CN113720482A

CN113720482A - Infrared detector pixel and infrared detector based on CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process

Info

Publication number: CN113720482A
Application number: CN202110324083.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 翟光杰; 武佩; 潘辉; 翟光强
Original assignee: Beijing North Gaoye Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Beijing North Gaoye Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-03-26
Filing date: 2021-03-26
Publication date: 2021-11-30

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an infrared detector pixel and an infrared detector based on a CMOS process, the pixel including: the CMOS measurement circuit system and the CMOS infrared sensing structure positioned on the CMOS measurement circuit system are both prepared by adopting a CMOS process; the CMOS infrared sensing structure comprises a reflecting layer, an infrared conversion structure and a plurality of columnar structures, wherein the reflecting layer, the infrared conversion structure and the plurality of columnar structures are positioned on the CMOS measuring circuit system; the columnar structure adopts a non-metal solid column, the side wall of the non-metal solid column is made of a metal material, and a space surrounded by the side wall is filled with the non-metal material. By the technical scheme, the problems of low performance, low pixel scale, low yield and the like of the traditional MEMS process infrared detector are solved; meanwhile, the columnar structure adopts a non-metal solid column, so that the structural stability can be improved, and the detection performance can be improved.

Description

Infrared detector pixel and infrared detector based on CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to the technical field of infrared detection, in particular to an infrared detector pixel and an infrared detector based on a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process.

Background

The fields of monitoring markets, vehicle and auxiliary markets, home markets, intelligent manufacturing markets, mobile phone applications and the like have strong demands on uncooled high-performance chips, certain requirements are provided for the performance of the chips, the performance consistency and the product price, the potential demands of more than one hundred million chips are expected every year, and the current process scheme and architecture cannot meet the market demands.

At present, an infrared detector adopts a mode of combining a measuring circuit and an infrared sensing structure, the measuring circuit is prepared by adopting a Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) process, and the infrared sensing structure is prepared by adopting a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) process, so that the following problems are caused:

(1) the infrared sensing structure is prepared by adopting an MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) process, polyimide is used as a sacrificial layer, and the infrared sensing structure is incompatible with a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process.

(2) Polyimide is used as a sacrificial layer, so that the problem that the vacuum degree of a detector chip is influenced due to incomplete release exists, the growth temperature of a subsequent film is limited, and the selection of materials is not facilitated.

(3) Polyimide can cause the height of the resonant cavity to be inconsistent, and the working dominant wavelength is difficult to guarantee.

(4) The control of the MEMS process is far worse than that of the CMOS process, and the performance consistency and the detection performance of the chip are restricted.

(5) MEMS has low productivity, low yield and high cost, and can not realize large-scale batch production.

(6) The existing process capability of the MEMS is not enough to support the preparation of a detector with higher performance, and the MEMS has smaller line width and thinner film thickness, thereby being not beneficial to realizing the miniaturization of a chip.

Meanwhile, the infrared detector cannot give consideration to better structural stability and better detection performance.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the technical problems or at least partially solve the technical problems, the present disclosure provides an infrared detector pixel and an infrared detector based on a CMOS process, which solve the problems of low performance, low pixel scale, low yield and the like of the conventional MEMS process infrared detector, and simultaneously can achieve better structural stability and higher detection sensitivity.

The present disclosure provides an infrared detector pixel based on a CMOS process, the infrared detector pixel comprising:

the CMOS infrared sensing device comprises a CMOS measuring circuit system and a CMOS infrared sensing structure positioned on the CMOS measuring circuit system, wherein the CMOS measuring circuit system and the CMOS infrared sensing structure are both prepared by adopting a CMOS process, and the CMOS infrared sensing structure is directly prepared on the CMOS measuring circuit system;

The CMOS measurement circuit system comprises at least one layer of closed release isolation layer above the CMOS measurement circuit system, wherein the closed release isolation layer is used for protecting the CMOS measurement circuit system from being influenced by a process in the etching process of manufacturing the CMOS infrared sensing structure;

the CMOS manufacturing process of the CMOS infrared sensing structure comprises a metal interconnection process, a through hole process and an RDL (remote data link) process, wherein the CMOS infrared sensing structure comprises at least two metal layers, at least two dielectric layers and a plurality of interconnection through holes;

the CMOS infrared sensing structure comprises a reflecting layer, an infrared conversion structure and a plurality of columnar structures, wherein the reflecting layer, the infrared conversion structure and the columnar structures are positioned on the CMOS measuring circuit system;

the columnar structure is a nonmetal solid column, the side wall and the bottom of the nonmetal solid column are made of metal materials, and a space surrounded by the side wall is filled with nonmetal materials.

In some embodiments, the CMOS infrared sensing structure comprises a sacrificial layer, the sacrificial layer is used for enabling the CMOS infrared sensing structure to form a hollow structure, the material forming the sacrificial layer is silicon oxide, and the sacrificial layer is etched by a post-CMOS process;

The post-CMOS process etches the sacrificial layer using at least one of gaseous hydrogen fluoride, carbon tetrafluoride, and trifluoromethane.

In some embodiments, the non-metallic material comprises at least one of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon germanium, amorphous carbon, silicon carbide, silicon carbonitride or aluminum oxide.

In some embodiments, the metal material comprises at least one of titanium, titanium nitride, tantalum, or tantalum nitride, or

The metal material comprises at least one of titanium-tungsten alloy, nickel-chromium alloy, nickel-platinum alloy, nickel-silicon alloy, nickel, chromium or platinum.

In some embodiments, the sidewalls and bottom of the non-metallic solid posts form a U-shaped metal layer.

In some embodiments, the infrared detector pixel further comprises a second metal layer;

the second metal layer covers at least one side of the U-shaped metal layer.

In some embodiments, the second metal layer is disposed between the metal layer and the support pedestal; and/or

The second metal layer is arranged on the side face, far away from the supporting base, of the metal layer.

In some embodiments, the material comprising the second metal layer comprises at least one of tungsten, aluminum, titanium, or copper.

In some embodiments, the infrared detector pixel further comprises a dielectric protective layer;

the dielectric protection layer covers the surface of the non-support columnar structure of the reflection layer;

the bottom of the columnar structure is embedded in the medium protective layer.

In some embodiments, the material comprising the dielectric protection layer comprises at least one of silicon, germanium, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, silicon germanium, or amorphous silicon germanium.

In some embodiments, the infrared detector pixel further comprises a dielectric layer;

the dielectric layer covers the side face of the columnar structure.

In some embodiments, the material comprising the dielectric layer comprises at least one of silicon, germanium, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon germanium, amorphous carbon, silicon carbide, or aluminum oxide.

In some embodiments, the bottom of the columnar structure is embedded within the support base.

In some embodiments, a cross-sectional shape of the columnar structure in a plane parallel to the reflection plate includes at least one of a circle, a square, a polygon, or a long bar.

In some embodiments, the cross-sectional maximum unidirectional width of the columnar structure is greater than or equal to 0.5 micrometer and less than or equal to 3 micrometers.

In some embodiments, the height of the columnar structure in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the reflector plate is 0.1 micrometers or more and 2.5 micrometers or less.

The present disclosure also provides an infrared detector based on CMOS process, which includes any one of the above infrared detector pixels;

and the infrared detector pixels are arranged in an array.

Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure has the following advantages:

(1) in the infrared detector pixel provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the CMOS process is utilized to realize the integrated preparation of the CMOS measurement circuit system and the CMOS infrared sensing structure on the CMOS production line, compared with the MEMS process, the CMOS has no process compatibility problem, the technical difficulty faced by the MEMS process is solved, and the transportation cost can be reduced and the risk caused by the problems of transportation and the like can be reduced by adopting the CMOS process production line process to prepare the infrared detector; the infrared detector takes silicon oxide as a sacrificial layer, the silicon oxide is completely compatible with a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process, the preparation process is simple and easy to control, the CMOS process does not have the problem that the polyimide of the sacrificial layer is not released cleanly to influence the vacuum degree of a detector chip, the subsequent film growth temperature is not limited by the material of the sacrificial layer, the multilayer process design of the sacrificial layer can be realized, the process is not limited, the planarization can be easily realized by using the sacrificial layer, and the process difficulty and the possible risks are reduced; the infrared detector prepared by the integrated CMOS process can realize the aims of high yield, low cost, high yield and large-scale integrated production of chips, and provides a wider application market for the infrared detector; the infrared detector based on the CMOS process can realize smaller size and thinner film thickness of a characteristic structure, so that the infrared detector has larger duty ratio, lower thermal conductivity and smaller thermal capacity, and the infrared detector has higher detection sensitivity, longer detection distance and better detection performance; the infrared detector based on the CMOS process can make the pixel size of the detector smaller, realize smaller chip area under the same array pixel, and is more beneficial to realizing the miniaturization of a chip; the infrared detector based on the CMOS process has mature process production line and higher process control precision, can better meet the design requirement, has better product consistency, is more beneficial to the adjustment performance of a circuit chip and is more beneficial to industrialized mass production;

(2) The CMOS infrared sensing structure comprises a columnar structure adopting a non-metal solid column, the side wall and the bottom of the non-metal solid column are made of metal materials, and a space surrounded by the side wall is filled with the non-metal materials, so that on one hand, the heat conduction of the columnar structure can be reduced, the influence of the heat radiation of the columnar structure on an electric signal of the infrared conversion structure can be reduced, and the detection performance can be improved; on the other hand packs non-metallic material through the space that surrounds at the lateral wall, is favorable to improving the mechanical stability of columnar structure to promote the column structure and support stability between support base and infrared conversion structure, be favorable to promoting the infrared detector pixel and including the infrared detector's of this infrared detector pixel overall structure stability, thereby realize compromise better structural stability and detection performance.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments or technical solutions in the prior art of the present disclosure, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without inventive exercise.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of an infrared detector pixel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an infrared detector pixel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of another infrared detector pixel according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a pixel of another infrared detector according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a pixel of another infrared detector according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a pixel of another infrared detector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a pixel of another infrared detector according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a process for manufacturing an infrared detector pixel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a process for manufacturing another infrared detector pixel according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of S111-S112 of the preparation flow shown in FIG. 8, and an alternative preparation flow of S121-S122 of the preparation flow shown in FIG. 9;

fig. 11 is a schematic perspective view of an infrared detector according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a CMOS measurement circuitry according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another infrared detector in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another infrared detector in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another infrared detector in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;

fig. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another infrared detector according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

In order that the above objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure may be more clearly understood, aspects of the present disclosure will be further described below. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be combined with each other without conflict.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure may be practiced in other ways than those described herein; it is to be understood that the embodiments disclosed in the specification are only a few embodiments of the present disclosure, and not all embodiments.

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of an infrared detector pixel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 2 is a schematic three-dimensional structure diagram of an infrared detector pixel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the infrared detector pixel includes: the CMOS measurement circuit system comprises a CMOS measurement circuit system 1 and a CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 positioned on the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, wherein the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 are both prepared by adopting a CMOS process; the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 is fabricated directly on the CMOS measurement circuitry 1.

Specifically, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 is configured to convert an external infrared signal into an electrical signal and transmit the electrical signal to the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, and the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 reflects temperature information corresponding to the infrared signal according to the received electrical signal, thereby implementing a temperature detection function of the infrared detector. The CMOS measuring circuit system 1 and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 are both prepared by using a CMOS process, and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 is directly prepared on the CMOS measuring circuit system 1, namely, the CMOS measuring circuit system 1 is prepared by using the CMOS process, and then the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 is continuously prepared by using the CMOS process by using the CMOS production line and parameters of various processes compatible with the production line.

Therefore, the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 are integrally prepared on the CMOS production line by utilizing the CMOS process, compared with the MEMS process, the CMOS process does not have the process compatibility problem, the technical difficulty of the MEMS process is solved, the transportation cost can be reduced by adopting the CMOS production line process to prepare the infrared detector, and the risk caused by the transportation problem and the like is reduced; the infrared detector takes silicon oxide as a sacrificial layer, the silicon oxide is completely compatible with a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process, the preparation process is simple and easy to control, the CMOS process does not have the problem that the polyimide of the sacrificial layer is not released cleanly to influence the vacuum degree of a detector chip, the subsequent film growth temperature is not limited by the material of the sacrificial layer, the multilayer process design of the sacrificial layer can be realized, the process is not limited, the planarization can be easily realized by using the sacrificial layer, and the process difficulty and the possible risks are reduced; the infrared detector prepared by the integrated CMOS process can realize the aims of high yield, low cost, high yield and large-scale integrated production of chips, and provides a wider application market for the infrared detector; the infrared detector based on the CMOS process can realize smaller size and thinner film thickness of a characteristic structure, so that the infrared detector has larger duty ratio, lower thermal conductivity and smaller thermal capacity, and the infrared detector has higher detection sensitivity, longer detection distance and better detection performance; the infrared detector based on the CMOS process can make the pixel size of the detector smaller, realize smaller chip area under the same array pixel, and is more beneficial to realizing the miniaturization of a chip; the infrared detector based on the CMOS process has the advantages of mature process production line, higher process control precision, better meeting design requirements, better product consistency, more contribution to circuit chip adjustment performance and more contribution to industrialized mass production.

With continued reference to fig. 1-2, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 includes a reflective layer 21, an infrared conversion structure, and a plurality of columnar structures 22 on the CMOS measurement circuitry 1, the columnar structures 22 are located between the reflective layer 21 and the infrared conversion structure, the reflective layer 21 includes a reflective plate 212 and a supporting base 211, and the infrared conversion structure is electrically connected to the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 through the columnar structures 22 and the supporting base 211; the columnar structure 22 is a non-metal solid column, the side wall and the bottom of the non-metal solid column are made of metal materials, and a space surrounded by the side wall is filled with non-metal materials.

The reflecting layer 21 is used for reflecting infrared rays to an infrared conversion structure 23 in the CMOS infrared sensing structure, and is matched with the resonant cavity to realize secondary absorption of the infrared rays; the plurality of columnar structures 22 are located between the reflective layer 21 and the infrared conversion structure 23, and are used for supporting the infrared conversion structure 23 in the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 after the sacrificial layer on the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is released, the infrared conversion structure 23 detects an infrared radiation signal and converts the detected infrared radiation signal into an electrical signal, the electrical signal is transmitted to the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 through the columnar structures 22 and the corresponding supporting base 211, and the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 processes the electrical signal to reflect temperature information, so that non-contact infrared temperature detection of the infrared detector is realized. Specifically, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 outputs a positive electric signal and a ground electric signal through different electrode structures, and the positive electric signal and the ground electric signal are transmitted to the supporting base 211 electrically connected to the pillar structures 22 through different pillar structures 22. In addition, the reflective layer 21 includes a reflective plate 212 and a supporting base 211, a portion of the reflective layer 21 serves as a dielectric for electrically connecting the columnar structure 22 with the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, that is, the supporting base 211, and the reflective plate 212 is used for reflecting the infrared rays to the infrared conversion structure 23, and the secondary absorption of the infrared rays is realized by matching with a resonant cavity formed between the reflective layer 21 and the infrared conversion structure 23, so as to improve the infrared absorption rate of the infrared detector and optimize the infrared detection performance of the infrared detector.

Specifically, the infrared conversion structure 23 may structurally include an absorption plate 2301 and beam structures 2302, the absorption plate 2301 being used to convert infrared signals into electrical signals and electrically connected with the pillar structures 22 through the corresponding beam structures 2302; meanwhile, the film structure of the infrared conversion structure 23 may include a thermosensitive layer, an electrode layer, and a passivation layer; wherein the thermosensitive layer is only on the absorption plate 2301 for converting a temperature signal into an electrical signal, the electrode layer for adjusting the resistance of the thermosensitive layer and transmitting the electrical signal of the thermosensitive layer to the CMOS measuring circuit system 1 through the beam structure 2302, and the passivation layer for protecting the thermosensitive layer and the electrode layer.

