Archives for June 2015

Edwin Roks Becomes Teledyne DALSA COO

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Business Wire: Teledyne announces the promotion of Edwin Roks to the position of Chief Operating Officer of Teledyne DALSA. Reporting to Rex Geveden, EVP of Teledyne and President of Teledyne DALSA, Roks will direct the operational activities of Teledyne DALSA and its digital imaging, medical, X-ray and professional imaging, and semiconductor divisions. His responsibilities will include financial performance, strategic planning, business development and research and technology integration. Dr. Roks also remains a VP of Teledyne, and will continue to advise Robert Mehrabian, Teledyne’s Chairman, President and CEO.

Go to the original article...

0.3e- Noise Histogram

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Eric Fossum kindly allowed me to post a histogram of his and Jiaju Ma's image sensor that apparently achieves 0.32 e- rms noise on a single CDS read. It was achieved by minimizing the FD node capacitance as discussed in the March 2015 JEDS article:

"A Pump-Gate Jot Device With High Conversion Gain for a Quanta Image Sensor" by Jiaju Ma; Fossum, E.R.

The low readout noise manifests itself in a comb-like structure on the histogram, where the distance between the peaks is equivalent to 1e-. This preliminary result was first presented at IISW 2015 last week:

Go to the original article...

More Details on Sony Fast Full-Frame and 1-inch Sensors

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Imaging Resource publishes an interview with Kimio Maki, Senior General Manager, Digital Imaging Business Group, Sony, discussing various trade-offs in image sensors for A7R II full-frame camera and RX100 IV and RX10 II 1-inch compacts. Few interesting points, in no particular order:

  • Why Sony needs a backside illumination in its new 42MP FF sensor:
    (a) to match a pixel sensitivity of its earlier 36MP front side illuminated sensor
    (b) to be able to use metal routing more freely, without obscuring the light path
    (c) better metal routing, together with Cu instead of Al in the previous sensor allows to implement 4K video mode in that big sensor
    (d) the new sensor is 3.5x faster than the previous generation one
  • 42MP resolution has been chosen to ensure an easy image scaleability in various 4K video modes. If not that, Sony marketing would prefer 45MP or 50MP resolution.
  • Other than the speed, Sony has improved the noise performance in the new FF 42MP sensor over the older 36MP one.
  • The 14b raw file format suggests that 14b ADCs are used on the new FF sensor
  • The new 1-inch stacked sensor is 5x faster than the previous one
  • The fast readout speed creates close to global shatter experience, although the shutter is actually rolling. Sony calls is "Anti-Distortion Rolling Shutter."
  • To get to that high speed, the 1-inch stacked sensor employs no less than 16 ADCs per column (!)
  • Since the 1-inch sensor has 5,472 columns, the number of column-level ADCs is  87,552
  • The data from ADCs is transferred to the bottom DRAM die and, then, outside of the chip
  • The DRAM die also has a "low level" processor integrated on it

Sony 1-inch stacked sensor assembly. The chips are inverted
and connected to the bottom of the sensor package using some
sort of solder-bump technology.

Go to the original article...

Invisage Opens World’s First Sub-5nm Fabrication Site

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

InVisage has inaugurated its first high-volume, fully automated QuantumFilm sensor manufacturing facility in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan. “After a review of various U.S. and Asian locations, we chose to establish our high-volume manufacturing in Taiwan because of the vitality of the semiconductor ecosystem here, and in particular because of our partnership with TSMC,” said InVisage’s CEO, Jess Lee. “Thanks to our high-calibre engineering and manufacturing staff here, we were able to source and install custom, state-of-the-art fabrication equipment and are now well positioned to ramp up QuantumFilm production.

The manufacturing facility, called QFAB3, is said to feature an unprecedented sub-5nm process geometry within an ISO Class 10 cleanroom. It is designed to support a wide range of products, from mobile phones to high-end cameras as well as drones and other IoT devices that require high performance cameras.

Because we use quantum dots, we don’t need finely patterned lithography to achieve our high performance and sub 5-nm scale. This QuantumFilm fab has a multiplier effect in terms of product performance, value, and output. So our factory is compact and accomplishes much more than the typical fab,” said James Chou, VP of Manufacturing Operations. “All the steps could fit within one shipping container. This enables many expansion opportunities we’re already scouting for.”

