Patent ID: 8742523

Claim:
A semiconductor device, comprising: a substrate comprising a semiconductor of a first conductivity type; a photodiode, comprising: a first region of semiconductor material of a second conductivity type opposite from said first conductivity type, said first region being disposed in said substrate, so that a first p-n junction of said photodiode is at a boundary of said first region with semiconductor material of said first conductivity type in said substrate; a second region of semiconductor material of said first conductivity type, said second region being disposed in said substrate so that said second region is electrically isolated from said substrate outside of said first region, so that a second p-n junction of said photodiode is at a boundary of said second region with said first region, said second p-n junction being disposed above said first p-n junction; a shorting structure connected to said photodiode so that said shorting structure shorts at least one p-n junction of said photodiode; a first contact structure connected to said photodiode; and a second contact structure connected to said photodiode, such that said first contact structure and said second contact structure are connected to opposite sides of at least one p-n junction of said photodiode which is not shorted by said shorting structure.