Patent 7710482 was granted and assigned to Seiko Instruments on May, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A MOS image sensor IC has a silicon substrate, a MOS transistor and photodiodes disposed on the silicon substrate, and pixel regions each comprising one of the photodiodes. A protective film is disposed around the pixel regions. A first conductor for potential fixation is disposed under the protective film and surrounds the pixel regions. The first conductor is electrically fixed to a potential of the silicon substrate.