InVisage’s product wafers are first manufactured by nearby TSMC and then transferred to QFAB3 for QuantumFilm deposition. The deposition itself is performed by a single, custom tool that combines spin-coating and CVD deposition technologies into one machine for the first time. This combination allows the deposition process to be both modular and fully automated. This is said to be the first of many facilities to come as InVisage increases its capacity aiming to QuantumFilm technology to become the new standard for cameras.

Go to the original article...

Invisage Aims to Conquer the Imaging World

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

EET-China posts an article on InVisage progress and plans, also quoted by wtuitiao.com site. Jess Lee, Invisage CEO, gave an interview on the opening a new 6,000 sq. feet fab in Taiwan that will deal with adding Quantum Film on top of TSMC-produced wafers. Few quotes, in Google translation:

"Spend so much money gone? After the factory opening ceremony, "Electronic Engineering Times," given the opportunity and InVisage company CEO Jess Lee one interview, this is the first question I can not wait to put forward.

"Basic money spent these years of research above and the corresponding, because the TSMC outsource the manufacturing part of the silicon, so in fact our factory investment is not large. "InVisage all the issued and pending patents has reached 102 items.

And now Fab3 upcoming production, InVisage finally began to have an income. In addition, InVisage also won the two top camera's contract, and has received a total of 10 million dollars in the first phase of development costs. "However, if you need a more rapid expansion of production, we may also consider re-attract some investment." Lee expressed.
"

"In the semiconductor industry, which is the only one I've heard from inception to launch the first product requires 10 years of IC companies, and that decade also continued to be favored by institutional investors, with 100 million dollars was built out first a product."

Jess Lee has shown a small bottle of Quantum Film substance which is said to be enough to produce 10,000 image sensors:


Once Invisage's Quantum Film sensor reaches the market, it's projected to capture a big chunk of it:


"VisEra do this layer of the color filter, in fact, before I was a little worried, after all, is different from the silicon quantum film, will not be splitting ah, for specifically ask Mr. SC Schin VisEra, he said, "There is absolutely not, on the contrary, because the surface of the quantum film will be more smooth for us, but also easier."

"Pixel size is not a limiting factor, can be nanoscale, "but in order to cater to the mainstream, our first product will choose between the 1.1-1.4um until mature market culture Then, again using smaller pixel size. Lee said."

"For InVisage of Sensor, Lee has revealed that the main chip and the two major mobile phone manufacturers to develop, integrate optimized for InVisageSensor ISP in its main chip."

Thanks to HTL for sending me the link!

Go to the original article...

TSMC Looks to Expand its Image Sensor Presense

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Digitimes reports that TSMC is looking to expand its presence in the CIS field, according to the newspaper's sources. TSMC gets orders from Aptina and Galaxycore, and partners with Invisage. "TSMC will also be able to secure orders from OmniVision, if the fabless firm wants to stay competitive in the mid- and high-end market segments."

"In other news, InVisage recently announced the inauguration of a manufacturing facility nearby TSMC's manufacturing site at the Hsinchu Science Park, northern Taiwan. "After a review of various U.S. and Asian locations, we chose to establish our high-volume manufacturing in Taiwan because of the vitality of the semiconductor ecosystem here, and in particular because of our partnership with TSMC," said InVisage CEO Jess Lee in a statement.

The facility, dubbed QFAB3, will be engaged in the manufacture of CIS based on InVisage's proprietary QuantumFilm technology. "InVisage's product wafers are first manufactured by nearby TSMC and then transferred to QFAB3 for QuantumFilm deposition," said InVisage.
"

Go to the original article...

Caeleste Publishes its IISW 2015 Papers On-Line

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Caeleste puts its IISW 2015 papers on-line:

1. "CMOS image sensor reaching 0.34 eRMS read noise by inversion-accumulation cycling"
Qiang Yao, Bart Dierickx, Benoit Dupont, Gerlinde Ruttens

Record for lowest read noise in CIS. CMOS pixels is pushed a little bit further again, as reported in our 3rd IISW paper. The value of 0.34 (sic) electrons RMS is obtained at the cost of accumulation-inversion cycling, severe oversampling and cooling down to -40°C.


2. "Four Concepts for Synchronous, PSN limited, true CDS, HDR imaging"
A.K.Kalgi, B.Dierickx, B.Dupont, P.Coppejans, P.Gao, B.Spinnewyn, B.Luyssaert, A. Defernez, J. Zhu, J.Basteleus, Q. Yao, W. Verbruggen, D. Uwaerts, B. Uwaerts, G. Ruttens, G. Cai

Comparing 4 HDR methods. Here we use a pretty strict definition of “High Dynamic Range”: It must at the same time comply with: 1) knee-less fully linear 2) allowing RWI synchronous shutter and 3) complete CDS. 3 methods are actually Caeleste patents, the 4th is the historical “overflow barrier” method.

