Patent ID: 7181966

Claim:
Sensor equipment for generating an output in accordance with a physical quantity as a detection object, the equipment comprising: a decoder; and a semiconductor substrate including a plurality of memory cells, each of which includes a transistor for switching and a capacitor, wherein the transistor in each memory cell includes a source region, a drain region, and a gate electrode, the source region and the drain region have a first conductive type, the gate electrode is disposed in an insulation layer such that the gate electrode is between the the source region and the drain region and is also adjacent the semiconductor substrate, the capacitor in each memory cell includes a trench, a semiconductor region, a dielectric film, and a capacitance electrode, the trench is disposed in the semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor region having the first conductive type is disposed in the trench, and is connected to the source region, the dielectric film has a dielectric constant that changes in accordance with the physical quantity, the dielectric film is embedded in the semiconductor region in the trench in such a manner that the dielectric film is disposed on a surface of the semiconductor region, the capacitance electrode is disposed on a surface of the dielectric film through an insulation film in such a manner that the capacitance electrode faces the trench, the trench in each memory cell has a width which is different for each memory cell so that the opening area of the trench is different in each memory cell, and the decoder is capable of detecting whether each memory cell is in either a written state or in an unwritten state, and outputting the state of each memory cell.