensing pixel, a driving circuit and a first light shielding layer. The sensing pixel includes a sensing circuit and a sensing element electrically connected to the sensing circuit. The driving circuit is electrically connected to the sensing circuit. The first light shielding layer includes at least one first opening corresponding to the sensing element, and the first light shielding layer is overlapped with the driving circuit in a top-view direction of the optical sensing device. An edge of the first light shielding layer adjacent to the driving circuit extends outward from the driving circuit by a first extension distance, a vertical distance between the first light shielding layer and the driving circuit in the top-view direction is defined as a first spacing, and the first extension distance is greater than or equal to the first spacing.

These and other objectives of the present disclosure will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

In the following, the disclosure is further illustrated by way of example, taking reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present disclosure may be understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings as described below. It is noted that, for purposes of illustrative clarity and being easily understood by the readers, various drawings of this disclosure show a portion of the device or the structure, and certain components in various drawings may not be drawn to scale. In addition, the number and dimension of each component shown in drawings are only illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Certain terms are used throughout the description and following claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will understand, electronic equipment manufacturers may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following description and in the claims, the terms "include" and "comprise" are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean "include, but not limited to. When the terms "include", "comprise" and/or "have" are used in the description of the present disclosure, the corresponding features, areas, steps, operations and/or components would be pointed to existence, but not limited to the existence or addition of one or a plurality of the corresponding or other features, areas, steps, operations and/or components.

When a component or layer is referred to as being "on" or "connected to" another component or layer, it may be directly on or directly connected to the other component or layer, or intervening components or layers may be presented (indirect condition). In contrast, when a component or layer is referred to as being "directly on" or "directly connected to" another component or layer, there are no intervening components or layers presented.

The directional terms mentioned in this document, such as "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", etc., are only directions referring to the drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are for illustration, not for limitation of the present disclosure. In the drawings, each drawing shows the general characteristics of structures and/or materials used in specific embodiments. However, these drawings should not be interpreted as defining or limiting the scope or nature covered by these embodiments. For example, the relative size, thickness and position of each layer, region and/or structure may be reduced or enlarged for clarity.

The ordinal numbers used in the description and claims, such as "first", "second", "third", etc., are used to describe elements, but they do not mean and represent that the element(s) have any previous ordinal numbers, nor do they represent the order of one element and another element, or the order of manufacturing methods. The ordinal numbers are used only to clearly discriminate an element with a certain name from another element with the same name. The claims and the description may not use the same terms. Accordingly, in the following description, a first constituent element may be a second constituent element in a claim.

The terms "about", "equal", "identical" or "the same", and "substantially" or "approximately" mentioned in this document generally mean being within <NUM>% of a given value or range, or being within <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>% or <NUM>% of a given value or range.

It should be noted that the technical features in different embodiments described in the following can be replaced, recombined, or mixed with one another to constitute another embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

Please refer to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>. <FIG> is an architecture schematic diagram of an optical sensing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> is a circuit architecture schematic diagram of a sensing pixel of an optical sensing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> is a partial cross-sectional view schematic diagram of an optical sensing device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, an optical sensing device SD according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has a sensing region R1 and a peripheral region R2, and the peripheral region R2 is adjacent to the sensing region R1. For example, the peripheral region R2 may be located around or surround the sensing region R1, but not limited herein. The optical sensing device SD includes a sensing pixel <NUM> and a driving circuit <NUM>, the sensing pixel <NUM> is disposed in the sensing region R1, and the driving circuit <NUM> is disposed in the peripheral region R2. The optical sensing device SD may include a plurality of sensing pixels <NUM>, and the plurality of sensing pixels <NUM> may be, for example, disposed in the sensing region R1 as an array manner, but not limited herein. In some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, a multiplexer (MUX) <NUM> may be disposed in the peripheral region R2. At least a portion of a circuit board <NUM> may be disposed in the peripheral region R2, and a signal reading element <NUM> may be disposed on the circuit board <NUM>. For example, the driving circuit <NUM> may be disposed in the peripheral region R2 located at a side (e.g., the left side or the right side) of the sensing region R1, and the multiplexer <NUM> and the at least a portion of the circuit board <NUM> may be disposed in the peripheral region R2 located at another side (e.g., the lower side) of the sensing region R1, but not limited herein.