3. "Imaging sparse events at high speed"
Gaozhan Cai, Bart Dierickx, Bert Luyssaert, Nick Witvrouwen, Gerlinde Ruttens

Ultra-high speed readout of a sparse image. The first imager to realize ultra-high speed sparse readout of a megapixel small-pixel (8µm) array, by copying a “SLICE” of the pixel array data into a processor array. The below 1Mpixel prototype is able to output about 8000 frames per second.

Go to the original article...

Omnivision Announces 400 x 400 Pixel 1/18-inch Micro Sensor

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

PRNewswire: OmniVision announces a new ultra-compact CameraChip sensor for medical and industrial applications. The 1/18-inch OV6946 captures 400 x 400 pixel resolution images and video in an extremely compact 0.9 x 0.9 mm package, making it an ideal camera solution for minimally-invasive, reusable endoscopy.

Utilizing a 1.75um OmniBSI+ pixel, the OV6946 captures video at 30fps. The OV6946 enables endoscope modules with a width of 1.65 mm and height of 5 mm. Additionally, the sensor's reduced pinout and basic ISP functionality offer extremely easy integration. The OV6946 is currently available for sampling and is expected to enter volume production in the third quarter of 2015.

The correct pixel size is 1.75um

PRNewswire: OmniVision partners with preferred solution providers Precision Optics Corporation, Inc. (POC) and Fujikura Ltd. to develop the 160K (400 x 400 pixel) camera module, a quick go-to-market camera solution for OEMs. POC is a leader in designing and manufacturing micro-optics and associated medical imaging devices, and Fujikura is a leading miniature CMOS imaging module manufacturer.

Based on OmniVision's new OV6946 sensor, POC's Microprecision lens technology, and Fujikura's flexible micro-coaxial cable technology and small packaging capability, the 160K CIS module provides high quality images and video with a distal end diameter of only 1.60 mm. Evaluation units of the 160K CIS module are currently available, and volume production is expected to begin in 2016.

POC shows a nice demo video with the previous generation OV6930 sensor:

Go to the original article...

TowerJazz PDK Adds Support for Cadence Layout EAD

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

TowerJazz announces its support for the Cadence Virtuoso Layout interactive Electrically Aware Design (EAD) for all of its 180nm processes, including TS18IS (image sensor) process.

Go to the original article...

Harvest Imaging Forum Agenda Published

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Albert Theuwissen publishes a tentative agenda of this year's forum "3D Imaging with Time-of-Flight: Solid-State Devices, Circuits and Architectures" delivered by David Stoppa:

Introduction
  • Applications for 3D image sensors
  • Range sensing technologies: taxonomy, pros and cons
  • Active range sensors (Triangulation, Interferometry and Time-of-Flight): operation principle and solid-state implementation
  • Time-of-Flight measurement principle and implementations
Time-of-Flight System
  • Building blocks
  • Optical power budget and system design considerations
  • Technical requirements for 3D Time-of-Flight image sensors
  • History and evolution of 3D image sensors versus 2D
Detector Technologies: Photo-demodulators (PDM), Electronic Shutter (ES), SPADs and APDs
  • Evolution of PDM-devices from CCD to CIS
  • Description and analysis of State-of-the-art PDM implementations
  • Description and analysis of SoA ES solutions
  • From photodiode to SPAD through APDs
  • SPAD operation principle and behavioural model
  • SPAD front-end and processing electronics
  • Description and analysis of SoA SPAD-based solutions
  • Pros and cons of each detector technology and best application scenarios
3D Image sensors readout architectures and main processing blocks
  • Sensor architectures, column amplifiers, ADCs, on-chip processing blocks
  • Extra electronics needed by 3D Time-of-Flight with respect to 2D (TDCs, TACs, drivers)
Main noise sources in 3D imagers
  • Noise analysis and case study for PDM, ES and SPAD sensors
3D Image sensors characterisation and Figures of Merit
  • How to test a 3D Time-of-Flight imager
  • Main Figures of Merit
Additional topics
  • Best 3D sensor technology for your application
  • System aspects and trade-offs
  • Future perspective and roadmap
Wrap-up

Go to the original article...