Or, the absorption plate 2301 includes a support layer, an electrode layer, a thermal sensitive layer and a passivation layer, the beam structure 2302 may include the support layer, the electrode layer and the passivation layer, the beam structure 2302 may further include the thermal sensitive layer, the support layer is located on a side of the passivation layer adjacent to the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, the electrode layer and the thermal sensitive layer are located between the support layer and the passivation layer, the passivation layer covers the electrode layer, the thermal sensitive layer may be disposed to cover the beam structure 2302, the thermal conductivity of the beam structure 2302 is reduced by using the characteristic of small thermal conductivity of the thermal sensitive material such as amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium or amorphous silicon germanium, and the thermal sensitive layer may serve as a support material of the beam structure 2302 instead of the support layer, or may serve as an electrode protection material of the beam structure 2302 instead of the passivation layer.

Specifically, the supporting layer is used for supporting the upper film layer in the infrared conversion structure 23 after the sacrificial layer is released, the thermosensitive layer is used for converting infrared temperature detection signals into infrared detection electric signals, the electrode layer is used for transmitting the infrared detection electric signals converted from the thermosensitive layer to the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 through the beam structures 2302 on the left side and the right side, the two beam structures 2302 respectively transmit positive and negative signals of the infrared detection electric signals, the read-out circuit in the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 realizes non-contact infrared temperature detection through analysis of the acquired infrared detection electric signals, and the passivation layer is used for protecting the electrode layer from oxidation or corrosion. In addition, the thermosensitive layer may be located above the electrode layer or below the electrode layer. Can set up and correspond absorption plate 2301, temperature sensing layer and electrode layer are located the airtight space that supporting layer and passivation layer formed, realize the protection to temperature sensing layer and electrode layer in absorption plate 2301, correspond beam structure 2302, and the electrode layer is located the airtight space that supporting layer and passivation layer formed, realizes the protection to electrode layer in beam structure 2302.

For example, the material forming the heat sensitive layer may include at least one of amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon germanium, titanium oxide, vanadium oxide, or titanium vanadium oxide, the material forming the support layer may include one or more of amorphous carbon, aluminum oxide, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, or amorphous silicon germanium, the material forming the electrode layer may include one or more of titanium, titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, titanium tungsten alloy, nickel-chromium alloy, nickel-silicon alloy, nickel, or chromium, and the material forming the passivation layer may include one or more of amorphous carbon, aluminum oxide, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, or amorphous silicon germanium. In addition, when the absorbing plate 2301 is configured to include a thermal sensitive layer, and the thermal sensitive layer is made of amorphous silicon, amorphous carbon, amorphous germanium, or amorphous silicon germanium, the supporting layer and/or the passivation layer on the beam structure 2302 may be replaced by the thermal sensitive layer, because the thermal conductivity of the amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, or amorphous silicon germanium is relatively low, which is beneficial to reducing the thermal conductivity of the beam structure 2302 and further improving the infrared responsivity of the infrared detector.

In other embodiments, the infrared detector pixel may further include other structures, which are not described or limited herein.

The reflective layer 21 includes a reflective plate 212 and a supporting base 211, the reflective plate 212 reflects infrared radiation, the supporting base 211 is electrically connected to the pillar structure 22 and the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, when the infrared conversion structure 23 detects an infrared radiation signal and converts the detected infrared radiation signal into an electrical signal, the electrical signal can be transmitted to the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 through the pillar structure 22 and the supporting base 211, and the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 receives the electrical signal.

In the infrared detector pixel, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 is arranged to comprise a columnar structure adopting a non-metal solid column, the side wall and the bottom (the side wall and the bottom are shown by 222) of the non-metal solid column are made of metal materials, and a space 221 surrounded by the side wall is filled with non-metal materials, so that on one hand, the heat conduction of the columnar structure 22 can be reduced, the influence of the heat radiation of the columnar structure 22 on the electric signal of the infrared conversion structure 23 can be reduced, and the detection performance can be improved; on the other hand fills non-metallic material through the space that surrounds at the lateral wall, is favorable to improving columnar structure 22's mechanical stability to promote columnar structure 22 and support stability between support base 211 and infrared conversion structure 23, be favorable to promoting the infrared detector pixel and including this infrared detector pixel's overall structure stability, thereby realize giving consideration to better structural stability and detection performance.

The CMOS measurement circuit system 1 may further include at least one hermetic release isolation layer (not shown in the figure) above the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, where the hermetic release isolation layer is used to protect the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 from process influence during an etching process for manufacturing the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2.

Optionally, a hermetic release barrier is located at an interface between the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 and/or in the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2, the hermetic release barrier is used to protect the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 from erosion when performing a corrosion process to release the sacrificial layer, and the hermetic release barrier uses a CMOS process corrosion resistant material including at least one of silicon, germanium, silicon germanium alloy, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon germanium, amorphous carbon, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, silicon nitride, or silicon carbonitride.

Illustratively, the close-release isolation layer is located in the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2, and the close-release isolation layer may be located above a metal interconnection layer (also referred to as a "metal layer") of the reflection layer 21, and the close-release isolation layer covers the columnar structure 22, and by providing the close-release isolation layer to cover the columnar structure 22, on one hand, the close-release isolation layer may be used as a support at the columnar structure 22, so as to improve the stability of the columnar structure 22, and ensure the electrical connection between the columnar structure 22 and the infrared conversion structure 23 as well as the support base 211. On the other hand, the airtight release insulating layer coating the columnar structure 22 can reduce the contact between the columnar structure 22 and the external environment, reduce the contact resistance between the columnar structure 22 and the external environment, further reduce the noise of the infrared detector pixel, and improve the detection sensitivity of the infrared detection sensor. In addition, the resonant cavity of the infrared detector is realized by releasing the vacuum cavity after the silicon oxide sacrificial layer is released, the reflecting layer 21 is used as the reflecting layer of the resonant cavity, the sacrificial layer is positioned between the reflecting layer 21 and the infrared conversion structure 23, and when at least one layer of closed release isolating layer positioned on the reflecting layer 21 is arranged to select silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium alloy, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium or amorphous silicon-germanium as a part of the resonant cavity, the reflecting effect of the reflecting layer is not influenced, the height of the resonant cavity can be reduced, the thickness of the sacrificial layer is further reduced, and the release difficulty of the sacrificial layer formed by silicon oxide is reduced. In addition, a closed release isolation layer and the columnar structure 22 are arranged to form a closed structure, so that the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is completely separated from the sacrificial layer, and the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is protected.

Alternatively, the hermetic release isolation layer 11 is located at the interface between the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2, for example, the hermetic release isolation layer is located between the reflection layer 21 and the CMOS measurement circuitry 1, that is, the hermetic release isolation layer is located below the metal interconnection layer of the reflection layer 21, and the support base 211 is electrically connected to the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 through a through hole penetrating the hermetic release isolation layer, as shown in fig. 15. Specifically, because the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 are both formed by using a CMOS process, after the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is formed, a wafer including the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is transferred to a next process to form the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2, and since silicon oxide is the most commonly used dielectric material in the CMOS process and silicon oxide is mostly used as an insulating layer between metal layers on the CMOS circuit, if no insulating layer is used as a barrier when silicon oxide with a thickness of about 2um is corroded, the circuit will be seriously affected, so a hermetic release insulating layer is provided to release the silicon oxide on the CMOS measurement circuit system without corroding the silicon oxide on the sacrificial layer. After the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is prepared and formed, a closed release isolation layer is prepared and formed on the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is protected by the closed release isolation layer, and in order to ensure the electrical connection between the support base 211 and the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, after the closed release isolation layer is prepared and formed, a through hole is formed in a region of the closed release isolation layer corresponding to the support base 211 by using an etching process, and the support base 211 is electrically connected with the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 through the through hole. In addition, a closed release isolation layer and the support base 211 are arranged to form a closed structure, so that the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is completely separated from the sacrificial layer, and the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is protected.

Or, in the infrared detector, at least one layer of closed release insulating layer is disposed on the interface between the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2, and at least one layer of closed release insulating layer is disposed in the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2, that is, at least one layer of closed release insulating layer is disposed between the reflection layer 21 and the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, and at least one layer of closed release insulating layer is disposed on the reflection layer 21, as shown in fig. 16, the effect is the same as that described above, and details are not repeated here.

