WO2006131427A2

WO2006131427A2 - Image sensor provided with a thinned semiconductor substrate with backside metallisation

Info

Publication number: WO2006131427A2
Application number: PCT/EP2006/062043
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pierre Blanchard
Original assignee: E2V Semiconductors
Priority date: 2005-06-10
Filing date: 2006-05-04
Publication date: 2006-12-14
Also published as: FR2887076B1; FR2887076A1; WO2006131427A3

Abstract

The invention relates to electronic image sensors provided with a matrix array of photosensitive points, in particular to large-size sensors (several centimetres on side) which operate with a high-sampling frequency. The inventive image sensor comprises a transfer substrate (20), a thinned semiconductor substrate (12) provided with a photosensitive area array and associated electronic circuits embodied on the front face thereof. An opaque metal layer which is substantially conductive, perforated and provided with openings opposite to each photosensitive area is formed on the rear face of said thinned substrate, wherein said metal layer forms an aperture grid (30) which is arranged in front of the photosensitive matrix array and provided with an electrical connection for supplying an uniform potential to the rear face of the thinned substrate in front of the entire matrix array. Conductive via holes are formed in the semiconductor substrate for connecting said layer to metal pads (14) formed on the front face of the substrate prior to be transferred to the transfer substrate. The invention makes it possible to improve the performance of the high-sampling frequency sensor by means of said metal layer.

Description

IMAGE SENSOR WITH SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE AMINCI WITH

REAR METALLIZATION

The invention relates to electronic image sensors with a matrix network of photosensitive points, and more particularly those which are large (several centimeters on the side) and which work at a fast sampling rate. The frequency of sampling is the frequency at which the image points are read. It depends on the number of points per line, the number of lines, and the frame rate (typically 25 Hz or 30 Hz for a video image sensor). The sampling frequency is all the higher as there are more points in the matrix network. There are now so-called thin-film semiconductor sensors, which have been designed to be illuminated by the rear face in particular to improve the colorimetry of the color image sensors. The image capture electronic circuits are formed on the front face of a silicon substrate of conventional thickness (several hundred micrometers thick), after which this substrate is carried by its front face on a transfer substrate, and the semiconductor substrate is thinned to a few microns thick. The illumination by the rear face makes it possible to avoid scattering of the photons in the metal layers of the front face and thus a crosstalk between neighboring pixels, therefore to a bad colorimetry in the case of color sensors since the neighboring pixels are of different colors. ; the small thickness of the thinned substrate makes it possible to prevent the electrons generated by the light from dispersing in the substrate and also from producing a crosstalk.

It has been found that large-sized thin-film sensors can exhibit large defects at high sampling rates, and one potential cause of these defects has been identified as the excessive resistivity of the substrate, the effect of which is accentuates the more so as the substrate is little doped, not very thick and of large surface. Low doping is necessary to prevent the electrons generated by light from recombining rapidly: they must be captured by the photodiodes against which they are generated. The size of the sensor is related to the desired sensitivity (pixel size) and resolution (number of pixels); the sampling frequency is even higher than the number of pixels is high, to ensure a complete image transmission in a sufficiently short time. To avoid or limit the defects due to thinning in large sensors operating at high sampling frequency, the invention proposes to deposit on the rear face of the thinned sensor a metal layer with high conductivity (in practice the aluminum), openwork facing the photosensitive elements formed on the front face. Accordingly, the invention provides a new sensor manufacturing method and a new thin-filmed image sensor.

The method of manufacturing a thin-filmed image sensor comprises:

the formation, from the front face of a slice of semiconductor material, of a matrix of photosensitive zones and associated electronic circuits,

the transfer of the wafer by its front face against the front face of a support substrate,

the elimination, from the rear face of the slice of semiconductor material, of the major part of the thickness of this slice, leaving on the substrate a thin semiconductor layer comprising, on its front face, the photosensitive matrix and the associated circuits, this method being characterized in that, after this elimination, depositing a highly conductive opaque metal layer (in practice aluminum), and openings are etched in this metal layer to eliminate the layer opposite each of the photosensitive zones, the metallic layer constituting, opposite the photosensitive matrix, a perforated grid with electrical continuity making it possible to bring a uniform potential onto the rear face of the thinned semiconductor wafer facing the entire matrix.

