4.7 A 2.1Mpixel organic-film stacked RGB-IR image sensor with electrically controllable IR sensitivity

Abstract

The use of infrared (IR) imaging to view scenes otherwise invisible to the human eye, simultaneously with visible-spectrum imaging, is increasingly of interest for various applications for such as in-vehicle, surveillance, and agricultural security cameras. The loss of spatial resolution in conventional RGB-IR sensors causes aliasing, because IR pixels are segmented within the provided effective pixel area [1,2]. 3-D stacking of photodiode arrays has been reported as another strategy for RGB-IR capture [3]; however, the need for bonding accuracy limits pixel size. Silicon's weak IR light absorptivity also results in relatively lower IR sensitivity on the part of these image sensors.