Patent ID: 7176547

Claim:
A semiconductor device where a light receiving portion divided into a plurality of partitions is formed on a main surface of a semiconductor substrate comprising: an intermediate semiconductor region that is disposed on the main surface and has a low impurity concentration; a lower semiconductor region that is disposed in contact with a bottom surface of the intermediate semiconductor region, to which a first voltage is applied and that has a first conductivity type at an impurity concentration higher than the intermediate semiconductor region; a boundary semiconductor region that is formed on a surface of the intermediate semiconductor region along a boundary between the partitions, to which a second voltage is applied and that has the first conductivity type at an impurity concentration higher than the intermediate semiconductor region; and a plurality of upper semiconductor regions each of which is formed at a position corresponding to each of the partitions on a surface of the intermediate semiconductor region, to which a third voltage is applied and that has a second conductivity type at an impurity concentration higher than the intermediate semiconductor region, wherein each of the upper semiconductor regions and the lower semiconductor region are made in a reverse bias state owing to the first voltage and the third voltage to form a depletion layer in the intermediate semiconductor region; and the boundary semiconductor region and the lower semiconductor region, in accordance with the second voltage and the first voltage, form a potential barrier against a movement of the signal electric charges between the partitions.