As shown in <FIG>, a sensing pixel <NUM> includes a sensing circuit <NUM> and a sensing element <NUM> electrically connected to the sensing circuit <NUM>, and the sensing circuit <NUM> is electrically connected to the driving circuit <NUM> located in the peripheral region R2. The sensing element <NUM> may be, for example, a photodiode, a phototransistor, a metal-semiconductor-metal photodetector (MSM photodetector) or any suitable photosensitive elements, but not limited herein. The driving circuit <NUM> may include a plurality of thin film transistors (not shown), and the driving circuit <NUM> may be used to provide a reset voltage Vrst and a selection voltage Vsel. In order to clearly interpret the present disclosure, the sensing element <NUM> of this embodiment may be illustrated by taking a photodiode as an example. In some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, the sensing pixel <NUM> may include a plurality of sensing elements <NUM> electrically connected to the sensing circuit <NUM>, and the sensing circuit <NUM> may include, for example, a thin film transistor TFT1, a thin film transistor TFT2 and a thin film transistor TFT3. The anode of the sensing element <NUM> is electrically connected to a working voltage Vcc2, and the cathode of the sensing element <NUM> is electrically connected to the first electrode of the thin film transistor TFT1 and the gate of the thin film transistor TFT2. The thin film transistor TFT2 may generate signals according to the change of the cathode voltage of the sensing element <NUM>. The thin film transistor TFT2 is electrically connected to the thin film transistor TFT3, and the thin film transistor TFT3 determines whether a signal is output based on the selection voltage Vsel. The thin film transistor TFT1 may be used as a reset element to reset signals. The thin film transistor TFT2 may be used as a source follower element to make the signal of the source follows the signal of the gate. The thin film transistor TFT3 may be used as a selection element to provide signal output. The second electrode of the thin film transistor TFT1 may be electrically connected to a working voltage Vcc1, and the gate of the thin film transistor TFT1 is electrically connected to the reset voltage Vrst. The first electrode of the thin film transistor TFT2 may be electrically connected to a working voltage Vcc0, and the second electrode of the thin film transistor TFT2 is electrically connected to the first electrode of the thin film transistor TFT3. The gate of the thin film transistor TFT3 is electrically connected to the selection voltage Vsel, and the second electrode of the thin film transistor TFT3 may output an output voltage Vout.

