Canon continues to apply for patents for stacked sensors. With the number that we've seen over the last few months, I think it's safe to say something is coming in the not-so-distant-future.
Canon News breaks down Japan Patent Application 2018-7000:
This patent revolves around having the ADC on the second underneath layer and only the photodiodes on the top layer and eleviating cross talk between pixels. The underside layer is much larger than the sensor layer, whcih my assumption is that this lessons noise, heat and interferance between layers.
Stacked sensors can offer both dynamic range and noise benefits if done well, and also processing speed improvements. They can also offer other benefits such as global shutter and high speed video applications.
Canon News breaks down Japan Patent Application 2018-7101:
We have also discovered another stacked sensor patent application….. which deals with reducing the power consumption by a stacked sensor design.
As you can imagine, the more you stuff on the stacked sensor, the more power it consumes. Power is changed to waste heat. Heat is bad. Bad makes for bad sensors. :)
When we'll see this sort of sensor appear in a Canon product is a mystery, but I think more obvious innovation in sensors is coming from Canon.
Just a heads up, we've created a Patent Board on the forum. Why I didn't do this eons ago is a mystery.