Fabrication and performance of color filter arrays for solid-state imagers

A technique has been developed for the fabrication of a color filter array (CFA) to be used in conjunction with a solid-state area sensor to provide three-color image information from a single sensor. The fabrication technique employs sublimable dyes which are heat-transferred through photoresist windows onto a polymer receiving layer. Good edge sharpness and a low dye penetration depth into the polymer have been achieved. The predicted and measured spectral response of the color channels of the composite device are in good agreement. The pattern noise associated with CFA transmittance fluctuations from element to element is on the order of 10 percent.