Patent ID: 8304759

Claim:
An image sensor comprising: a conductive layer having a top surface and a bottom surface; an array of pixels having an upper surface and a lower surface, disposed on the bottom surface of said conductive layer such that the upper surface of said array of pixels connects with the bottom surface of said conductive layer, wherein each pixel of said array of pixels comprises: a plurality of semiconductor nanowires having top tips and bottom tips; and a conductive contact disposed on said plurality of semiconductor nanowires, wherein the top tips of said nanowires connect to the bottom surface of said conductive layer and the bottom tips of said nanowires connect to said conductive contacts, and wherein said array of pixels has a certain height; at least one first insulator having a first surface and a second surface, disposed on the bottom surface of said conductive layer between said pixels, wherein said at least one first insulator has a height lower than said array of pixels and wherein the first surface of said at least one first insulator is connected to the bottom surface of said conductive layer; at least one second insulator disposed on the second surface of said at least one first insulator, wherein said at least one second insulator has a height high enough to make up the difference in height between said pixels and said at least one first insulator, thereby creating at least one insulator support structure which is the same height as said array of pixels; and a first conformal substrate disposed on the lower surface of said array of pixels and said at least one insulator support structure.