Patent ID: 6953925

Claim:
An optically enhanced photo sensor, comprising: a substrate; a photocell disposed atop the substrate, the photocell having a light-sensitive region that converts radiation into electrical energy; a spacer disposed atop the photocell; and a lens disposed atop the spacer, the lens having a convex lower surface defining an interface with a correspondingly shaped upper surface portion of the spacer; wherein the spacer and lens comprise inorganic transparent materials each having a refractive index, the refractive index of the lens being greater than the refractive index of the spacer such that light passing through the lens is refracted at the interface and caused to converge in an area covering most of the light-sensitive region of the photocell, wherein the material of the lens consists essentially of silicon-rich silicon nitride having a refractive index in excess of 2.0, and wherein the difference between the refractive index of the lens material and the refractive index of the spacer material is significantly in excess of 0.54.