In all of the foregoing and in all that follow, the face on which the photosensitive matrix and the associated electronic circuits have been formed, by successive deposits and etchings, will be called the front face of the thinned or front face of the thinned substrate. The back side of the thinned slice or thinned substrate is the other side, the one that has undergone thinning machining. It is through the back side that the sensor receives a bright image to be converted into an electronic image. This is the back side that carries the openwork metal layer (aluminum). The metal layer preferably remains present but not perforated with respect to the electronic circuits associated with the matrix, to serve as a mask protecting these circuits from light. Without being properly perforated, this layer can however be divided into separate zones, electrically insulated from each other, especially in the case where the metal is to be used for the formation of input / output pads in one of the variants of the invention.

Preferably, after having thinned the wafer and before depositing the metal layer, the doping of the rear face of the wafer is superficially increased, creating an overdoped layer whose thickness is a small fraction of the residual thickness of the wafer. . Also preferably, after making the openings of the metal layer, is removed in the openings, at least a portion of the thickness of the semiconductor layer and overdoped.

Also preferably, prior to the deposition of the highly conductive metal layer, vias are opened in the semiconductor wafer, over most of the thickness of the latter, until bare metal strips which have been formed to from the front face in the operations of producing the matrix and the associated electronic circuits; the deposition of the metal layer in the vias makes it possible to electrically connect portions of this layer to these metal areas.

For a color sensor, colored filters are then deposited. In a first variant of the manufacturing method, after cutting the wafer into individual sensors, at least a portion of the metal layer, isolated from the perforated grid and connected to a metal pad, is used as a solder pad for the connection of the sensor. image outside. At least one other portion of the metal layer, connected to the perforated grid and connected to another metal pad, is used to establish an identical potential on the gate and on an electronic circuit part made on the front face. In a second variant, the transfer substrate is a temporary substrate; a transparent final substrate is adhered to the rear face of the wafer; the temporary substrate is eliminated; the metal beaches connected to vias are stripped by the front face of the slice. After cutting the wafer into individual image sensors, at least one of these ranges, connected by a via to the perforated grid, serves as a solder pad for an external connection to bring from the outside, through the beach metallic and the via, a reference potential on the perforated grid.

The image sensor according to the invention comprises, on a transfer substrate, a thinned semiconductor substrate on the front face of which are formed a matrix of photosensitive zones and associated electronic circuits, and on the rear face of which is formed a conductive layer. perforated opaque metal having apertures facing each photosensitive zone, the metal layer constituting, facing the photosensitive matrix, a perforated grid with electrical continuity for bringing a uniform potential on the rear face of the thinned substrate, facing the whole matrix.

At least one conductive via is provided throughout the thickness of the thinned semiconductor substrate to electrically connect portions of the metal layer to metal pads forming part of the electronic circuits associated with the matrix.

In a first embodiment of the invention, the front face of the thinned substrate is bonded against the transfer substrate, and it is the rear face of the thinned substrate, which surface bears the opaque metallic conductive layer, which remains accessible at the end of the manufacturing of the image sensor, while the front face is inaccessible, enclosed between the thinned substrate and the transfer substrate. Portions of the metal layer serve as solder pads for the connection with the outside (some are connected to the perforated grid, others are electrically isolated). In another embodiment, the transfer substrate is a transparent substrate and it is the rear face of the thinned substrate which is bonded against the substrate. The front face of the thinned substrate remains accessible after the end of manufacture; the rear face and its perforated aluminum layer become inaccessible, enclosed between the thinned substrate and the final substrate transparent. It is through the transparent substrate that the sensor receives a luminous image to be converted.

