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BusinessWire: Leica Camera AG and pmdtechnologies announce a strategic alliance to jointly develop and market 3D ToF sensing camera solutions for mobile devices. The geographical proximity of the two companies allows a particularly fast and efficient coordination during development, testing and optimization of the lenses for the 3D sensor systems.

During the last months Leica designed a dedicated state-of-the-art optical lens for pmd’s recently announced new 3D depth sensing imager for mobile devices. By decreasing the f-number by 25% and simultanously decreasing the height of the pmd module by 30% to 11.5x7x4.2mm the dedicated lens for pmd’s latest 3D ToF pixel- and imager generation leads to a significant improvement compared to past lenses. As the Leica lens is optimized for a wavelength of 940nm, it enables ambient light robustness. With a depth data accuracy of 1%, the system is expected to reach the best in class performance despite the miniaturization regarding pixel, imager and module size. First samples of the new lens will be available in May 2018.

“The co-work between Leica and pmd has as the result the most sophisticated and smallest optic design, which pmd used so far. The co-work with Leica aligned perfectly with our mission to miniaturize 3D depth sensing without sacrificing data quality so that 3D depth sensing can be put into any device and make 3D depth sensing ubiquitous. We are looking forward to the mobile device opportunities, which the super-small 3D depth sensing modules, which use Leica’s optic, will enable. And we are more than happy that with Leica we found a top-class partner, who will join us on this exciting journey,” stated Jochen Penne, Executive Board Member of pmdtechnologies ag.

Markus Limberger, COO of Leica Camera AG said: “The cooperation between pmd and Leica is an excellent example of how two globally leading companies combine their core competencies to drive market oriented innovation efficiently. The foremost position of pmdtechnologies in Time-of-flight sensor technology and Leica’s expertise in cutting edge optical design were used to develop a very compact and powerful lens, which fits perfect to the specific requirements and the uncompromising quality of the new 3D sensor generation of pmd.”

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OSA Optics Express publishes Heriot-Watt University's paper "High-resolution depth profiling using a range-gated CMOS SPAD quanta image sensor" by Ximing Ren, Peter W. R. Connolly, Abderrahim Halimi, Yoann Altmann, Stephen McLaughlin, Istvan Gyongy, Robert K. Henderson, and Gerald S. Buller.

"A CMOS single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) quanta image sensor is used to reconstruct depth and intensity profiles when operating in a range-gated mode used in conjunction with pulsed laser illumination. By designing the CMOS SPAD array to acquire photons within a pre-determined temporal gate, the need for timing circuitry was avoided and it was therefore possible to have an enhanced fill factor (61% in this case) and a frame rate (100,000 frames per second) that is more difficult to achieve in a SPAD array which uses time-correlated single-photon counting. When coupled with appropriate image reconstruction algorithms, millimeter resolution depth profiles were achieved by iterating through a sequence of temporal delay steps in synchronization with laser illumination pulses. For photon data with high signal-to-noise ratios, depth images with millimeter scale depth uncertainty can be estimated using a standard cross-correlation approach. To enhance the estimation of depth and intensity images in the sparse photon regime, we used a bespoke clustering-based image restoration strategy, taking into account the binomial statistics of the photon data and non-local spatial correlations within the scene. For sparse photon data with total exposure times of 75 ms or less, the bespoke algorithm can reconstruct depth images with millimeter scale depth uncertainty at a stand-off distance of approximately 2 meters. We demonstrate a new approach to single-photon depth and intensity profiling using different target scenes, taking full advantage of the high fill-factor, high frame rate and large array format of this range-gated CMOS SPAD array."

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PRNewswire: SmartSens launches the 5MP 1/2.7-inch SC5235 BSI sensor. The new sensor is capable of running 5MP (2608H x 1960V) at 25 fps and supports the interline HDR image synthetic algorithm that expands DR up to 100dB. It can be used in security surveillance systems, ip cameras, car digital video recorders, sport cameras and video telephone conference systems.