As shown in <FIG>, the optical sensing device SD may include a base layer <NUM>, a circuit layer <NUM> and a light collimating structure <NUM>. The circuit layer <NUM> is disposed on the base layer <NUM>, and the light collimating structure <NUM> is disposed on the circuit layer <NUM>. In some embodiments, the base layer <NUM> may include a substrate <NUM> and a buffer layer <NUM>, and the buffer layer <NUM> is disposed on the substrate <NUM>. The substrate <NUM> may include hard material and/or flexible material. For example, the substrate <NUM> may include glass, a quartz substrate, polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), other suitable materials or combinations of the above materials, but not limited herein. The circuit layer <NUM> may include a plurality of thin film transistors <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, an electrode layer <NUM>, a sensing element <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, a transparent conductive layer <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, and an insulating layer <NUM> sequentially disposed along a direction opposite to a top-view direction Y of the optical sensing device SD. The transparent conductive layer <NUM> may include, for example, indium tin oxide (ITO). The insulating layer <NUM>, the insulating layer <NUM>, the insulating layer <NUM>, the insulating layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM> may include, for example, organic material or inorganic material, and the inorganic material may include, for example, silicon oxide compound (SiOx), silicon nitride compound (SiNx), other suitable materials or combinations of the above materials, but not limited herein. The electrode layer <NUM> may include, for example, metal material. Thin film transistor <NUM> is used as a switching element or a driving element (e.g., thin film transistor TFT1, thin film transistor TFT2 and thin film transistor TFT3 shown in <FIG>). The thin film transistor <NUM> may include a channel layer <NUM>, a gate insulating layer <NUM>, a gate <NUM>, a first electrode <NUM> (e.g., a source), a second electrode <NUM> (e.g., a drain) and a dielectric layer <NUM>, but not limited herein. The stacking structure of layers of the thin film transistor <NUM> shown in <FIG> is simply one type of example.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the light collimating structure <NUM> of the optical sensing device SD may include a light shielding layer <NUM> (or referred to as a first light shielding layer). The light shielding layer <NUM> includes at least one first opening <NUM> corresponding to the sensing element <NUM>, and the light shielding layer <NUM> is overlapped with the driving circuit <NUM> in the top-view direction Y of the optical sensing device SD. Through the design of this light shielding layer <NUM>, the function of light collimation may be provided for the sensing element <NUM>, or the influence of light on the driving circuit <NUM> may be reduced, thereby reducing the influence of stray light or ambient light, so as to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the sensing pixel <NUM>. In some embodiments, the light shielding layer <NUM> may include organic material. For example, the light shielding layer <NUM> may include light absorbing material such as black photoresist material. The disposing of the light shielding layer <NUM> may improve the signal-to-noise ratio of optical signals, or may reduce the generation of stray capacitance between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the transparent conductive layer <NUM>, thereby increasing the sensitivity of the sensing element <NUM>.

In some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, the light collimating structure <NUM> of the optical sensing device SD may include a light shielding layer <NUM> (or referred to as a first light shielding layer), an insulating layer <NUM>, a light shielding layer <NUM> (or referred to as a second light shielding layer), an insulating layer <NUM>, a light shielding layer <NUM> (or referred to as a third light shielding layer) and micro-lens <NUM> sequentially disposed along the direction opposite to the top-view direction Y. The insulating layer <NUM> is disposed between the first light shielding layer <NUM> and the second light shielding layer <NUM>, and the insulating layer <NUM> is disposed between the second light shielding layer <NUM> and the third light shielding layer <NUM>. The insulating layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM> may include organic material, for example. The first light shielding layer <NUM> may be disposed between the second light shielding layer <NUM> and the sensing element <NUM>, and the second light shielding layer <NUM> includes at least one second opening <NUM> overlapped with the first opening <NUM> of the first light shielding layer <NUM> in the top-view direction Y. The size of the first opening <NUM> of the first light shielding layer <NUM> may be less than the size of the second opening <NUM> of the second light shielding layer <NUM>. For example, the width W1 of the first opening <NUM> may be less than the width W2 of the second opening <NUM> in a direction X, wherein the direction X may be substantially perpendicular to the top-view direction Y. The micro-lens <NUM> may be disposed on the first light shielding layer <NUM>, and the micro-lens <NUM> is overlapped with the first opening <NUM> in the top-view direction Y. For example, the first opening <NUM> may substantially correspond to the center or the thickest portion of a micro-lens <NUM>, but not limited herein. The third light shielding layer <NUM> may be disposed between the micro-lens <NUM> and the first light shielding layer <NUM> and disposed between the micro-lens <NUM> and the second light shielding layer <NUM>, and the third light shielding layer <NUM> includes at least one third opening <NUM> overlapped with the first opening <NUM> of the first light shielding layer <NUM> in the top-view direction Y. The size of the first opening <NUM> of the first light shielding layer <NUM> may be less than the size of the third opening <NUM> of the third light shielding layer <NUM>. For example, the width W1 of the first opening <NUM> may be less than the width W3 of the third opening <NUM> in the direction X.