Preferably, the semiconductor substrate is superficially overdoped on a shallow depth of the rear face, at least under the perforated layer of aluminum, with a higher amount of doping impurities beneath this layer than in the openings of this layer.

The aluminum layer is preferably coated with a black deposit reducing the reflectivity of the layer. The thinned substrate may be covered in the openings with an anti-reflection layer. The sensor according to the invention may be a color image sensor. Colored filters are preferably deposited on the back side of the thinned substrate, on the perforated aluminum layer; the deposit is made after the deposit and etching thereof. It is done before transfer to the final transparent substrate in the case where the method comprises first a transfer by the front face on a temporary substrate and then a transfer by the rear face on a final substrate.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the description which follows and which is given with reference to the appended drawings in which:

- Figure 1 shows schematically a semiconductor wafer on the front side of which formed electronic circuits among which a photosensitive matrix and metal plates; - Figures 2 to 7 show the steps of the method according to the invention in a first embodiment;

FIG. 8 represents an image sensor according to the invention, obtained in this first variant;

- Figures 9 to 11 show the process steps in a second variant;

FIG. 12 represents a sensor according to the invention in the second variant, carried on a base by a so-called "flip-chip" method;

FIG. 13 represents a sensor according to the invention in the second variant, carried on a base by a method with soldering of connection wires. To produce an image sensor on a thinned substrate, one starts from a silicon wafer 10 whose upper part is constituted by a slightly doped epitaxial layer 12 (generally of type P, order of magnitude 10 ¹³ atoms / cm ³ ) of a few micrometers or a few tens of micrometers thick. A set of image sensors intended to be subsequently separated into chips, each comprising an individual sensor, is conventionally made on the front face of this slice. Each sensor comprises a matrix array of photosensitive zones, interconnections in lines and columns, electronic addressing circuits, photogenerated charge collection circuits, circuits for converting these charges into electronic signals, and metal pads intended for be connected to external connections of the sensor; the external connections are intended for supplying and controlling the electronic circuits of the sensor as well as for collecting the electronic signals representing the images detected by the sensor. Two metal areas 14 and 15 have been shown for purposes of illustration in FIG.

The sensors are made by conventional collective microelectronics operations: deposits of insulating or conductive or semiconducting layers, doping by implantation, thermal operations, etchings, etc. All these operations are done from the front face of the slice which is located at the top in Figure 1.

Among the operations that are performed from the front face of the wafer to result in a sensor according to the invention, there is the formation of one or more interconnect metal layers in superimposed levels, among which one at least makes it possible to constitute the metal areas such as 14 and 15.

At this stage, there are two major manufacturing possibilities, both of which begin with the slice being deflected by its front face on a transfer substrate and the thinning of the slice by its rear face until it leaves practically nothing but the epitaxial layer 12 or even only a portion of the thickness of this layer. The slice thinned will have a thickness of a few micrometers, containing all the circuits previously manufactured from the front; this thickness does not would not ensure mechanical strength of the slice during collective manufacturing operations if there was no transfer substrate; the mechanical strength is provided by the transfer substrate.

Subsequently, in a first variant, the transfer substrate is a definitive substrate, the rear face of the thinned wafer is accessible and may be coated with colored filters; it carries metallizations for external electrical access and these metallizations must be electrically connected to the circuits of the front face by conductive vias which will be discussed later, and in particular vias opposite metallic areas such as 14 and 15; the illumination of the image sensor is via the accessible rear face of the thinned slice. In a second variant, the transfer substrate is a temporary substrate; after thinning of the wafer and deposition of colored filters on its rear face (for a color sensor), it is carried back again, but this time by its rear face, on a final substrate, and the temporary substrate is removed; the back side is no longer accessible; the front face becomes accessible again and the metal areas such as 14 and 15 can serve as external access pads since they are flush with this front face; conductive vias are still present as will be explained later; the illumination of the sensor is still done by the rear face and the final substrate must be transparent.

