Patent ID: 7187017

Claim:
An image sensor, comprising: a plurality of photodiodes arranged on a surface of a semiconductor substrate, the photodiodes each including a first region of a first conductivity type provided on the semiconductor substrate, a second region of a second conductivity type provided on the first region, the second conductivity type being different from the first conductivity type, and a signal extraction region of the second conductivity type provided on the second region; an isolation region which electrically isolates the second regions of each adjacent pair of photodiodes from each other, the isolation region including a first trench provided between the second regions of the adjacent photodiodes and an oxide film provided on the first trench in the vicinity of surfaces of the second regions and having a greater width than the first trench; and third regions of the first conductivity type each provided between the second region and the oxide film for permitting a depletion layer to spread only outside a predetermined region adjacent to the oxide film when a reverse bias voltage having a predetermined magnitude is applied to each of the photodiodes.