SmartSens Technology is also launching the NIR enhanced edition-SC5238. It extends the performance advantage of SC5235 based on the optimization of technology to improve QE in 850nm-940nm band. Moreover, SC5238 can run at a speed of 30 fps and supports the image format at 4MP 50 fps for 16:9 video. Both chips are expected to go into mass production in March 2018.

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BusinessWire: Samsung introduces the 3-stack ISOCELL Fast 2L3. The 1.4-μm 12MP image sensor with 2Gb of integrated LPDDR4 DRAM delivers fast data readout speeds for super-slow motion and sharper still photographs with less noise and distortion.

“Samsung’s ISOCELL image sensors have made great leaps over the generations, with technologies such as ISOCELL for high color fidelity and Dual Pixel for ultra-fast autofocusing, bringing the smartphone camera ever closer to DSLR-grade photography,” said Ben K. Hur, VP of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics. “With an added DRAM layer, Samsung’s new 3-stack ISOCELL Fast 2L3 will enable users to create more unique and mesmerizing content.”

Conventional image sensors are constructed with two silicon layers; a pixel array layer that converts light information into an electric signal, and an analog logic layer that processes the electric signal into digital code. The digital code is then sent via MIPI interface to the device’s mobile processor for further image tuning before being saved to the device’s DRAM. While all these steps are done instantaneously to implement features like zero-shutter lag, capturing smooth super-slow-motion video requires image readouts at a much higher rate.

The 2Gb LPDDR4 DRAM layer is attached below the analog logic layer. With the integration, the image sensor can temporarily store a larger number of frames taken in high speed quickly onto the sensor’s DRAM layer before sending frames out to the mobile processor and then to the device’s DRAM. This not only allows the sensor to capture a full-frame snapshot at 1/120 of a second but also to record super-slow motion video at up to 960fps.

By storing multiple frames in the split of a second, the sensor can support 3-Dimensional Noise Reduction (3DNR) when shooting in low-light, as well as real time HDR imaging, and detect even the slightest hint of movement for automatic instant slow-motion recording.

The image sensor is also equipped with Dual Pixel technology, which allows each and every one of the 12M pixels of the image sensor to employ two photodiodes that respectively work as a PDAF agent.

The ISOCELL Fast 2L3 is currently in mass production.

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Samsung Galaxy S9 presentation seems to be build mostly around its cameras, imaging and vision features:

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Samsung Galaxy S9 presentation seems to be build mostly around its cameras, imaging and vision features:

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TradeArabia quotes FT report that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is in discussions to invest $400M in Magic Leap on valuation of $6B. This is supposed to be an extension of October 2017 financial round when the company raised $502M. The Saudi investment is to bring the total raised capital to $2.3B.

Magic Leap is said to be developing its own silicon, optics, operating system, and applications which explains the unprecedented scale of the fundraising.

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MDPI Special Issue on the 2017 International Image Sensor Workshop publishes Omnivision paper "Second Generation Small Pixel Technology Using Hybrid Bond Stacking" by Vincent C. Venezia, Alan Chih-Wei Hsiung, Wu-Zang Yang, Yuying Zhang, Cheng Zhao, Zhiqiang Lin, and Lindsay A. Grant.

"In this work, OmniVision’s second generation (Gen2) of small-pixel BSI stacking technologies is reviewed. The key features of this technology are hybrid-bond stacking, deeper back-side, deep-trench isolation, new back-side composite metal-oxide grid, and improved gate oxide quality. This Gen2 technology achieves state-of-the-art low-light image-sensor performance for 1.1, 1.0, and 0.9 µm pixel products. Additional improvements on this technology include less than 100 ppm white-pixel process and a high near-infrared (NIR) QE technology."

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Yole Developpement releases "Sensors for Robotic Vehicles 2018" report:

"As far as we know, each robotic vehicle will be equipped with a suite of sensors encompassing Lidars, radars, cameras, Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The technology is ready and the business models associated with autonomous driving (AD) seem to match the average selling prices for those sensors. We therefore expect exponential growth of AD technology within the next 15 years, leading to a total paradigm shift in the transportation ecosystem by 2032. This will have huge consequences for high-end sensor and computing semiconductor players and the associated system-level ecosystems as well.

