High-Sensitivity Pixels with a Quad-WRGB Color Filter and Spatial Deep-Trench Isolation

The demand for a high-resolution metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor has increased in recent years, and pixel size has shrunk below 1.0 μm to allow accumulation of numerous pixels in a limited area. However, shrinking the pixel size lowers the sensitivity and increases crosstalk because the aspect ratio is worsened by maintaining the height of the pixel. This work introduces a high-sensitivity pixel with a quad-WRGB (White, Red, Green, Blue) color filter array (CFA), spatial deep-trench isolation (S-DTI), and a spatial tungsten grid (S-WG). The optical performance of the suggested pixel was analyzed by performing 3D optical simulations at 1.0, 0.9, and 0.8 μm pixel pitches as small-sized pixels. The quad-WRGB CFA is compared with the quad-Bayer CFA, and the S-DTI and S-WG are compared with the conventional DTI and WG. We confirmed an improvement in the sensitivity of the suggested pixel using the quad-WRGB CFA with S-DTI and S-WG to a maximum of 58.2%, 67.0%, and 66.3% for 1.0, 0.9, and 0.8 μm pixels, respectively.