TowerJazz and TPSCo Announce Stacked Deep PD Technology

GlobeNewsWire: TowerJazz and TowerJazz Panasonic Semiconductor Co. (TPSCo) announce a new state of the art CIS process based on stacked deep PD, allowing customers to achieve very high NIR sensitivity and realize extremely low cross-talk while keeping low dark current characteristics, using small pixels and high resolution.

This solution targets 3D gesture recognition and gesture control for the consumer, security, automotive and industrial sensors markets. NIR is becoming more and more popular in 3D gesture recognition applications and in automotive active vision applications for better visibility in harsh weather conditions. These ToF applications are using a NIR light source and ToF, creating a 3D image.

Current solutions generally use a thick epi on p-type substrate to achieve high sensitivity, but this creates high cross talk (low resolution) and high dark current values. The novel pixel structure developed by TowerJazz and TPSCo has a stacked deep photodiode, providing both high sensitivity and low cross talk at NIR. This allows very low dark current values, especially at elevated temperatures, required in the automotive market.

“The tremendously fast growth of 3D gesture application in the consumer market such as PC and mobile as well as in the automotive area will allow us to attract many customers with this technology that is the best the market has to offer,” said Avi Strum, SVP and GM, CMOS Image Sensor Business Unit, TowerJazz.

The process was developed on TPSCo’s 65nm CIS technology on 300mm wafers in its Uozu, Japan fab and is already in production for leading edge automotive and security sensors. It will also be available for new designs in TPSCo’s 110nm fab in Arai, Japan and in TowerJazz’s 180nm fab in Migdal Haemek, Israel.