...in 2022 we expect sensor revenues to reach $1.6B for Lidar, $44M for radar, $0.6B for cameras, $0.9B for IMUs and $0.1B for GNSS. The split between the different sensor modalities may not stay the same for the 15 years to come. Nevertheless the total envelope for sensing hardware should reach $77B in 2032, while, for comparative purposes, computing should be in the range of $52B."

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SeekingAlpha: TowerJazz Q4 2017 earnings report has an update on the foundry's image sensor business:

"For CMOS image sensor we use the 300 millimeter 65 nanometer capability to develop unique high dynamic range and extremely high sensitivity pixels with very low dark current for the high-end digital SLR and cinematography and broadcasting markets.

In these developments, we've included are fab 2 stitching technology to enable large full frame sensors. In addition, we developed a unique family of global shutter state-of-the-art pixels ranging from 3.6 micron down to 2.5 micron to note the smallest in the world with extremely high-shutter efficiency using the unique dual light pipe technology already developed at TPS Go for high quantum efficiency and high image uniformity.

And lastly within the CIS regime, we've pushed the limits of our x-ray dye size developing a one dye per wafer x-ray stitch sensor to produce a 300 millimeter a 21 cm x 21 cm imager. All of the above technologies have been or are being implemented in our CIS customers next generation products and are ramping or are plan to begin ramping this year with some additional next year.

Our Image sensor end markets including medical, machine vision, digital SLR camera, cinematography and security among others represented about 15% of our corporate revenues or $210 million and provided the highest margins in the company. We are offering the most advanced global shutter pixel for industrial sensor market with a 2.8 micron global shutter pixel on 110 nanometer platform. The smallest global shutter pixel in the world already in manufacturing. Additionally, as mentioned we have a 2.5 micron state of the art global shutter pixel in development at 65 nanometer, 300 platforms with several leading customers allowing high sensor resolution for any given sensor size enabling TowerJazz to further grow its market leadership.

We also offer single photon avalanche diode which is state of the art technology and ultra fact global shutter pixel for automotive radars based on time of flight principle, answering automotive market needs. We have engaged with several customers in the development of their automotive radar and expect to be a major player in this market in the coming future.

During 2017, we announced a partnership with Yuanchen Microelectronics for backside illumination manufacturing in Changchun China that provide us the BSI process segment for CIS 8 inch wafer manufactured by TowerJazz to increase our service to our worldwide customer base in mass production. So I will be ready for this mass production early second half of this year with multiple customers already having started their product designs.

In addition, we developed backside illumination and stack way for technology on 12 inch wafers in the Uozu factory serving as a next generation platform for high end photography and high end security market. We now offer both BSI and column level stack wafer PDKs to our customers.

We are investing today in three main directions. Next generation global shutter technology for industrial sensor market. Backside illumination stack wafers for the high end photography market and special pixel technology for the automotive market."

An earlier presentation shows the company's CIS business in a graphical format:

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ULIS publishes a Youtube demo of its thermal sensors usefulness in ADAS applications. One can see how hot the car tires become on the highway, while keep being cool in city driving:



Sensata prizes Quanergy LiDAR performance:

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DENSO has developed a new vision sensor that detects pedestrians, cyclists, road signs, driving lanes and other road users at night. Working in conjunction with a millimeter-wave radar sensor, the new vision sensor allows automobiles to automatically activate emergency braking when obstacles are identified, helping reduce accidents and improve overall vehicle safety. It is featured in the 2018 Toyota Alphard and Vellfire, which were released in January this year.

It improves night vision by using a unique lens specifically designed for low-light use, and a solid-state imaging device with higher sensitivity. An improved white-line detection algorithm and road-edge detection algorithm also broaden the operating range of lane-keeping assistance and lane departure alert functions, while a 40% size reduction from previous models reduces costs and makes installation easier.

Recognition of human eyes

Recognition of vision sensor

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GlobeNewswire: Chronocam, said to be the inventor of the world’s most advanced neuromorphic vision system, is now Prophesee, a branding and identity transformation that reflects the company's expanded vision for revolutionizing how machines see.