ON Semi-Aptina and Sony Think Alike

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Sony patent application US20150156387 "Image sensor, image sensor operation method, and imaging apparatus" by Daisuke Miyakoshi proposes to split the continuous exposure into exposure on/off pieces to reduces flicker and jerkiness artifacts associated with short exposure times in bright light:


Aptina patent application US20150009375 "Imaging systems with dynamic shutter operation" by Gennadiy Agranov, Sergey Velichko, and John Ladd proposes, basically, a similar thing, albeit with no storage cap in the pixel:


While we are at Aptina, SeekingAlpha's ON Semi earnings call transcript for Q1 2015 praises its performance:

Keith D. Jackson - President, CEO and Director
In the automotive segment, our momentum in fast growing advanced driver assist systems market remains intact, and we continue to be market leader with approximately 70% share for image sensors for ADAS-related applications.

Q: John Pitzer - Credit Suisse
I was wondering if you could spend a little bit of time just talking about the competitive landscape for Aptina. I mean clearly the image sensor marketing in auto ADAS is an area of pretty strong strength, but we are getting some signals of sort of industry capacity going up on the image sensor front. How do we think about that relative to the competitive dynamics? And can you talk a little bit about sort of the capacity needs that you have for your own imaging sensor business?

A: Keith D. Jackson - President, CEO and Director
Well, there are two other very strong players both of which have very significant handset exposure and the capacity on the handset side remains I think a key area for expansion. As you look at the automotive, it’s more than just the ability to produce pixels. You have to have the entire package for the automotive wins, particularly in safety critical applications. And we think we continue to have an edge there with our many years of experience. Relative to capacity, we have been working to increase capacities both internally and with our external partners, and are very comfortable we can see very strong growth and share gains supported for our image sensors this year.

Q: Ian Ing - MKM Partners
...my follow up for image sensors, could you talk about the implications of OmniVision getting acquired by a China entity, would that be a positive or a negative? Would that make the China business more competitive, perhaps favoring a local supplier?

A: Keith D. Jackson - President, CEO and Director
I think over time there can be some influence on the market from a favored China supplier. I think in the short term, there’s going to be lots of confusion and changing; some announced intension to change of manufacturing, et cetera. So we’re looking forward to some short-term opportunities. And then we’re just going to keep driving on the technology side so that our products basically will be favored and the local favoritism won’t matter.

Go to the original article...

IHS Sees Drones as a Big Image Sensor Market

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

IHS Electronics360: IHS believes that a rise of low-cost consumer and industrial-oriented drones opens a big market for chip makers in general, and, specifically, for image sensor vendors. Few quotes:

"Today, the major UAV vendors include DJI, a Chinese company expected to reach $1 billion in sales this year; Parrot in France; and 3D Robotics in the U.S. Larger companies are trying their wings as well. Google bought drone-maker Titan and plans to start testing drones later this year. Amazon Prime Air plans to use its drones for package delivery."

"In many consumer drones, the camera function is handled as part of the microprocessor and so a separate camera chip is not needed. Depending on which chip vendor is talking, they refer to drones as either “flying smartphones” or “flying cameras.

"DJI designed Ambarella chips into its Phantom line of drones 18 months ago. Although it is a new market for Ambarella, sales have “really, really taken off,” says Chris Day, Ambarella’s vice president of marketing and business development. “It’s not just a niche. We think by the end of this year, it’ll be significant.

"Ambarella chips produce high quality video in very low light conditions and incorporate “dewarping” technology that can correct distortions from wide-angle lenses, allowing for better discrimination of detail, he says. They also have frame rates as high as 60 frames per second, enabling smoother video of fast-moving events like sports."

A Cnet video explains the 4K/30fps camera operation of the latest DJI Phantom 3 drone:

Go to the original article...

Yole on Omnivision Acquisition

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Yole Developpement publishes its analysis of Omnivision acquisition by Chinese investment funds. Few quotes:

"...now OmniVision is Chinese. This is certainly good news for the industry since it should renew competition facing a much more dominating Sony. If you are looking at the recent changes in the situation, there are 3 aspects of competition at play and OmniVision management is playing very well:

First, OmniVision management must fix the technology gap by massively investing in technology with foundry partners TSMC and now with their move to use XMC as main foundry partner.

Second, they must build market partnership and tie themselves closer to loyal customers. Smartphone cameras have become so important that trust and reliability has become essential.