Illustratively, the material constituting the hermetic release barrier layer may include silicon, germanium, a silicon-germanium alloy, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon-germanium, amorphous carbon, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, and nitrideAt least one of silicon or silicon carbonitride, the thickness of the closed release insulating layer is more than or equal to

Is less than or equal to

Specifically, silicon, germanium, a silicon-germanium alloy, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon-germanium, amorphous carbon, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, silicon nitride, and silicon carbonitride are all CMOS process corrosion-resistant materials, i.e., these materials are not corroded by the sacrificial layer release agent, so the hermetic release barrier layer can be used to protect the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 from corrosion when the corrosion process is performed to release the sacrificial layer. In addition, the closed release isolation layer covers the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, and the closed release isolation layer can also be used for protecting the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 from being influenced by the process in the etching process of manufacturing the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2. In addition, when at least one airtight release insulating layer is disposed on the reflective layer 21, the material for forming the airtight release insulating layer includes at least one of silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium alloy, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon-germanium, amorphous carbon, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, silicon nitride or silicon carbonitride, and the thickness of the first dielectric layer is greater than that of the first dielectric layer

Is less than or equal to

When setting up airtight release insulating layer and improving columnar structure 22 stability, airtight release insulating layer can hardly influence the reflection process in the resonant cavity, can avoid airtight release insulating layer to influence the reflection process of resonant cavity, and then avoids airtight release insulating layer to infrared detector detectivity's influence.

The CMOS manufacturing process of the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 comprises a metal interconnection process, a through hole process and an RDL (remote description language) process, and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 comprises at least two metal interconnection layers, at least two dielectric layers and a plurality of interconnection through holes so as to construct and communicate all structural components in the infrared detector.

Illustratively, the dielectric layer at least comprises a sacrificial layer and a heat-sensitive dielectric layer, the heat-sensitive dielectric layer at least comprises a heat-sensitive layer, and also comprises a supporting layer and/or a passivation layer, and the metal interconnection layer at least comprises a reflecting layer 21 and an electrode layer; the thermal sensitive medium layer comprises a thermal sensitive material with a resistance temperature coefficient larger than a set value, the resistance temperature coefficient can be larger than or equal to 0.015/K, for example, the thermal sensitive material with the resistance temperature coefficient larger than the set value forms a thermal sensitive layer in the thermal sensitive medium layer, the thermal sensitive medium layer is used for converting temperature change corresponding to infrared radiation absorbed by the thermal sensitive medium layer into resistance change, and then an infrared target signal is converted into a signal capable of being read electrically through the CMOS measuring circuit system 1.

Specifically, the metal interconnection process is used for realizing the electrical connection of an upper metal interconnection layer and a lower metal interconnection layer, the through hole process is used for forming an interconnection through hole for connecting the upper metal interconnection layer and the lower metal interconnection layer, the RDL process is a rewiring layer process, specifically, a layer of metal is re-distributed above the top metal of the circuit and is electrically connected with the top metal of the circuit through a tungsten column, the RDL process can be used for preparing a reflection layer in the infrared detector on the top metal of the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, and a supporting base on the reflection layer is electrically connected with the top metal of the CMOS measurement circuit system 1. In addition, the heat-sensitive dielectric layer comprises a heat-sensitive material with a resistance temperature coefficient larger than a set value, and the resistance temperature coefficient can be larger than or equal to 0.015/K, so that the detection sensitivity of the infrared detector can be improved.

In addition, the CMOS manufacturing process of the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 may also include a metal interconnection process and a via process, the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 includes metal interconnection layers, dielectric layers, and a silicon substrate at the bottom, which are disposed at intervals, and the upper and lower metal interconnection layers are electrically connected through vias.

Optionally, the sacrificial layer is used to form the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 into a hollow structure, the material of the sacrificial layer is silicon oxide, and the sacrificial layer is etched by a post-CMOS process, which may, for example, use at least one of gaseous hydrogen fluoride, carbon tetrafluoride and trifluoromethane to etch the sacrificial layer. Specifically, a sacrificial layer (not shown in the figure) is arranged between the reflection layer and the beam structure, when the reflection layer is provided with the closed release isolation layer, the sacrificial layer is arranged between the closed release isolation layer and the beam structure, the material forming the sacrificial layer is silicon oxide, so as to be compatible with a CMOS process, and a post-CMOS process can be adopted, that is, the post-CMOS process corrodes the sacrificial layer to release the sacrificial layer in the final infrared detection chip product.

Exemplarily, in the cross-sectional structure of the infrared detector pixel shown in fig. 1, only the reflective layer 21 is exemplarily shown to include one reflective plate 212 and two supporting bases 211, and correspondingly, the infrared detector pixel includes two columnar structures 22; the infrared detector pixel in the corresponding three-dimensional structure diagram includes four columnar structures 22, but does not limit the infrared detector pixel provided by the embodiment of the disclosure.

In other embodiments, the number of the pillar structures 22 in the infrared detector pixel can be set based on the structural requirements thereof, and is not limited herein.

In some embodiments, the non-metallic material comprises silicon dioxide (SiO)₂) Silicon nitride (SiNx), amorphous silicon (a-Si), amorphous germanium (a-Ge), amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe), amorphous carbon (a-C), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon carbonitride (SiCN) or aluminum oxide (Al)₂O₃) At least one of (1).

The mechanical stability of the above materials is good, and the space surrounded by the side wall of the columnar structure 22 is filled by at least one of the materials, which is beneficial to improving the overall support performance of the columnar structure 22, thereby improving the structural stability.

Meanwhile, silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), amorphous silicon (a-Si), amorphous germanium (a-Ge), amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe), amorphous carbon (a-C), silicon carbide (SiC) and aluminum oxide (Al) ₂O₃) Are not corroded by VHF, so that the columnar structures 22 are not corroded when the sacrificial layer is removed by the VHF corrosion in the subsequent process step; meanwhile, the mechanical strength of the joint can be enhanced, and the upper layer structure (namely the infrared conversion structure 23) and the columnar structure 22 are prevented from being connected firmly and falling off, so that the structural stability is enhanced.

In other embodiments, the non-metallic material used to fill the columnar structures 22 may also include other materials known to those skilled in the art, which are not limited herein, and may meet the requirements of the infrared detector pixel.

In some embodiments, the metallic material comprises at least one of titanium (Ti), titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum (Ta), or tantalum nitride (TaN), or the metallic material comprises at least one of titanium tungsten alloy (TiW), nickel chromium alloy (NiCr), nickel platinum alloy (NiPt), nickel silicon alloy (NiSi), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), or platinum (Pt).

The various metals or metal alloys have good contact performance and electrical performance, and the nonmetal solid columns can be stably connected with the infrared conversion structure 23 and the supporting base 211 by utilizing the good contact performance of the metals or metal alloys, so that the metals or metal alloys are not easy to fall off, and the structural stability is enhanced; by utilizing the better electrical property of the non-metallic solid column, when the non-metallic solid column transmits the electrical signal between the infrared conversion structure 23 and the supporting base 211, the loss of the electrical signal is smaller, and the detection performance is favorably improved. In addition, the heat conduction of the various metals or metal alloys is small, so that the heat conduction of the columnar structure 22 is small, the influence of the heat radiation generated by the columnar structure 22 on the electric signal generated by the infrared conversion structure 23 is favorably reduced, and the detection performance is improved.

In other embodiments, the metal material forming the side wall and the bottom of the non-metal solid pillar may further include other materials known to those skilled in the art, which are not limited herein, and the requirements of the infrared detector pixel are met.

In some embodiments, fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of another infrared detector pixel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 3 in addition to fig. 1, the sidewalls and bottom of the non-metal solid posts form a U-shaped metal layer (shown by 222), which may also be referred to as metal layer 222.

Wherein the bottom of the non-metal solid column refers to a portion thereof that is in contact with the support base 211. The side wall and the bottom of the non-metal solid column form a U-shaped metal layer, so that the contact area between the metal layer and the supporting base 211 can be increased, on one hand, the contact resistance is reduced, the loss of an electric signal is reduced, and the detection performance is improved; on the other hand, the mechanical connection performance is enhanced, and the structural stability is improved.

Referring to fig. 3, the U-shaped metal layer is filled with a non-metallic material to improve structural stability.

In other embodiments, the metal layer in the columnar structure 22 may also be configured as other structures, such as the barrel-shaped structure shown in fig. 1, which has a simpler structure and less difficulty in processing; alternatively, the columnar structure 22 may be other non-metallic solid structures known to those skilled in the art, and will not be described or limited herein.

