SOLID STATE IMAGING ELEMENT

摘要

A floating diffusion region (13) is formed at an edge of a light-receiving surface of an embedded photodiode, with a transfer gate electrode (12) located therebetween. A first region (111), with radially extending portions centered on the FD region (13), and a second region (112), located to the outside of the first region, are created in the substantially sector-shaped light-receiving surface. A dopant whose conductivity type is the same as the signal charges to be collected in the first region (111) are introduced, whereby an electric field for moving the signal charges from the radially extending sections towards the center is created due to a three-dimensional field effect. As a result, the charge-transfer time is reduced. Additionally, since a circuit element in the subsequent stage can be placed adjacent to the floating diffusion region (13), the parasitic capacitance of the floating diffusion region (13) can be reduced and a highly sensitive element can be obtained. Thus, it is possible to improve the detection sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio of a solid-state image sensor capable of taking images at ultrahigh speeds (at one million frames per second or higher) without losing the speediness of the imaging operation.