We first look at the first variant and we will describe the successive manufacturing steps corresponding to this variant.

FIG. 2 shows the transfer of the semiconductor wafer by its front face onto a definitive transfer substrate 20. The wafer is turned over in FIG. 2, that is to say that its front face is now at the bottom of the figure while that the back side is up. The bonding is done with adhesive material or by molecular adhesion without adhesive material. In the latter case, it is preferably provided to first coat the front face of a planarization layer 16 before gluing it against the front face of the transfer substrate; the transfer substrate could itself be coated, if necessary, with a planarization layer before the bonding step.

The semiconductor wafer is then thinned to a few microns thick. Thinning is done by mechanical machining supplemented by mechanical and / or chemical polishing. The slice thinned will be from there designated by 12 since it does not include, in practical, that the epitaxial layer 12, and even a fraction only of the original epitaxial layer.

The back surface of the thinned slice is then superficially doped with an impurity of the same type as the semiconductor layer which receives this doping (hence an impurity P if the layer is of P type). This additional doping P + is intended to facilitate the subsequent electrical contact with a metal layer. The doping is carried out by superficial ion implantation, on shallow depth, and it is preferable to provide, before the implantation operation, a deposit of thin silicon oxide (SiO, a few hundred nanometers), which avoids damage the surface of the silicon. This thin oxide layer is then removed. Figure 3 shows the thinned slice on its transfer substrate at this stage of manufacture. The implanted surface layer (P +) is denoted by 22. The doping can be of the order of 10 ¹⁵ atoms / cm ³ . A photolithography operation is then performed to open vias over the entire thickness of the thinned wafer, in order to expose metal strips such as 14 and 15 which have been formed from the front face of the semiconductor wafer in the steps preceding the postponement. In Figure 4, there is shown a via 24 opposite the metal strip 14 and a via 25 opposite the range 15. Other vias can be provided. The vias are used to establish passages to electrically connect the metal pads of the front face to conductors that will now be formed on the back side.

A highly conductive and opaque metal layer 26 (in practice aluminum) is then deposited on the rear face of the wafer. The aluminum layer 26 rests on the implanted rear face of the thinned wafer 12, and it comes inside the vias 24 and 25 in contact with the pads 14 and 15 respectively. Outside the vias, the contact between the silicon and the aluminum is an ohmic contact. Figure 4 shows the slice at this stage. The vias were represented as sloping flank trenches with aluminum deposited on these flanks; however, if the thinned slice is only a few micrometers thick, the vias may be constituted by vertical trenches with vertical flanges etched by plasma etching, which are filled with aluminum during the deposition of the aluminum layer. One can at this stage consider making a black deposit on the aluminum layer, to reduce the reflection coefficient of the latter.

Photolithography is then etched in the aluminum layer 26 an array of openings distributed in a regular pattern. The openings are formed opposite the photosensitive areas of the matrix so that they can be illuminated; they will be illuminated by the side where this layer of aluminum is. The aluminum that remains after this etching comprises several zones, among which a perforated grid 30, electrically continuous, which makes it possible to distribute over the entire back surface of the silicon, in the region corresponding to the photosensitive matrix and in particular at its center, a potential constant imposed from the outside. The aluminum network that may remain a network of thin lines or thin columns or a cross network of rows and columns as seen in Figure 6. The openings in the aluminum are preferably distributed regularly with the not even the pixels so that the photosensitive zone corresponding to each pixel is the least masked possible by the crossed network of lines and columns of aluminum: the aluminum remains only around the perimeter of each photosensitive pixel without masking it. The rows and columns of the perforated grid may have a width of 0.25 to 1 micrometer for pixels having a pitch of a few micrometers; they may be wider for pixels having a pitch of more than 10 micrometers.

Although the perforated grid may obscure a part of the photosensitive surface, it is found that it has a positive role of reducing the crosstalk between neighboring pixels and thus of the colorimetry since it reduces the proportion of light emanating from a filter corresponding to a pixel and likely to fall on a neighboring pixel.