In some embodiments, the first light shielding layer <NUM>, the second light shielding layer <NUM> and the third light shielding layer <NUM> may include organic material, such as black photoresist material. Therefore, when the first light shielding layer <NUM> is disposed between the insulating layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>, the second light shielding layer <NUM> is disposed between the insulating layers <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>, and/or the third light shielding layer <NUM> is disposed between the insulating layers <NUM> and the micro-lens <NUM>, they have good adhesion therebetween. No protective layer is required to be additionally disposed between one and another of these layers for improving adhesion, so that the influence of the protective layer on light transmission may be reduced. In addition, the first light shielding layer <NUM>, the insulating layer <NUM>, the second light shielding layer <NUM>, the insulating layer <NUM>, the third light shielding layer <NUM> and the micro-lens <NUM> may be respectively formed by a photolithography process, so that the complexity of the manufacturing process may be reduced.

Please refer to <FIG> is a partial cross-sectional view schematic diagram of an optical sensing device according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, the light collimating structure <NUM> of the optical sensing device SD may include a light shielding layer <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, a light shielding layer <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, a light shielding layer <NUM> and a micro-lens <NUM>. The light shielding layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the sensing element <NUM>. Furthermore, the light shielding layer <NUM> includes organic material such as black photoresist material, and the light shielding layer <NUM> includes metal material. Since the light shielding layer <NUM> includes metal material, the light shielding layer <NUM> with smaller openings <NUM> can be manufactured to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of optical signals. The light shielding layer <NUM> may be disposed between the micro-lens <NUM> and the light shielding layer <NUM>, and the light shielding layer <NUM> includes organic material. The insulating layer <NUM>, the light shielding layer <NUM>, the insulating layer <NUM>, the light shielding layer <NUM> and the micro-lens <NUM> are respectively formed by a photolithography process, so that the complexity of the manufacturing process may be reduced. In some embodiments, the light collimating structure <NUM> may further include a protective layer <NUM> and/or a protective layer <NUM>. The protective layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>, and the protective layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>, so as to improve the adhesion between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM> or the adhesion between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>, and increase the reliability of the optical sensing device SD. The protective layer <NUM> and the protective layer <NUM> may include silicon nitride compound (SiNx), silicon oxide compound (SiOx), other suitable materials or combinations of the above materials, but not limited herein. In some embodiments, the protective layer <NUM> may be replaced by an anti-reflection layer and disposed on the light shielding layer <NUM>. The anti-reflection layer may be a multilayer composite structure constituted by high refractive index layer(s) and low refractive index layer(s), but not limited herein. In some embodiments, the light collimating structure <NUM> may further include a protective layer <NUM> disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the micro-lens <NUM> to improve the adhesion between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the micro-lens <NUM> and increase the reliability of the optical sensing device SD. The protective layer <NUM> may include silicon nitride compound (SiNx), silicon oxide compound (SiOx), other suitable materials or combinations of the above materials, but not limited herein.

Please refer to <FIG> is a partial cross-sectional view schematic diagram of an optical sensing device according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, the light collimating structure <NUM> of the optical sensing device SD may include a light shielding layer <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, a light shielding layer <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, a light shielding layer <NUM> and a micro-lens <NUM>. The light shielding layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the sensing element <NUM>, and the light shielding layer <NUM> and the light shielding layer <NUM> includes organic material such as black photoresist material. The light shielding layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the micro-lens <NUM>, and the light shielding layer <NUM> includes metal material. Since the light shielding layer <NUM> includes metal material, it may have a thinner thickness than a layer including organic material, so that the surface level difference of the light shielding layer <NUM> can be reduced, thereby easy to control the subsequent process of the micro-lens <NUM>. The light shielding layer <NUM>, the insulating layer <NUM>, the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM> may be respectively formed by a photolithography process, so that the complexity of the manufacturing process may be reduced. In some embodiments, the light collimating structure <NUM> may further include a protective layer <NUM> and/or a protective layer <NUM>. The protective layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>, and the protective layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the micro-lens <NUM>, so as to improve the adhesion between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM> or the micro-lens <NUM>, thereby increasing the reliability of the optical sensing device SD. The protective layer <NUM> and the protective layer <NUM> may include silicon nitride compounds (SiNx), silicon oxide compounds (SiOx), other suitable materials or combinations of the above materials, but not limited herein.

