Patent ID: 8017982

Claim:
A photoimager, comprising: a substrate comprising semiconductor material; and at least one pixel imaging circuit, comprising: an image-sensing element at an active surface of the substrate; a plurality of imager transistors laterally adjacent and in communication with the image-sensing element on the active surface; at least one capacitor laterally adjacent and in communication with the plurality of imager transistors on the active surface; at least one contact hole extending from a back side of the substrate toward the active surface, a distance across the at least one contact hole; at least one contact plug electrically within the at least one contact hole, the at least one contact plug comprising an elongate element extending from an element of a transistor of the plurality of imager transistors from a location substantially beneath the plurality of imager transistors, through the semiconductor material of the substrate, to the back side of the substrate, the elongate element including: a first end contacting the element of the at least ons transistor; an intermediate section extending through the semiconductor material of the substrate; and a second end opposite from the first end and at least electrically exposed at a back side of the substrate.