Third, they must get access to capital in order to finance technology and product development in a quickly evolving market.

By becoming Chinese, OmniVision is providing the right answers to those 3 aspects.
"

Go to the original article...

Yole Interviews Seek Thermal

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Yole Developpement publishes an interview with Seek Thermal founders. Seek Thermal sells smartphone attached thermal cameras based on Raytheon microbolometric sensors. Yole forecasts a growth of this market with quite a few companies offering their products:

Go to the original article...

Mentor Graphics CIS Verification

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Mentor Graphics publishes a whitepaper on using its FastSpice transient noise analysis for image sensor simulations. Some of the Mentor's claims are disputable, but probably nobody expects a deep understaning of CIS issues from an EDA company:

"Another type of temporal noise source is random telegraph signal (RTS) noise, which introduces “blinking pixels” from which the output exhibits three discrete levels. However, RTS noise does not appear to be a limiting factor on the performance of today’s image sensors."

Go to the original article...

Sony Unveils: Full Frame BSI Sensor and 1-inch Stacked Sensor

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

PR Newswire: Sony announces a mirrorless Alpha 7R II camera featuring a world's first full frame BSI image sensor. The newly developed 42.4 MP back-illuminated CMOS sensor is said to be "the most advanced, versatile and highest resolution full-frame image sensor that Sony has ever created."

The new sensor combines gapless on-chip lens and AR coating on the surface of the sensor’s glass seal to improve light collection efficiency, resulting in high sensitivity with low-noise performance and wide dynamic range. This allows the camera to shoot at an impressive ISO range of 100 to 25600 that is expandable to ISO 50 to 1024002.

Additionally, the sensor’s back-illuminated structure, with an expanded circuit scale and copper wiring design, enables faster transmission speed, approximately 3.5x faster than the original α7R.

The new full frame sensor features 399 focal-plane phase-detection AF points, said to be the world’s widest AF coverage on a full-frame sensor – that work together with 25 contrast AF points to achieve focus response that is about 40% faster than the original model.

The sensor supports 4K (QFHD 3840×2160, 30fps) video recording in either Super 35mm crop mode or full-frame mode. In Super 35mm mode, the camera uses information from approximately 1.8x as many pixels as 4K by using full pixel readout without pixel binning and oversamples the information to produce 4K movies with minimal moire and ‘jaggies’.

In full-frame mode, the α7R II utilizes the full width of the 35mm sensor for 4K/30fps recording. It is said to be the world’s first digital camera to offer this in-camera full-frame format 4K recording capability.

PRNewswire: The second Sony announcement is the world's first 1-inch stacked sensor featuring in compact DSC-RX100M4 and DSC-RX10M2 cameras. The stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor is said to have "advanced signal processing and an attached DRAM memory chip. The high speed signal processing and DRAM memory chip work together to enable more than 5x faster readout of image data and are responsible for a variety of standout features that have previously been available in only a select few professional-level video cameras. These impressive capabilities include 40x super slow motion video capture at up to 960 fps, an ultra-fast Anti-Distortion Shutter with a maximum speed of 1/32000 second, high resolution 4K movie shooting and more."

"Additionally, the ultra-fast readout of the image sensor is responsible for the high speed Anti-Distortion Shutter (maximum speed of 1/32000 second), which allow the new cameras to capture sharp, crystal clear images with a wide open aperture at brightness levels up to EV197. It also minimizes the “rolling shutter” effect commonly experienced with fast moving subjects."

DPReview states that the 4K video mode frame rate is 30fps, the same as with the previous generation non-stacked 1-inch sensor.

Sony posts Youtube videos demoing the new sensor slow-motion video capabilities:




Update: Additionaly, Sony says it "is the world’s No. 1 manufacturer of image sensors for digital cameras and video recorders, with over 50% market share. Data based on Sony research from April 2014 to March 2015."

Imaging Resource posts pictures taken on today's Sony press conference in NYC:


Update #2: DPReview writes "Internally, we're told, Sony's engineers judge that their new 1-inch-type stacked CMOS sensor is roughly five years ahead of anything else on the market, and on paper at least, it's hard to argue with that assessment."

Go to the original article...

Olympus 8mm f1.8 review – high-end Fisheye for MFT!

Camera Labs and DSLR Tips latest news and reviews        Go to the original article...