Please refer to <FIG> is a partial cross-sectional view schematic diagram of an optical sensing device according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, the light collimating structure <NUM> of the optical sensing device SD may include a light shielding layer <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, a light shielding layer <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, a light shielding layer <NUM> and a micro-lens <NUM>. The light shielding layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the sensing element <NUM>. Furthermore, the light shielding layer <NUM> includes organic material such as black photoresist material, and the light shielding layer <NUM> includes metal material. The light shielding layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the micro-lens <NUM>, and the light shielding layer <NUM> includes organic material. Since the light shielding layer <NUM> includes metal material, it is beneficial to make the alignment between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the light shielding layer <NUM> more accurate in the manufacturing process. The light shielding layer <NUM>, the insulating layer <NUM>, the insulating layer <NUM>, the light shielding layer <NUM> and the micro-lens <NUM> are respectively formed by a photolithography process, so that the complexity of the manufacturing process may be reduced. In some embodiments, the light collimating structure <NUM> may further include a protective layer <NUM> and/or a protective layer <NUM>. The protective layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>, and the protective layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>, so as to improve the adhesion between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM> or the adhesion between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>, and increase the reliability of the optical sensing device SD. The protective layer <NUM> and the protective layer <NUM> may include silicon nitride compound (SiNx), silicon oxide compound (SiOx), other suitable materials or combinations of the above materials, but not limited herein.

Please refer to <FIG> is a partial cross-sectional view schematic diagram of an optical sensing device according to a variation embodiment of the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, the light collimating structure <NUM> of the optical sensing device SD may include a light shielding layer <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, a light shielding layer <NUM>, an insulating layer <NUM>, a light shielding layer <NUM> and a micro-lens <NUM>. The light shielding layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the sensing element <NUM>. Furthermore, the light shielding layer <NUM> includes organic material such as black photoresist material, and the light shielding layer <NUM> includes metal material. The light shielding layer <NUM> may be disposed on the micro-lens <NUM>, and the light shielding layer <NUM> includes at least one opening <NUM> overlapped with the opening <NUM> of the light shielding layer <NUM> in the top-view direction Y. The opening <NUM> may accommodate the micro-lens <NUM>. The light shielding layer <NUM> may include organic material. The light collimating structure <NUM> may further include a protective layer <NUM> and/or a protective layer <NUM>. The protective layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>, and the protective layer <NUM> may be disposed between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the insulating layer <NUM>. The protective layer <NUM> and the protective layer <NUM> may include silicon nitride compound (SiNx), silicon oxide compound (SiOx), other suitable materials or combinations of the above materials, but not limited herein. In this embodiment, the micro-lens <NUM> is disposed on the insulating layer <NUM> firstly, and then the light shielding layer <NUM> is disposed on the micro-lens <NUM>, so that the micro-lens <NUM> may be disposed on a flat surface, which reduces the difficulty of the manufacturing process.