In some embodiments, fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of another infrared detector pixel of the embodiment of the disclosure, and fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of another infrared detector pixel of the embodiment of the disclosure. On the basis of fig. 1 or 3, referring to fig. 4 or 5, the infrared detector pixel further includes a second metal layer 240; second metal layer 240 covers at least one side of U-shaped metal layer 222.

The second metal layer 240 covers at least one side of the metal layer 222, and may be used to reduce the resistance of the metal layer 222, or reduce the contact resistance between the metal layer 222 and the supporting base 211, so as to reduce the loss of the electrical signal and improve the detection performance.

For example, referring to fig. 5, a second metal layer 240 may be disposed between U-shaped metal layer 222 and support base 211 for reducing contact resistance between U-shaped metal layer 222 and support base 211 in columnar structure 22.

For example, referring to fig. 4, the second metal layer 240 may also be disposed on a side of the bottom of the U-shaped metal layer 222 away from the supporting base 211, for reducing the resistance of the pillar structure 22 and improving the detection performance.

In some embodiments, on the basis of fig. 4, the second metal layer 240 may be further disposed between the sidewall of the U-shaped metal layer 222 and the non-metal material filled therein to reinforce the columnar structure 22 and improve the mechanical stability thereof; meanwhile, the resistance of the columnar structure 22 is reduced, and the detection performance is improved.

In some embodiments, on the basis of fig. 5, the second metal layer 240 may be further configured to cover the outer side of the U-shaped metal layer 222 to reinforce the columnar structure 22 and improve the mechanical stability thereof; meanwhile, the resistance of the columnar structure 22 is reduced, and the detection performance is improved.

In other embodiments, second metal layer 240 may be further disposed at least two positions of U-shaped metal layer 222 and support base 211, a side of U-shaped metal layer 222 facing away from support base 211, an inner sidewall of U-shaped metal layer 222, and an outer sidewall of U-shaped metal layer 222, which are not limited herein.

In some embodiments, the second metal layer 240 is disposed between the metal layer 222 and the support base 211, as shown in fig. 5; and/or, the second metal layer 240 is disposed on a side of the metal layer 222 away from the supporting base 211, as shown in fig. 4.

Thus, the second metal layer 240 may be disposed above the U-shaped metal layer 222, and/or the second metal layer 240 may be disposed below the U-shaped metal layer 222, which is not limited in the embodiment of the disclosure.

In some embodiments, the material constituting the second metal layer 240 includes at least one of tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), or copper (Cu).

The electrical properties and the tapping properties of tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti) and copper (Cu) are all good, and the second metal layer 240 can be used to enhance the connection between the columnar structure 22 and the supporting base 221, thereby improving the mechanical stability and the detection performance.

In other embodiments, the material forming the second metal layer 240 may also be other materials known to those skilled in the art, which may meet the requirements of an infrared detector, and is not limited herein.

In some embodiments, fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a pixel of another infrared detector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. On the basis of fig. 1, referring to fig. 7, the infrared detector pixel further includes a dielectric protection layer 25; the dielectric protective layer 25 covers the surface of the unsupported columnar structures 22 of the reflective layer 21; the bottom of the columnar structure 22 is embedded in the dielectric protection layer 25.

The dielectric protection layer 25 covers the bottom of the columnar structure 22, so that on one hand, the dielectric protection layer 25 can be used as an auxiliary support for the bottom of the columnar structure 22, the mechanical stability of the columnar structure 22 is improved, and better connection performance between the columnar structure 22 and the infrared conversion structure 23 and between the columnar structure and the support base 211 is ensured; on the other hand, the dielectric protection layer 25 covering the columnar structure 22 can reduce the contact between the columnar structure 22 and the external environment, reduce the contact resistance between the columnar structure 22 and the external environment, further reduce the noise of the infrared detector pixel, improve the detection sensitivity of the infrared detection sensor, and improve the detection performance of the infrared detection sensor.

In some embodiments, the material comprising the dielectric protection layer 25 comprises at least one of silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), amorphous silicon (a-Si), amorphous germanium (a-Ge), silicon germanium (SiGe), or amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe).

Wherein, materials such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), amorphous silicon (a-Si), amorphous germanium (a-Ge), silicon germanium (SiGe) and amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe) are all better to the transmissivity of infrared light, and do not influence the reflection of reflector 21 to the infrared light basically, therefore set up the material of dielectric protection layer 25 and be at least one of above-mentioned materials, when utilizing dielectric protection layer 25 to improve the stability of columnar structure 22, can avoid the influence of the material of dielectric protection layer 25 to the reflection process in resonance chamber, and then avoid dielectric protection layer 25 to the influence of CMOS infrared sensing structure detection sensitivity.

In addition, when the material constituting the dielectric protection layer 25 includes at least one of silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), amorphous silicon (a-Si), amorphous germanium (a-Ge), silicon germanium (SiGe) or amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe), the dielectric protection layer 25 prepared and formed may occupy a portion of the space of the resonant cavity, so that the thickness of the sacrificial layer for forming the resonant cavity may be reduced, thereby reducing the difficulty of releasing the sacrificial layer corresponding to the formation of the resonant cavity.

In the above embodiment, the outer side of the columnar structure 22 may further be provided with a dielectric layer to wrap the columnar structure, so as to play a role of electrical insulation, and improve the mechanical stability of the columnar structure 22 while protecting the columnar structure, thereby improving the overall structural stability of the infrared sensor.

In some embodiments, fig. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a pixel of another infrared detector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. On the basis of fig. 1, referring to any one of fig. 3-5, or referring to fig. 7, the infrared detector pixel further comprises a dielectric layer 26; the dielectric layer 26 covers the sides of the columnar structures 22.

The dielectric layer 26 is wrapped on the outer side of the columnar structure 22, so that the electrical insulation effect can be achieved, the performance degradation of the columnar structure 22 is slowed down, and the service life of the infrared detector is prolonged. Meanwhile, the dielectric layer 26 can serve as an auxiliary support structure for the columnar structure 22, and plays a role of supporting the infrared conversion structure 23 together with the columnar structure 22, thereby further enhancing the structural stability.

Illustratively, the width of the dielectric layer 26 along the axial direction of the pillar structures 22 may be the same as the height of the pillar structures 22.

In some embodiments, the dielectric layer 26 may also cover the surface of the support base 211 that does not support the columnar structures 22 to further enhance structural stability.

In some embodiments, the material comprising dielectric layer 26 comprises silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), amorphous silicon (a-Si), amorphous germanium (a-Ge), amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe), amorphous carbon (a-C), silicon carbide (SiC), or aluminum oxide (Al)₂O₃) At least one of (1).

Wherein, the above materials are not corroded by VHF, so that the dielectric layer 26 is not corroded when the sacrificial layer is taken out by using VHF corrosion in the subsequent process steps, and the columnar structure 22 can be protected; meanwhile, the mechanical strength of the joint can be enhanced, and the upper layer structure (namely the infrared conversion structure 23) and the columnar structure 22 are prevented from being connected firmly and falling off, so that the structural stability is enhanced.

In some embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 7, the bottom of the pillar structures 22 is embedded in the support base 211, i.e., the bottom surface of the pillar structures 22 is lower than the upper surface of the support base 211 and the side of the lower portion of the pillar structures 22 is in contact with the recessed side of the support base 211.

Thus, the columnar structure 22 can be fixed by using the recess of the supporting base 211, so that the mechanical strength is enhanced, and the structural stability is improved; meanwhile, the contact area between the columnar structure 22 and the supporting base 211 is increased, the electrical connection between the columnar structure and the supporting base is increased, the contact resistance is reduced, the influence of a transmission path on an electric signal is weakened, and the detection performance is improved.

In some embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the columnar structures 22 in a plane parallel to the reflective plate 212 includes at least one of a circle, a square, a polygon, or a bar.

