Patent ID: 7622785

Claim:
A photoelectric conversion element, comprising: a photoelectric conversion layer including stacked layers of a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer and a third semiconductor layer; the first semiconductor layer containing an impurity element of one conductivity type, on a conductive layer; the second semiconductor layer formed on the first semiconductor layer; and the third semiconductor layer containing an impurity element of an opposite conductivity type to that in the first semiconductor layer, on the second semiconductor layer, wherein a side surface of the photoelectric conversion layer includes a surface with a first taper angle and a surface with a second taper angle, wherein the surface with the first taper angle includes a side surface of the first semiconductor layer and a part of a side surface of the second semiconductor layer, wherein the surface with the second taper angle includes another part of the side surface of the second semiconductor layer and a side surface of the third semiconductor layer, and wherein the surface with the first taper angle and the surface with the second taper angle have different taper angles.