Please refer to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>. <FIG> is a partial cross-sectional view schematic diagram of an optical sensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, at least one of the light shielding layer <NUM>, the light shielding layer <NUM> and the light shielding layer <NUM> of the optical sensing device SD extends outward from a side <NUM> of the driving circuit <NUM> by a specific distance. In detail, when an ambient light (e.g., sunlight) incident on the optical sensing device SD, an angle θ exists between the ambient light and the direction X, wherein the direction X may be substantially perpendicular to the top-view direction Y of the optical sensing device SD. An edge 320a of the light shielding layer <NUM> adjacent to the side <NUM> of the driving circuit <NUM> extends outward from the driving circuit <NUM> by a first extension distance L1, a vertical distance between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the driving circuit <NUM> in the top-view direction Y is defined as a first spacing D1, and the first extension distance L1 multiplied by tanθ is greater than or equal to the first spacing D1 (i.e., L1*tanθ ≥ D1). Therefore, the ambient light may have less influence on the sensing device SD when sensing optical signals. For example, the first extension distance L1 is, in accordance with the invention, greater than or equal to the first spacing D1 when the angle θ of the incident light is <NUM> degrees (i.e., tan45°=<NUM>, and L1 ≥ D1). The first spacing D1 may be measured from the upper surface of the thin film transistor in the driving circuit <NUM> to the lower surface of the light shielding layer <NUM>, for example. In some illustrative embodiments, useful for understanding the invention, but not necessarily forming part of the invention as claimed, at least one of the light shielding layer <NUM>, the light shielding layer <NUM> and the light shielding layer <NUM> of the optical sensing device SD extends outward from a side 210S1 (or a side 210S2) of the sensing pixel <NUM> by a distance. For example, an edge 320b of the light shielding layer <NUM> adjacent to the side 210S1 of the sensing pixel <NUM> extends outward from the sensing pixel <NUM> by a second extension distance L2, a vertical distance between the light shielding layer <NUM> and the sensing element <NUM> of the sensing pixel <NUM> in the top-view direction Y is defined as a second spacing D2, and the second extension distance L2 multiplied by tanθ is greater than or equal to the second spacing D2 (i.e., L2*tanθ ≥ D2). Therefore, the ambient light may have less influence on the sensing device SD when sensing optical signals. For example, the second extension distance L2 is greater than or equal to the second spacing D2 when the angle θ of the incident light is <NUM> degrees (i.e., tan45°=<NUM>, and L2 ≥ D2). The second spacing D2 may be measured from the upper surface of the sensing element (not shown in <FIG>) to the lower surface of the light shielding layer <NUM>, for example.

From the above description, according to the optical sensing devices of the embodiments of the present disclosure, through the design of the light shielding layer, the influence of stray light or ambient light can be reduced, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio of optical signals. Based on the present disclosure, the complexity of the manufacturing process can be reduced. In another aspect, the adhesion between layers can be improved. Furthermore, the light shielding layer may include organic material, so as to reduce the generation of stray capacitance between the light shielding layer and the conductive layer, thereby increasing the sensitivity of the sensing element. In addition, the light shielding layer may include metal material, so that the light shielding layer with smaller openings may be manufactured, or the light shielding layer may have a thinner thickness, so as to facilitate the subsequent process.

Claim 1:
An optical sensing device (SD), comprising:
a sensing pixel (<NUM>) comprising a sensing circuit (<NUM>) and a sensing element (<NUM>) electrically connected to the sensing circuit (<NUM>) in a sensing region R1;
a driving circuit (<NUM>) electrically connected to the sensing circuit (<NUM>) disposed in a peripheral region R2 adjacent to the sensing region R1; and
a first light shielding layer (<NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>) comprising at least one first opening (<NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>) corresponding to the sensing element (<NUM>), wherein the first light shielding layer (<NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>) is overlapped with the driving circuit (<NUM>) in a top-view direction (Y) of the optical sensing device (SD),
wherein an edge (320a) of the first light shielding layer (<NUM>) adjacent to the driving circuit (<NUM>) extends outward from the driving circuit (<NUM>) by a first extension distance (L1), a vertical distance between the first light shielding layer (<NUM>) and the driving circuit (<NUM>) in the top-view direction (Y) is defined as a first spacing (D1),
characterised in that
the first extension distance (L1) is greater than or equal to the first spacing (D1).