The Olympus 8mm f1.8 Fisheye is a new lens for the Micro Four Thirds format, capturing a 180 degree field of view across the diagonal when mounted on an Olympus or Panasonic body. It becomes the third fisheye for the system, but what makes it unique is the f1.8 aperture, two stops brighter than its Lumix and Samsung rivals and in fact the World's fastest fisheye for any format. As a member of the Olympus Pro series, it's also weather-proof. Find out if it's the Fisheye for you in my Olympus 8mm fisheye review!

Go to the original article...

Sony Aims for 20% Image Sensor Sales Growth This Year, Following 40% Growth Last Year

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Reuters: Tomoyuki Suzuki, head of Sony's device solutions business, said he expected sensor sales to grow about 100 billion yen ($804 million) to 550 billion in the year ending March 2016. That would be slower than the 40% rise of the previous year. But Suzuki said demand was so strong that Sony was struggling to keep up.

"We're seeing very good demand at the moment," he told Reuters in an interview. "We don't have slack."

Apple is Sony's top customer, followed by Samsung. Chinese handset makers such as Xiaomi also use Sony sensors for high-end models, analysts said.

"We want to be inside a variety of customers," Suzuki said. "When it comes to semiconductors, if you can't make use of production capacity you quickly end up with a loss. So if you want to avoid that volatility the important thing is to have good balance with several customers."

"Of course we will meet the requirements of our top customer, but we are expanding capacity with orders from Chinese smartphone makers in mind," Suzuki said.

The superior low-light sensitivity would give Sony an advantage as it expands into automobile-related products, Suzuki said.

Go to the original article...

Espros Presents its ToF Advances

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Espros Photonic sent me its June 2015 Newsletter which, I guess, will eventually appear on its web site. The company CEO, Beat De Coi, tells about their ToF sensor product, and promises to tell more in the next Newsletter edition:

"The ESPROS TOF technology is gaining huge momentum. The delivery start of the 3D-TOF QVGA imager was excellent. Customers immediately recognized the performance of our OHC15L technology. A QE of more than 80% at 850nm wavelength and pixels with 100% fill factor provide unmatched sensitivity with very low illumination power. A reference design of a camera engine with a horizontal FOV of 94° achieves a 10m range in the full field. Ok, this is on a white target. But the exposure time is a few milliseconds only."

Espros also opens a Youtube channel with a video demo of its epc660 ToF imager:

Go to the original article...

First 8K Video on Youtube

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

No Film School: It appears that Youtube has quietly prepared an 8K video infrastricture. The first such video has been published, made by stitching of two 6K videos streams shot on RED Epic Dragon 6K camera:

Go to the original article...

PDAF vs Contrast AF vs Laser AF

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Anandtech posts a nice chart benchmarking AF speed of different smartphones. The top three group on the chart features phase detect pixel AF, but farther down, the results are less conclusive:


Correction: Samsung Galaxy S5 has PDAF too - added to the picture. This makes the chart even less conclusive.

Go to the original article...

Olympus 7-14mm f2.8 review – high-end ultra-wide for MFT!

Camera Labs and DSLR Tips latest news and reviews        Go to the original article...

The Olympus M Zuiko Digital 7-14mm f2.8 Pro is an ultra wide angle zoom for the Micro Four Thirds format. Mounted on an Olympus or Panasonic mirrorless body, it offers an equivalent range of 14-28mm, and as a member of the Olympus Pro line-up, it's also weather-sealed. The Olympus 7-14mm f2.8 isn’t however the only ultra-wide zoom available for the Micro Four Thirds format. Most notably, there's the Lumix G 7-14mm f4, a lens which shares the same coverage albeit with an aperture one stop slower. Find out how they compare and which is the best ultra-wide for you in my Olympus 7-14mm f2.8 review!

Go to the original article...

SETi Reverse Merged with G-SMATT

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

I've just noticed that a year ago Korean SETi had been reverse merged with G-SMATT Global. The LED panel glass manufacturer G-SMATT is now trading under the former SETi ticker at KOSDAQ. G-SMATT is still selling the older SETi image sensors, but its main business is in glass manufacturing. This is pretty sad news for a company that once controlled a significant portion of Chinese image sensor market. Thanks to BS for the info confirmation!

In spite of SETi demise, Korea still has a relatively large number of smaller image sensor companies: Pixelplus, Clairpixel, ZeeAnn, Maru LSI, and Rayence.

Go to the original article...