In addition to the perforated aluminum grid 30 remain on the rear face of the slice the meta-formations 32 in the vias such as 24 and 25, possibly extended by metal studs for the subsequent soldering of connection wires (unless the wires can be welded directly to the bottom of the vias). In FIG. 5, a solder pad 35 is shown, connected to the pad 15 by the metallization 32 of the via 25.

There will be several outside access pads such as 35 on the chip. These pads are electrically isolated from each other since they correspond to different electrical functions. At least one stud is electrically connected to the aluminum grid 30 covering the matrix to provide it with a reference potential coming from outside (mass potential for example). Conductive vias such as via 24, which do not necessarily correspond directly to external connection pads, can be part of a series of distributed vias (in principle at the periphery of the matrix) to connect the grid from place to place aluminum to front-panel drivers (always with a view to homogeneity of potential distribution on the surface of the chip).

Figure 6 shows, in top view on the back side, the configuration of the aluminum pattern for an individual sensor. It shows the apertures corresponding to each pixel in the perforated grid 30 which covers the entire central portion of the sensor. The portion 38 which immediately surrounds the matrix is continuously opaque, to mask the electronic circuits located at the periphery of the matrix; it is electrically connected to the perforated grid. In this part, we see vias such as via 24. Finally, around this part 38, we see solder pads such as 35 for the external connections of the sensor. They are electrically isolated from each other and are each connected by a respective via to a metal pad of the front face; one of them can be connected to the perforated grid 30.

At this stage of manufacture, the silicon is preferably uniformly etched (without a mask) to a thickness approximately corresponding to the depth of the implanted layer P +, in order to eliminate it completely or partially in the openings of the grid. aluminum. Indeed, the blue light penetrates shallow into the silicon and the electrons that would be generated in the P + layer would have difficulty to be collected by the photodiodes of the matrix. The implantation P + remains then only under the aluminum, where on the one hand it promotes the electrical contact between the gate and the semiconductor layer 12, and on the other hand it limits the risks of migration of aluminum in the depth of thinned slice. Implantation P + may also remain slightly outside openings, but with a lower dose (or a lower depth) than under aluminum. At this stage, it is conceivable to form in the openings an anti-reflection layer or a structure of superposed layers forming an anti-reflection layer.

For a color sensor, the following operations are then performed: deposition of a transparent planarization layer 40 (silicon oxide), deposition and etching of colored filter layers 42 and deposition of a transparent protective layer 44. protective layer and the planarization layer for stripping wire bonding metal pads of the sensors. Figure 7 shows the collective structure at this stage.

After all these operations, performed collectively, it is possible to cut the wafer into individual chips each corresponding to an image sensor. These chips are mounted in housings, and connection wires are soldered to the bare solder pads 35. FIG. 8 shows a sensor made and mounted on a housing base 50 with a solder wire 52. In use, the light arrives from above, that is to say from the rear face of the silicon chip, the transfer substrate 20 being stuck to the base.

A first embodiment of the invention has thus been described, which results in a sensor according to FIG. 8.

A second variant will now be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 13.

The operations described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 remain the same, with the exception of the fact that the transfer substrate 20 is a temporary transfer substrate and must be able to be removed later from the wafer, either by separation or by machining. ,

- Because the vias such as 25 and the solder pads 35 are no longer necessary because the solder pads will be constituted as will be seen by the metal pads 15 which were formed from the front of the semiconductor wafer; the drawing of these beaches must of course be planned accordingly; the vias 24 for electrically connecting the metal grid 30 to a metal strip 14 remain necessary, the range 14 serving as solder pad for a connection which brings a reference potential to the perforated grid 30 (mass connection for example).

