Patent ID: 7164444

Claim:
A vertical color filter detector group comprising: a first photodiode having a first spectral sensitivity and a first saturation exposure level; a second photodiode having a second spectral sensitivity and a second saturation exposure level, the second photodiode being located substantially below the first photodiode in a semiconductor substrate; and a highlight diode having a highlight saturation exposure level, wherein the highlight diode is in close physical proximity to at least one of the first photodiode and the second photodiode; the first photodiode, the second photodiode, and the highlight diode react to exposure of the vertical color filter detector group to light at about the same time as one another; the first saturation exposure level and the second saturation exposure level are about equal to each other; and the highlight saturation exposure level is substantially higher than each of the first saturation exposure level and the second saturation exposure level.