ON Semi-Aptina Proposes Variable Size CFA, Digitally Corrected SAR ADC

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Aptina patent application US20150146054 "Image sensors with color filter elements of different sizes" by Brian Vaartstra, Mitchell J. Mooney, and Stanley Micinski describes the small pixel challenges "Typically, each color filter element in a conventional color filter array has the same size and shape (i.e., each of color filter elements R, G, and B are square and occupy the same area). As pixel size becomes smaller with each successive generation of imaging sensor devices, one problem that may arise is the diffraction limit of red light. Due to this diffraction limitation, the quantum efficiency may be significantly degraded for pixels that are smaller than 0.7 microns on one side (as an example). It may therefore be desirable to form color filter elements of varying sizes optimized for the wavelength(s) of interest."

So, Aptina proposes to increase red color filter at the expense of the blue one:


"Color filter element 102-X may be a yellow color filter element, a green color filter element, a cyan color filter element, a magenta color filter element, an infrared-pass filter element (e.g., a filter that passes infrared light), an IR-block filter element (e.g., a filter that blocks infrared light), a clear color filter element (e.g., a filter that passes all visible light), or any combination of color filter elements (e.g., in each unit cell, one X pixel containing a green color filter and the other containing an IR pass filter)."

Another Aptina patent application US20150146055 "Imaging pixels with improved analog-to-digital circuitry" by Parthasarathy Sampath proposes a digital correction to compensate the capacitor mismatches in column-parallel SAR ADC:

Go to the original article...

Jiangsu SmartSens Electronic Technology Co.

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

It came to my attention that a group of three engineers that "worked for many years in Silicon Valley leader in CMOS image sensor chip technology" has founded Jiangsu SmartSens Electronic Technology Co. in Changshu City, China, in August 2011. The company's about page explains its positioning:

"The company has first-class experts from the field of CMOS image sensor chip technology leader in the Silicon Valley office of the composition. The team members all have not only a doctorate, has a wealth of theoretical knowledge, but also a world-class company after years of working experience in the accumulation and mastered from the imaging system architecture, pixel design, analog circuit design skills to all aspects of digital control, also has first-hand experience in the production and design of the product. The team has applied for and has more than 20 U.S. patents and more than 40 scientific papers, led a dozen leading international product development and design."

The company's products include the following core technologies:

  • Low power consumption: In the current industry, due to the conversion efficiency of solar devices generally not high, huge system equipment, small-scale, small-sized applications still remain in the primary stage. Our solar power system is cleverly designed to get the chip implanted into tiny, effectively improve the conversion rate, low-power chip to achieve security monitoring and even self-supply purposes.
  • High dark light response: dark light, the image quality under low light conditions is another important indicator to measure the image sensing device security monitoring. We will use a double conversion rate of pixels to obtain information and to store different dynamic range. The technology was awarded the 2010 American industry's most famous product design award (EDN's 2010 Annual Innovation Awards).
  • Speed​​: low-noise read our proposed fast parallel system architecture is the world's leading read architecture, not only to meet the current requirements of speed and also saves power and reduces noise, while also selectively read through intelligent control, achieve the double effect.

It looks like somebody has already asked Chipworks to analyse SmartSens' first product - 1.3MP, 4um pixel SC1035 aimed to automotive, security, and surveillance markets:

SmartSens SC1035

Update: As the company English site seems to be off, here is a snapshot of About page, taken from Google cache on June 6, 2015:

Go to the original article...

LIPS Posts One More ToF Camera Demo

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

LIPS Taiwan posts another Youtube video showing its ToF camera with FOV 88, at 6m distance. The demo is supposed to show no jumping edge and flying pixels and reduced multi-path interference:

Go to the original article...

TowerJazz-Panasonic Foundry and Synopsys Offer iPDK for 65nm CIS Process

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

GlobeNewswire: TowerJazz-Panasonic foundry (TPSCo) announces that it has qualified a 65nm CMOS image sensor interoperable process design kit (iPDK) for Synopsys’ custom design flow. The qualified iPDK complements TPSCo’s advanced 65nm CIS process technologies and provides support for Synopsys’ custom solution that includes; the Galaxy Custom Designer schematic editor and simulation environment, Laker layout editor, HSPICE, CustomSim and FineSim circuit simulators, IC Validator physical verification, and StarRC parasitic extraction.

TPSCo’s CIS technology is aimed to mobile, high-end photography, security, surveillance, medical and industrial applications. TPSCo’s 65nm 1.12um pixel process is said to have the world leading figures of merit, and is already in mass production for mobile camera applications.

