| US 7,485,840 B2 | ||
| Semiconductor charge multiplication amplifier device and semiconductor image sensor provided with such an amplifier device | ||
| Leonid Yurievich Lazovsky, Waterloo (Canada) | ||
| Assigned to DALSA Corporation, Waterloo (Canada) | ||
| Filed on Feb. 08, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/703,765. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2008/0192882 A1, Aug. 14, 2008 | ||
| Int. Cl. H01L 31/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 250—214.1 [348/312; 257/236; 257/237; 377/57; 377/61; 377/62] | 12 Claims |
| 1. A charge multiplication device comprising:
a device stage that includes a series arrangement of a plurality of clock electrodes insulatively disposed over a semiconductor
body,
wherein the series arrangement is operable for transporting packages of charge carriers through the semiconductor body from
an image sensor section towards an output section, and
wherein an impact ionization region is formed in the semiconductor body between two neighboring clock electrodes when a substantially
static voltage difference drives the two neighboring clock electrodes so as to induce an electric field in the impact ionization
region within which charge multiplication occurs and through which charge carriers pass during their transport from the image
section to the output section.
|