CMOS image sensor with nano light pillars for optical performance enhancement

We have demonstrated a CMOS image sensor (CIS) with nano-light pillars (NLPs), which is metasurface-like structures, on a 0.8 μm-pixel sensor to enhance quantum efficiency. By employing a unique arrangement of NLPs, the light energy can be selectively directed to specific color pixels based on the design wavelength. The NLPs improve the quantum efficiency (QE) by 40% and 16% for blue and green, respectively, compared to micro-lens (ML) type of sensors. The luminance signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improves by +1.16 dB under low-light conditions (20 lux) without compromising color fidelity.