Wherein, the cross section of the columnar structure 22 in the plane parallel to the reflection plate 212 can be understood as the plane where the columnar structure 22 contacts the supporting base 211, and can also be understood as the plane where the columnar structure 22 contacts the infrared conversion structure 23, and the shape of the plane can be at least one of a circle, a square, a polygon or a long strip; correspondingly, the three-dimensional shape of the columnar structure 22 may be at least one of a cylinder, a square column, a multi-variable column, or a long column, or may be one of them, or may be formed by combining at least two of them, and may be flexibly set based on the requirement of the infrared detector, which is not limited herein.

In other embodiments, the three-dimensional shape of the columnar structure 22 may also be a truncated cone shape, an inverted truncated cone shape, or other three-dimensional shapes, which may be set based on the requirements of the probe and the requirements of the manufacturing process, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the cross-sectional maximum unidirectional width of the columnar structures 22 is less than or equal to 3 microns.

By the arrangement, the size of the columnar structure 22 on the plane where the reflecting plate 212 is located can be reduced while stable support is achieved by the columnar structure 22, so that the smaller chip area under the same array pixel is realized, and the miniaturization of a chip is realized; in addition, the occupation ratio of the effective areas of the reflection plate 212 and the corresponding infrared conversion structure 23 is favorably improved, the signal intensity is enhanced, and the detection performance is improved.

Illustratively, when the columnar structures 22 are circular in cross-section, their diameter is less than or equal to 3 microns; when the cross section of the columnar structure 22 is square, the side length is less than or equal to 3 micrometers; when the cross section of the columnar structure 22 is polygonal, the diagonal length is less than or equal to 3 micrometers; when the cross section of the columnar structure 22 is a long strip, the length of the long side thereof is less than or equal to 3 micrometers.

Illustratively, the maximum unidirectional width of the cross-section of the columnar structure 22 may be 3 microns, 2.5 microns, 2 microns, 1 micron, 0.8 microns or other width values, and may be set based on the requirements of the infrared detector, which is not limited herein.

In some embodiments, to meet other requirements of the infrared detector, the maximum unidirectional width of the cross section of the columnar structure 22 may be set to be greater than 3 micrometers, which is not limited herein.

In some embodiments, the height of the columnar structures 22 in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the reflective plate 212 is greater than or equal to 0.1 micrometers, and less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers. Optionally, the height is greater than or equal to 1.5 microns.

The height of the columnar structure 22 in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the reflection plate 212 may be referred to as the height of the columnar structure 22, which is the supporting height of the columnar structure 22 and is also the distance between two parallel planes of the resonant cavity of the infrared detector pixel, i.e. the distance between the reflection surface of the reflection plate 212 and the absorption surface of the infrared conversion structure 23.

On the basis, the height of the columnar structure 22 is larger than or equal to 0.1 micrometer, so that the implementation by adopting a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process is facilitated, and the process difficulty is reduced; on the other hand, the distance requirement between the parallel planes of the resonant cavity can be met, and the infrared absorption efficiency is improved, so that the detection sensitivity is improved. Meanwhile, the height of the columnar structure 22 is smaller than or equal to 2.5 microns, so that the height of the columnar structure 22 cannot be too high, the problem of poor stability caused by the fact that the columnar structure 22 is too high is solved, and the structural stability is improved; meanwhile, the size of the infrared detector pixel and the size of the whole infrared detector in the height direction are reduced, and the light, thin and small design of the infrared detector is achieved.

Illustratively, the height of the pillar structures 22 may be 0.1 microns, 0.5 microns, 1.0 microns, 1.8 microns, 2.0 microns, 2.3 microns, 2.5 microns, or other height values, and may be set based on the performance requirements of the infrared detector and the CMOS process requirements, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, fig. 8 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a manufacturing process of an infrared detector pixel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 8, the preparation process may include:

And S111, providing the CMOS measuring circuit system 1, depositing a reflecting layer, and patterning to form a reflecting plate and a supporting base.

Illustratively, the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 uses a silicon substrate, the reflective layer is an aluminum layer, and the patterning is performed by a photolithography process.

And S112, depositing an electric insulating medium layer.

Illustratively, the electrically insulating medium may be at least one of amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon germanium, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, or amorphous carbon.

This step may also include planarizing the electrically insulating dielectric layer using a CMP process.

S113, depositing a sacrificial layer, and patterning to expose the electric insulation medium at the corresponding position of the support base.

The sacrificial layer may be silicon dioxide, and may be patterned by a photolithography process.

And S114, depositing a dielectric layer, patterning the dielectric layer and the electric insulating dielectric layer, and forming an electrode through hole.

Illustratively, the material of the dielectric layer may be amorphous silicon, and the patterning may be achieved by using a photolithography process.

And S115, depositing a metal layer and patterning.

For example, the patterning may be performed by a photolithography process, the sidewalls and the bottom of the pillar structure may be formed, and the electrode layer may be formed to have a predetermined shape.

And S116, depositing an insulating protection layer.

The insulating protective layer covers the metal layer and the dielectric layer exposed by the hollow-out area of the metal layer.

Illustratively, the material of the insulating protective layer may be amorphous silicon.

And S117, filling a non-metal material at the position corresponding to the electrode through hole.

Illustratively, the non-metallic material may be silicon carbide.

S118, patterning the dielectric layer and the insulating protection layer.

Illustratively, patterning is performed by using a photolithography process, and the sacrificial layer and a part of the metal layer are leaked out while electrical insulation protection is performed, so as to realize electrical connection between the pillar structure and the infrared conversion structure, and then the sacrificial layer is released.

In the above steps, the film layer formed in S114 to S117 may be directly used as a film layer in the infrared conversion structure; in this case, before or after S114, the thermosensitive layer may be formed so as to correspond to the absorber plate.

Optionally, when the columnar structure adopts a hollow column, a thermosensitive layer medium can be formed in the hollow column, so that the supporting performance of the columnar structure is further improved, and the structural stability of the infrared detector pixel is further improved.

Thereafter, the sacrificial layer is released. Thus, the infrared detector pixel is formed.

In some embodiments, fig. 9 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a manufacturing process of another infrared detector pixel according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to fig. 9, the preparation process may include:

S121, providing the CMOS measuring circuit system 1, depositing a reflecting layer, and patterning to form a reflecting plate and a supporting base.

And S122, depositing an electric insulating medium layer.

And S123, depositing a sacrificial layer, and patterning to expose the electric insulation medium at the corresponding position of the support base.

And S124, depositing a dielectric layer, patterning the dielectric layer and the electric insulating dielectric layer, and forming an electrode through hole.

And S125, depositing a metal layer and patterning.

And S126, filling a non-metal material at the position corresponding to the electrode through hole.

And S127, depositing an insulating protection layer.

S128, patterning the dielectric layer and the insulating protection layer.

The sacrificial layer and a part of the metal layer are leaked out while the electrical insulation protection is realized, so that the electrical connection between the columnar structure and the infrared conversion structure is realized.

In the above steps, the film layer formed in S124-S127 may be directly used as a film layer in the infrared conversion structure; in this case, before or after S124, the thermosensitive layer may be formed so as to correspond to the absorption plate.

Thereafter, the sacrificial layer is released.

Thus, the infrared detector pixel is formed.

In other embodiments, before S125, the method may further include: a second metal layer is formed at the location of the support pedestal to enhance electrical contact between the columnar structure and the support pedestal.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the preparation process S111-S112 of the preparation process shown in FIG. 8 and an alternative preparation process S121-S122 of the preparation process shown in FIG. 9. Referring to fig. 10, it may include three steps, respectively:

s131, providing the CMOS measuring circuit system 1, depositing a reflecting layer, and patterning to form a reflecting plate and a supporting base.

S132, depositing a first dielectric layer, and flattening to enable the upper surface of the first dielectric layer to be flush with the upper surface of the reflecting layer.

Illustratively, the material of the first dielectric layer is silicon dioxide (SiO)₂) Planarization is achieved using a Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) process.

In which the reflective plate is electrically insulated from the support base.

And S133, depositing a second dielectric layer.

The second dielectric layer is an electrically insulating dielectric layer, and the material of the second dielectric layer can be silicon carbide (SiC).

It should be noted that, in fig. 8-10, only the steps related to the improvement of the infrared detector pixel provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure over the prior art are shown, and other steps can be implemented by any CMOS process known to those skilled in the art, which is not limited herein.

The embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an infrared detector, which includes any one of the above-mentioned infrared detector pixels, and has corresponding beneficial effects, which are not described in detail later.

Exemplarily, fig. 11 is a schematic perspective view of an infrared detector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 11, the infrared detector includes infrared detector pixels 10 arranged in an array.

Illustratively, fig. 11 shows that the infrared detector pixel 10 is arranged in 3 rows and 3 columns, but does not constitute a limitation of the infrared detector provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure.

In other embodiments, the number and arrangement of the infrared detector pixels 10 in the infrared detector can also be set based on the requirement of the infrared detector, which is not limited herein.

In some embodiments, the infrared detector type may be an amorphous silicon detector, a titanium oxide detector, a vanadium oxide detector, or the like, that is, the material constituting the thermosensitive layer may include at least one of amorphous silicon, titanium oxide, or vanadium oxide, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a CMOS measurement circuit system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 1 and 12, the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 includes a bias voltage generation circuit 7, a column-level analog front-end circuit 8 and a row-level circuit 9, an input end of the bias voltage generation circuit 7 is connected to an output end of the row-level circuit 9, an input end of the column-level analog front-end circuit 8 is connected to an output end of the bias voltage generation circuit 7, the row-level circuit 9 includes a row-level mirror image element Rsm and a row selection switch K1, and the column-level analog front-end circuit 8 includes a blind image element RD; the row-level circuit 9 is distributed in each pixel, selects a signal to be processed according to a row strobe signal of the timing sequence generating circuit, and outputs a current signal to the column-level analog front-end circuit 8 under the action of the bias generating circuit 7 to perform current-voltage conversion output; the row stage circuit 9 outputs a third bias voltage VRsm to the bias generation circuit 7 when being controlled by the row selection switch K1 to be gated, the bias generation circuit 7 outputs a first bias voltage V1 and a second bias voltage V2 according to the input constant voltage and the third bias voltage VRsm, and the column stage analog front-end circuit 8 obtains two currents according to the first bias voltage V1 and the second bias voltage V2, performs transimpedance amplification on the difference between the two generated currents, and outputs the amplified current as an output voltage.

Specifically, the row-level circuit 9 includes a row-level mirror image element Rsm and a row selection switch K1, and the row-level circuit 9 is configured to generate a third bias voltage VRsm according to a gating state of the row selection switch K1. Illustratively, the row-level image elements Rsm may be subjected to a light-shielding process such that the row-level image elements Rsm are subjected to a fixed radiation by a light-shielding sheet having a temperature constantly equal to a substrate temperature, the row selection switch K1 may be implemented by a transistor, the row selection switch K1 is closed, and the row-level image elements Rsm are connected to the bias generation circuit 7, that is, the row-level circuit 9 outputs the third bias voltage VRsm to the bias generation circuit 7 when being gated by the row selection switch K1. The bias generation circuit 7 may include a first bias generation circuit 71 and a second bias generation circuit 72, the first bias generation circuit 71 being configured to generate a first bias voltage V1 according to an input constant voltage, which may be, for example, a positive power supply signal with a constant voltage. The second bias generating circuit 72 may include a bias control sub-circuit 721 and a plurality of gate driving sub-circuits 722, the bias control sub-circuit 721 controlling the gate driving sub-circuits 722 to generate the corresponding second bias voltages V, respectively, according to the third bias voltage VRsm.

The column-level analog front-end circuit 8 includes a plurality of column control sub-circuits 81, the column control sub-circuits 81 are disposed in correspondence with the gate driving sub-circuits 722, and exemplarily, the column control sub-circuits 81 may be disposed in one-to-one correspondence with the gate driving sub-circuits 722, and the gate driving sub-circuits 722 are configured to provide the second bias voltage V2 to the corresponding column control sub-circuits 81 according to their own gate states. For example, it may be set that when the gate driving sub-circuit 722 is gated, the gate driving sub-circuit 722 supplies the second bias voltage V2 to the corresponding column control sub-circuit 81; when the gate driving sub-circuit 722 is not gated, the gate driving sub-circuit 722 stops supplying the second bias voltage V2 to the corresponding column control sub-circuit 81.

The column-level analog front-end circuit 8 comprises an effective pixel RS and a blind pixel RD, the column control sub-circuit is used for generating a first current I1 according to a first bias voltage V1 and the blind pixel RD, generating a second current I2 according to a second bias voltage V2 and the effective pixel RS, performing transimpedance amplification on a difference value of the first current I1 and the second current I2, and outputting the difference value, and the row-level mirror image pixel Rsm and the effective pixel RS have the same temperature drift amount at the same ambient temperature.

Illustratively, the row-level image elements Rsm are thermally insulated from the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 and are shaded, and the row-level image elements Rsm are subjected to a fixed radiation from a shade sheet having a temperature constantly equal to the substrate temperature. The absorption plate 10 of the active pixel RS is thermally insulated from the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 and the active pixel RS receives external radiation. The absorbing plates 10 of the row-level mirror image elements Rsm and the effective elements RS are thermally insulated from the CMOS measuring circuit system 1, so that the row-level mirror image elements Rsm and the effective elements RS have a self-heating effect.

When the corresponding row-level mirror image element Rsm is gated through the row selection switch K1, the resistance value of the row-level mirror image element Rsm and the resistance value of the effective element RS are changed due to joule heat, but when the row-level mirror image element Rsm and the effective element RS are subjected to the same fixed radiation, the resistance value of the row-level mirror image element Rsm and the resistance value of the effective element RS are the same, the temperature coefficients of the row-level mirror image element Rsm and the temperature coefficient of the effective element RS are the same, the temperature drift amounts of the row-level mirror image element Rsm and the effective element RS are the same at the same ambient temperature, the change of the row-level mirror image element Rsm and the temperature drift amounts of the effective element RS at the same ambient temperature are synchronized, the resistance value change of the row-level mirror image element Rsm and the effective element RS due to the self-heating effect is effectively compensated, and the stable output of the reading circuit is achieved.

In addition, by arranging the second bias generating circuit 7 to include a bias control sub-circuit 721 and a plurality of gate driving sub-circuits 722, the bias control sub-circuit 721 is configured to control the gate driving sub-circuits 722 to generate the corresponding second bias voltages V2 respectively according to the row control signals, so that each row of pixels has one path to drive the whole columns of pixels of the row individually, the requirement for the second bias voltage V2 is reduced, that is, the driving capability of the bias generating circuit 7 is improved, and the readout circuit is advantageously used to drive a larger-scale infrared detector pixel array. In addition, the specific detailed operation principle of the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described herein.

Fig. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another infrared detector according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in fig. 13, on the basis of the above embodiment, the CMOS manufacturing process of the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 may also include a metal interconnection process and a via process, the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 includes metal interconnection layers 101, dielectric layers 102 and a silicon substrate 103 at the bottom, the upper and lower metal interconnection layers 101 are electrically connected through vias 104,

with reference to fig. 1 to 13, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 includes a resonant cavity formed by a reflective layer 21 and a thermal sensitive medium layer, a suspended microbridge structure for controlling heat transfer, and a pillar structure 22 having electrical connection and support functions, and the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 is configured to measure and process an array resistance value formed by one or more CMOS infrared sensing structures 2, and convert an infrared signal into an electrical image signal.

Specifically, the resonant cavity may be formed by a cavity between the reflective layer 21 and the absorbing plate 2301, for example, infrared light is reflected back and forth in the resonant cavity through the absorbing plate 2301 to improve the detection sensitivity of the infrared detector, and due to the arrangement of the columnar structures 22, the beam structures 2302 and the absorbing plate 2301 constitute a suspended micro-bridge structure for controlling heat transfer, and the columnar structures 22 are electrically connected to the supporting base 211 and the corresponding beam structures 2302 and are used for supporting the infrared conversion structures 23 on the columnar structures 22.

Alternatively, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 may be disposed on a metal interconnect layer of the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 or fabricated on the same layer. Specifically, the metal interconnection layer of the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 may be a top metal layer in the CMOS measurement circuitry 1, and in conjunction with fig. 13, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 may be fabricated on the metal interconnection layer of the CMOS measurement circuitry 1, and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 is electrically connected to the CMOS measurement circuitry 1 through a supporting base 211 on the metal interconnection layer of the CMOS measurement circuitry 1, so as to transmit the electrical signal converted by the infrared signal to the CMOS measurement circuitry 1.