Taking into account these differences and from the structure shown in Figure 7, glue (Figure 9) on the back side of the thinned semiconductor wafer, coated with the aluminum pattern, color filters

(For a color sensor) and the protective layer 44, a transparent final transfer substrate 60 (in principle a quartz wafer). The bonding can be done with the addition of transparent adhesive material, or without addition of adhesive material, by molecular adhesion. In the latter case, the protective layer 44 must serve as a planarization layer or it must first deposit on the layer 44 a planarization layer.

After this transfer to the final substrate, the temporary transfer substrate is removed (FIG. 10) by delamination or by mechanical and chemical machining. This operation is done so as to expose the metal pads 15 which must serve as solder pads for connection with the outside. If there was a planarization layer 16 (see Figure 2), the thickness of the latter must be reduced until the beaches 15 are flush with.

A passivation layer 62 may be deposited on the entire exposed face, which is, as recalled, the front face of the semiconductor wafer. This passivation layer is then etched opposite the metal areas 15 which will serve as solder pads (FIG. 11).

After having collectively performed all these operations, the slice is cut into individual chips each corresponding to an image sensor. The image sensor is further illuminated by the rear face of the wafer, thus through the transparent transfer substrate 60.

The sensor can be mounted on a base 50 according to the flip-chip technique in which the solder pads receive weldable bosses ("solder bumps" in English); the front face of the chip is then turned towards the base and welded to it via the bosses. The light comes from the side (of the base) that carries the sensor

(Figure 12).

The sensor can also be conventionally mounted according to the wire-bonding technique; in this case the transparent substrate 60 rests directly on the base 50 (FIG. 13) and it is necessary that the base, if it is not transparent, comprises a window opposite the photosensitive matrix of the sensor; the light comes from the other side of the base (the opposite side to the one carrying the sensor).

If we return in more detail to the operation of deposition and etching of the perforated aluminum layer (Figures 3 to 5), we can proceed in several ways, two examples are given below:

In a first manner, the principle is that before deposition of the metal layer, an additional local doping operation is performed in the areas to be covered by the grid, through a mask complementary to that which defines the openings of the grid during of the engraving of it.

For this purpose, a thin silicon oxide layer is first deposited to protect the surface of the thinned epitaxial layer, and then low-dose P-type impurities are implanted in the silicon at a shallow depth below this layer. Then the silicon oxide is removed, and an antireflection layer (preferably based on silicon nitride) is deposited. Then, through a resin mask complementary to that which will later define the perforated grid pattern, the nitride layer is etched where there will be the aluminum grid and is implanted in the non-protected area by the resin and the nitride a larger dose (in practice deeper) P-type impurity that will be later under the perforated grid.

The aluminum is then deposited and a new resin mask is formed which covers the areas of aluminum to be preserved. The surface of the thinned substrate at this stage therefore comprises the perforated grid, the P + implantation of shallow depth and an anti-reflection layer in the openings of the grid, and a deeper P + implantation under the metal of the grid.

In a second way, instead of implanting more deeply, by a specific operation, the area that will subsequently be covered by the aluminum grid, a deeper implantation operation is made initially and then part of the implanted thickness. For this we proceed as follows: first depositing a protective thin oxide layer, the implantation P is carried out through the oxide. Then the oxide is removed, and the aluminum layer is deposited directly. A resin mask is formed to etch the aluminum layer according to the open grid pattern, the silicon surface is etched into the apertures of the grid to remove a portion of the thickness of the implanted layer. Then, we deposits a uniform antireflection layer (for example based on silicon nitride) on the grid and on the silicon surface.

Claims

A method of manufacturing a thin-filmed image sensor, comprising:

- forming, from the front face of a semiconductor material wafer (12), a matrix of photosensitive zones and associated electronic circuits,

the transfer of the wafer by its front face against the front face of a support substrate (20),

the elimination, from the rear face of the slice of semiconductor material, of the major part of the thickness of this slice, leaving on the substrate a thin semiconductor layer comprising, on its front face, the photosensitive matrix and the associated circuits, this method being characterized in that, after this elimination, a highly conductive opaque metal layer (26) is deposited, and openings in this metal layer are etched to eliminate the layer facing each of the photosensitive zones, the metal layer constituting, opposite the photosensitive matrix, a perforated grid (30) with electrical continuity making it possible to bring a uniform potential onto the rear face of the thinned semiconductor wafer facing the entire matrix.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, after having thinned the wafer and before depositing the metal layer (26), the doping of the back side of the wafer is superficially increased, creating an overdoped layer (22). whose thickness is a small fraction of the residual thickness of the wafer.

