| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20080237761 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCING LIGHT SENSITIVITY FOR BACKSIDE ILLUMINATION IMAGE SENSOR - A system and method for enhancing light sensitivity of a back-side illumination image sensor are described. An integrated circuit includes a substrate and an image sensor device comprising at least one transistor formed over a first surface of the substrate and a photosensitive region. A color filter is disposed over a second surface of the substrate opposite the first surface thereof. A micro-lens structure is disposed between the second surface of the substrate and the color filter. | 10-02-2008 |
| 20080246152 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH BONDING PAD - A semiconductor device with a bonding pad is provided. The semiconductor device includes a first substrate having a device area and a bonding area, wherein the first substrate has an upper surface and a bottom surface. Semiconductor elements are disposed on the upper surface of the first substrate in the device area. A first inter-metal dielectric layer is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate in the bonding area. A lowermost metal pattern is disposed in the first inter-metal dielectric layer, wherein the lowermost metal pattern serves as the bonding pad, and the first substrate is exposed through an opening in the lowermost metal pattern. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20090020842 | EMBEDDED BONDING PAD FOR BACKSIDE ILLUMINATED IMAGE SENSOR - The present disclosure provide a microelectronic device. The microelectronic device includes a sensing element formed in the semiconductor substrate; a trench isolation feature formed in the semiconductor substrate; a bonding pad formed at least partially in the trench isolation feature; and interconnect features formed over the sensing element and the trench isolation feature, being coupled to the sensing element and the bonding pad, and isolated from each other by interlayer dielectric. | 01-22-2009 |
| 20090039452 | EMBEDDED BONDING PAD FOR IMAGE SENSORS - A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a front surface and a back surface, elements formed on the substrate, interconnect metal layers formed over the front surface of the substrate, including a topmost interconnect metal layer, an inter-metal dielectric for insulating each of the plurality of interconnect metal layers, and a bonding pad disposed within the inter-metal dielectric, the bonding pad in contact with one of the interconnect metal layers other than the topmost interconnect metal layer. | 02-12-2009 |
| 20090124073 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH BONDING PAD - A method for forming a semiconductor device with a bonding pad is disclosed. A first substrate having a device area and a bonding area is provided, wherein the first substrate has an upper surface and a bottom surface. Semiconductor elements are formed on the upper surface of the first substrate in the device area. A first inter-metal dielectric layer is formed on the upper surface of the substrate in the bonding area. A lowermost metal pattern is formed in the first inter-metal dielectric layer, wherein the lowermost metal pattern serves as the bonding pad. An opening through the first substrate is formed to expose the lowermost metal pattern. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20100062611 | Method and Apparatus for Thinning a Substrate - Provided is a method for fabricating a semiconductor device that includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a front side and a backside, where active or passive devices are formed in the front side, rotating the semiconductor substrate, and etching the backside of the semiconductor substrate by introducing a first etchant while the substrate is rotated, the first etchant including an R—COOH. | 03-11-2010 |
| 20100087029 | METHOD OF FABRICATING BACKSIDE ILLUMINATED IMAGE SENSOR - A method for fabricating a backside illuminated image sensor is provided. An exemplary method can include providing a substrate with a front surface and a back surface; forming a first alignment mark for global alignment on the front surface of the substrate; forming a second alignment mark for fine alignment in a clear-out region on the front surface of the substrate; aligning the substrate from the back surface using the first alignment mark; and removing a portion of the back surface of the substrate at the clear-out region for locating the second alignment mark. | 04-08-2010 |
| 20100151615 | METHODS FOR FABRICATING IMAGE SENSOR DEVICES - Image sensor devices and methods for fabricating the same are provided. An exemplary embodiment of an image sensor device comprises a support substrate. A passivation structure is formed over the support substrate. An interconnect structure is formed over the passivation structure. A first semiconductor layer is formed over the interconnect structure, having a first and second surfaces, wherein the first and second surfaces are opposing surfaces. At least one light-sensing device is formed over/in the first semiconductor layer from a first surface thereof. A color filter layer is formed over the first semiconductor layer from a second surface thereof. At least one micro lens is formed over the color filter layer. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20110159631 | METHOD OF FABRICATING BACKSIDE ILLUMINATED IMAGE SENSOR - A method for fabricating a backside illuminated image sensor is provided. An exemplary method can include providing a substrate having a front surface and a back surface; forming an alignment mark at the front surface of the substrate, wherein the alignment mark is detectable for alignment from the back surface; and processing the substrate from the back surface by performing registration from the back surface and using the alignment mark as a reference. | 06-30-2011 |