Fig. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional structure view of another infrared detector provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 14, a CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 is prepared on the same layer of a metal interconnection layer of a CMOS measurement circuit system 1, that is, the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 are arranged on the same layer, as shown in fig. 14, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 is arranged on one side of the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, and a hermetic release isolation layer 11 may also be arranged on the top of the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 to protect the CMOS measurement circuit system 1.

Optionally, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 includes an absorption plate 2301, a beam structure 2302, a reflective layer 21 and a columnar structure 22, the absorption plate 2301 includes a metal interconnection layer and at least one thermal sensitive medium layer, the material constituting the thermal sensitive medium layer includes at least one of amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon germanium, titanium oxide, vanadium oxide or vanadium titanium oxide, the metal interconnection layer in the absorption plate 2301 is an electrode layer in the absorption plate 2301 for transmitting an electrical signal obtained by converting an infrared signal, the thermal sensitive medium layer includes at least a thermal sensitive layer and may further include a support layer and a passivation layer, the material constituting the thermal sensitive medium layer includes at least one of amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon germanium, titanium oxide, vanadium oxide or vanadium titanium oxide, that is, the material constituting the thermal sensitive layer includes amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon germanium, titanium oxide, vanadium oxide or vanadium oxide, that is to form a thermal sensitive layer, At least one of amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon-germanium, titanium oxide, vanadium oxide or titanium vanadium oxide.

The beam structure 2302 and the columnar structure 22 are used for transmitting electrical signals and for supporting and connecting the absorption plate 2301, the electrode layer in the absorption plate 2301 includes two patterned electrode structures, the two patterned electrode structures output positive electrical signals and ground electrical signals, respectively, the positive electrical signals and the ground electrical signals are transmitted to the supporting base electrically connected with the columnar structure 22 through the different beam structures 2302 and the different columnar structures 22 and further transmitted to the CMOS measurement circuit system 1, the beam structure 2302 includes a metal interconnection layer and at least one dielectric layer, the metal interconnection layer in the beam structure 2302 is an electrode layer in the beam structure 2302, the electrode layer in the beam structure 2302 is electrically connected with the electrode layer in the absorption plate 2301, and the dielectric layer in the beam structure 2302 may include a supporting layer and a passivation layer.

The columnar structures 22 are connected with the beam structure 2302 and the CMOS measurement circuit system 1 by adopting a metal interconnection process and a through hole process, the upper parts of the columnar structures 22 need to be electrically connected with electrode layers in the beam structure 2302 through holes penetrating through a supporting layer in the beam structure 2302, and the lower parts of the columnar structures 22 need to be electrically connected with corresponding supporting bases 211 through holes penetrating through dielectric layers on the supporting bases 211. The reflective plate 212 is used for reflecting infrared signals and forms a resonant cavity with the heat-sensitive medium layer, that is, the reflective plate 212 is used for reflecting infrared signals and forms a resonant cavity with the heat-sensitive medium layer, and the reflective layer 21 includes at least one metal interconnection layer for forming the supporting base 211 and also for forming the reflective plate 212.

Alternatively, at least two ends of the beam structure 2302 and the absorption plate 2301 may be electrically connected, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 includes at least two pillar structures 22 and at least two supporting bases 211, and the electrode layer includes at least two electrode terminals. Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, the beam structures 2302 are electrically connected to two ends of the absorption plate 2301, each beam structure 2302 is electrically connected to one end of the absorption plate 2301, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 includes two column structures 22, the electrode layer includes at least two electrode terminals, at least a portion of the electrode terminals transmit positive electrical signals, at least a portion of the electrode terminals transmit negative electrical signals, and the signals are transmitted to the supporting base 211 through the corresponding beam structures 2302 and the column structures 22.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 2, four ends of the beam structures 2302 connected to the absorbing plate 2301 can be electrically connected, each beam structure 2302 connected to two ends of the absorbing plate 2301, and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 includes four pillar structures 22, and one beam structure 2302 connects two pillar structures 22. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of the connecting ends of the beam structure 2302 and the absorbing plate 2301 is not particularly limited, and it is sufficient that the beam structure 2302 corresponds to the electrode terminals, and the beam structure 2302 is used for transmitting the electrical signals output by the corresponding electrode terminals.

Alternatively, the infrared detector may be configured based on a 3nm, 7nm, 10nm, 14nm, 22nm, 28nm, 32nm, 45nm, 65nm, 90nm, 130nm, 150nm, 180nm, 250nm or 350nm CMOS process, which characterizes process nodes of the integrated circuit, i.e., features during the processing of the integrated circuit.

Alternatively, the metal wiring material constituting the metal interconnection layer in the infrared detector may be configured to include at least one of aluminum, copper, tungsten, titanium, nickel, chromium, platinum, silver, ruthenium, or cobalt, and for example, the material constituting the reflective layer may be configured to include at least one of aluminum, copper, tungsten, titanium, nickel, chromium, platinum, silver, ruthenium, or cobalt. In addition, the CMOS measuring circuit system 1 and the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 are both prepared by using a CMOS process, the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 is directly prepared on the CMOS measuring circuit system 1, the radial side length of the columnar structure 22 can be more than or equal to 0.5um and less than or equal to 3um, the width of the beam structure 2302, namely the width of a single line in the beam structure 2302 is less than or equal to 0.3um, the height of a resonant cavity is more than or equal to 1.5um and less than or equal to 2.5um, and the side length of a single pixel of the CMOS infrared sensing structure 2 is more than or equal to 6um and less than or equal to 17 um.

It is noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second," and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The foregoing are merely exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, which enable those skilled in the art to understand or practice the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An infrared detector pixel based on CMOS technology, comprising:

2. The infrared detector pixel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the CMOS infrared sensing structure comprises a sacrificial layer, the sacrificial layer is used for making the CMOS infrared sensing structure form a hollowed-out structure, the material constituting the sacrificial layer is silicon oxide, and the sacrificial layer is etched by a post-CMOS process;

3. The infrared detector pixel of claim 1, wherein the non-metallic material comprises at least one of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon germanium, amorphous carbon, silicon carbide, silicon carbonitride, or aluminum oxide.

4. The infrared detector pixel of claim 1, wherein the metal material comprises at least one of titanium, titanium nitride, tantalum, or tantalum nitride, or

5. An infrared detector pixel as recited in claim 1, wherein the sidewalls and bottom of the non-metallic solid posts form a U-shaped metal layer.

6. The infrared detector pixel of claim 5, further comprising a second metal layer;

the second metal layer covers at least one side of the U-shaped metal layer.

7. The infrared detector pixel of claim 6, wherein the second metal layer is disposed between the metal layer and the support base; and/or

8. The infrared detector pixel of claim 6, wherein a material comprising the second metal layer comprises at least one of tungsten, aluminum, titanium, or copper.

9. The infrared detector pixel of claim 1, further comprising a dielectric protective layer;

10. The infrared detector as set forth in claim 9, wherein a material constituting the dielectric protection layer includes at least one of silicon, germanium, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, silicon germanium, or amorphous silicon germanium.

11. The infrared detector pixel of claim 1, further comprising a dielectric layer;

the dielectric layer covers the side face of the columnar structure.

12. The infrared detector pixel of claim 11, wherein a material comprising the dielectric layer comprises at least one of silicon, germanium, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium, amorphous silicon germanium, amorphous carbon, silicon carbide, or aluminum oxide.

13. An infrared detector pixel as recited in claim 1, wherein a bottom of the columnar structure is embedded within the support base.

14. An infrared detector pixel as recited in claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the columnar structure in a plane parallel to the reflector plate includes at least one of a circle, a square, a polygon, or a bar.

15. An infrared detector pixel as recited in claim 11, wherein the cross-sectional maximum unidirectional width of the columnar structure is greater than or equal to 0.5 microns and less than or equal to 3 microns; and/or

The height of the columnar structure in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the reflecting plate is greater than or equal to 0.1 micrometer and less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers.

16. An infrared detector, comprising the infrared detector pixel of any one of claims 1 to 15;

And the infrared detector pixels are arranged in an array.