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that, after making the openings of the metal layer, is removed in the openings, at least a portion of the thickness of the semiconductor layer and overdoped.

4. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that, prior to deposition of the metal layer, an additional local doping operation is performed in the areas to be covered by the gate, through a mask complementary to that which defines the openings of the gate. the grid during the engraving thereof.

5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, before the deposition of the highly conductive metal layer is opened vias in the semiconductor wafer, over most of the thickness thereof, until bare metal beaches that have been formed from the front in the operations of realization of the matrix and associated electronic circuits.

6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that, after cutting the wafer into individual sensors, at least one portion (35) of the metal layer is used, isolated from the perforated grid and connected via a via (25) to a metal pad (15) as a solder pad for connecting the image sensor to the outside.

7. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the transfer substrate (20) is a temporary substrate, a transparent final substrate (60) is stuck on the rear face of the wafer, the temporary substrate is eliminated, the metal pads (15) connected to vias are stripped by the front face of the wafer, and, after cutting the wafer into individual image sensors, at least one of these ranges (15), connected via a via (25) to the perforated grid, serves as a weld pad for an external connection to bring from the outside, through the metal strip and via, a reference potential on the perforated grid.

8. Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, for a color sensor, after etching of the metal layer, is deposited color filters.

An image sensor comprising, on a transfer substrate (20, 60), a thinned semiconductor substrate (12) on the front face of which are formed a matrix of photosensitive zones and associated electronic circuits, characterized in that, on the rear face of the thinned substrate, is formed a opaque, highly conductive, perforated metallic layer comprising openings facing each photosensitive zone, the metallic layer constituting, facing the photosensitive matrix, a perforated grid (30) with electrical continuity for bringing a uniform potential on the back of the thinned substrate, facing the entire matrix.

An image sensor according to claim 9, characterized in that at least one conductive via (24) is provided throughout the thickness of the thinned semiconductor substrate to electrically connect portions of the apertured metal layer to metal plates (14). ) forming part of the electronic circuits associated with the matrix.

1 1. Image sensor according to one of claims 9 and 10, characterized in that the front face of the thinned substrate (12) is bonded against the transfer substrate (20), and this is the rear face of the substrate thinned, face which carries the opaque metal conductive layer, which remains accessible at the end of the manufacture of the image sensor, while the front face is inaccessible, enclosed between the thinned substrate and the transfer substrate, portions (35). of the metal layer serving as solder pads for connection with the outside.

12. Image sensor according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that color filters (42) are deposited on the perforated grid (30).

13. An image sensor according to one of claims 9 and 10, characterized in that the transfer substrate (60) is a transparent substrate, the rear face of the thinned substrate being bonded against the substrate, the front face of the thinned substrate. being accessible and the back face and its perforated aluminum layer being inaccessible, enclosed between the thinned substrate and the transparent final substrate.

14. An image sensor according to claim 13, characterized in that color filters (42) are interposed between the perforated grid (30) and the transparent transfer substrate (60).

15. An image sensor according to one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that the semiconductor substrate is superficially overdoped over a shallow depth of the rear face, at least under the perforated layer of aluminum, with an amount of doping impurities higher under this layer than in the openings of this layer.

16. An image sensor according to one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that the perforated grid (30) is coated with a black deposit reducing the reflectivity of the layer.

17. An image sensor according to claim 16, characterized in that the thinned substrate is covered, in the openings of the perforated grid (30), with an anti-reflection layer.