TowerJazz and Synopsys have been collaborating for many years to create and promote iPDKs to assist with the design and development of mutual customers’ innovative devices and we are pleased this partnership has been extended to TPSCo to meet the needs of our customers and address the increasing complexity of CMOS image sensor design,” said Tomoyuki Sasaki, CTO of TPSCo.

The CMOS image sensor market is an ideal fit for Synopsys’ custom design solutions,” said Bijan Kiani, VP of product marketing at Synopsys. “Through close collaboration with TowerJazz Panasonic Semiconductor Co. on iPDK development, we are able to expand our offering in the CIS market and ensure that our mutual customers have access to a qualified solution that provides increased custom design productivity.

Update: TowerJazz-Panasonic has a nice technology page explaining its 1.12um pixel advantages:


Other production-ready pixel offerings are in the table below:

Go to the original article...

Mantis Vision Raises $9.7M, Gets New CEO

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

MarketWired: Mantis Vision, a developer of structured light 3D vision technologies, raises $9.7M strategic investment round from Formation 8, existing investor Qualcomm Ventures, and additional investors. Mantis Vision intends to use the funds to establish a leading position in its emerging markets using its core MV4D technology platform.

"We believe that our superior 3D technology will become the platform of choice for accurately capturing depth and motion in a way that best portrays reality. This investment helps us drive our dream, innovations and technology to many new products both in the consumer and in the professional markets," said Mantis Vision new CEO Tzach Hadas. Tzach Hadas recently joined Mantis Vision and serves as the company's CEO since March 2015. Before joining Mantis Vision, Tzach held the position of COO at PrimeSense (acquired by Apple). Before joining PrimeSense, Tzach served as VP Operations for Zoran and as GM of Zoran Microelectronics.

"We are very excited to be partnering with the team at Mantis Vision. As we learned from our investment in Oculus, content is a critical driver for the emerging VR and AR ecosystems. We believe Mantis Vision will be enabling tremendous content creation to empower the next generation 3D world," says Lior Susan, Partner at Formation 8.

"Qualcomm's follow-on investment in Mantis Vision aims to accelerate the mobile penetration of MV4D," says Mony Hassid, senior director, Qualcomm Ventures. "The drive is to introduce new use cases and applications in advanced mobile platforms."

Go to the original article...

Apple is Expanding its Camera Team

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

One of Apple recruiters posted an emotional ad in LinkedIn CCD/CMOS Image Sensor Group titled "Calling all Camera & Imaging Experts! Apple is growing like crazy! Camera/Sensor Engineer Roles in Cupertino!"

A quote: "Apple has openings for upwards of 10 Sensor Calibration & Characterization Experts here in our Cupertino offices, we're looking for people who are true Thought Leaders who can take our sensor driven products like the Apple Watch & iPhone into the future. Perhaps that could be you!

The ideal candidate will have a passion for CMOS technologies, along with relevant work experience designing, developing and deploying sensor calibration solutions used for product and manufacturing processes. We're looking for someone who can drive sensor development efforts, define test & calibration requirements, debug devices from the systems level down to the sensor components, while also being able to run meetings with vendor partners. This will be a role with a HUGE amount of visibility across Apple, so you'll get an opportunity to shine and grow your career in ways you may not have thought possible before. If the idea of designing the Next Big Thing in sensors (CMOS/CCD/Motion/Gyro, etc,) then we should chat!
"

Go to the original article...

Omnivision Announces 1/9-inch 720p30 Sensor

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

PRNewswire: OmniVision announces OV9734, the company's smallest 720p sensor for consumer applications built on OmniVision's 1.4um PureCel pixel technology.

"According to industry reports, high demand for HD sensors is expected in the mobile devices markets over the next three years, with approximately 400 million units per year for camera phones and 164 million units per year for notebooks," said Arun Jayaseelan, product marketing manager of front facing cameras at OmniVision. "The OV9734 can be integrated into an extremely compact camera module, making it a highly competitive, no compromise camera solution for the growing markets of slim notebooks and mobile devices."

The OV9734 requires approximately 25% less power than previous generation OmniVision HD sensors, at just 70mW. To fit into ultra-thin bezel devices, the OV9734 comes in a package than can meet 2.5mm z-hight and with a y-dimension that is 47% smaller than the previous generation OmniVision 720p sensors. The OV9734 is currently available for sampling, and is expected to enter volume production in Q3 2015.

Go to the original article...

css.php