Patent ID: 7348202

Claim:
A method of fabricating a CMOS image sensor, comprising: disposing a pixel array in a semiconductor substrate; stacking an insulating interlayer and a protective layer on the semiconductor substrate, including the pixel array; selectively removing a portion of the protective layer over the pixel array; forming a trench in the insulating interlayer to coincide with the pixel array; forming an inclined inner sidewall of the trench, the inclined inner sidewall including inner sidewall surfaces of the protective layer and the insulating interlayer; and forming a plurality of devices and metal lines on the substrate that do not overlap the pixel array; forming an oxide layer over the semiconductor substrate by high density plasma chemical vapor deposition to provide a uniform incline to a profile of the insulating interlayer of the trench; and removing the oxide layer by etching to transfer its uniform inclination to corresponding portions of the protective layer and the insulating interlayer at the sidewall of the trench to impart a uniformly inclined surface sloping outwardly from the trench.