Patent ID: 7498621

Claim:
An image sensor element comprising: a semiconductor substrate, a radiation transparent insulating layer formed on the semiconductor substrate, an electrode formed as a layer of transparent resistive material on the insulating layer, the transparent resistive material extending across a photosensitive part of the image sensor element in which incident light is converted into photogenerated charges, a first contact adjacent to a first edge of the resistive layer, a first diffusion region in the semiconductor substrate of opposite conductivity to the semiconductor substrate located adjacent to the first contact and biased to a higher potential than that of the first contact, a second contact adjacent to a second edge, opposite the first edge, of the resistive layer, a second diffusion region is in the semiconductor substrate of opposite conductivity to the semiconductor substrate located adjacent to the second contact and biased to a higher potential than that of the second contact, means for applying an electrical potential between the first and second contacts, and means for reading out the charge on the first and/or second diffusion regions; wherein the resistive layer is rectangular; and in which the contacts are arranged one at each side.