Prophesee SA (formerly Chronocam) receives the initial tranche of its Series B financing round, which will total $19M. Led by a new unnamed strategic investor from the electronics industry, the round also includes staged investments from Prophesee’s existing investors: 360 Capital Partners, Supernova Invest, iBionext, Intel Capital, Renault Group, and Robert Bosch Venture Capital. The latest round builds on the $20m Prophesee has raised over the past three years, and will allow it to accelerate the development and industrialization of the company’s image sensor technology.

The roots of Prophesee’s technology run deep into areas of significant achievements in vision, including the breakthrough research carried out by the Vision Institute (CNRS, UPMC, INSERM) on the human brain and eye during the past 20 years, as well as by CERN, where it was instrumental in the discovery of the invisible Higgs Boson, or “The God Particle” in 2012 after more than 30 years of research. Early incarnations of the Prophesee technology helped in the development of the first industry-grade silicon retina which is currently deployed to restore sight to the blind.

Thanks to its fast vision processing equivalent to up to 100,000 fps, Prophesee’s bio-inspired technology enables machines to capture scene changes not previously possible in machine vision systems for robotics, industrial automation and automotive.

Its HDR of more than 120dB lets systems operate and adapt effectively in a wide range of lighting conditions. It sets a new standard for power efficiency with operating characteristics of less than 10mW, opening new types of applications and use models for mobile, wearable and remote vision-enabled products.

“Our event-based approach to vision sensing and processing has resonated well with our customers in the automotive, industrial and IoT sectors, and the technology continues to achieve impressive results in benchmarking and prototyping exercises. This latest round of financing will help us move rapidly from technology development to market deployment,” said Luca Verre, co-founder and CEO of Prophesee. “Having the backing of our original investors, plus a world leader in electronics and consumer devices, further strengthens our strategy and will help Prophesee win the many market opportunities we are seeing.”

Prophesee AI-based neuromorphic vision sensor

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Nikkei publishes an interview with Nobukazu Teranishi, inventor of the pinned PD who recently was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.

"Now... except for Sony, which leads the world in the image sensor sector, Japanese companies have fallen behind, particularly in the semiconductor industry.

Teranishi said that changes are necessary for Japan to continue to compete globally.

He also suggested that engineers and technical experts should be held in higher esteem in Japan.

"Excellent engineers are a significant asset. Companies overseas shouldn't be able to lure them out of Japan just with better salaries. If they are that valuable, their value should to be recognized in Japan as well," he said.

Determining salaries by how long people have been at the company seems like "quite a rigid structure," he said.

He added that engineers get little recognition for the work they do, with individual names rarely mentioned within the company or in the media.

Looking ahead to the future of image sensors, Teranishi feels one peak has been reached, with around 400 million phones produced annually that incorporate his technology. Next, he says, is the era of "images that you don't see."

For facial recognition and gesture input for games, he said, "No one sees the image but the computer is processing information. So there are many cases where a human doesn't see the image."

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Taiwan Jetek Technology publishes a presentation on CIS wafer-level testing.

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IEEE Spectrum: TED publishes UCD and W&WSens Devices invited paper on light-bending microstructures to enhance PD QE and IR sensitivity "A New Paradigm in High-Speed and High-Efficiency Silicon Photodiodes for Communication—Part I: Enhancing Photon–Material Interactions via Low-Dimensional Structures" by Hilal Cansizoglu, Ekaterina Ponizovskaya Devine, Yang Gao, Soroush Ghandiparsi, Toshishige Yamada, Aly F. Elrefaie, Shih-Yuan Wang, and M. Saif Islam.

"[Saif] Islam and his colleagues came up with a silicon structure that makes photodiodes both fast and efficient by being both thin and good at capturing light. The structure is an array of tapered holes in the silicon that have the effect of steering the light into the plane of the silicon. “So basically, we’re bending light 90 degrees,” he says."


The paper compares the proposed approach with other surface structures for IR sensitivity enhancement:

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Optics.org: Corephotonics has partnered with Sunny Optical to bring to market a variety of solutions based on the company’s dual camera technologies. Under this agreement, Sunny has already shipped millions of dual cameras powered by Corephotonics IP to various smartphone OEMs, including Xiaomi, OPPO and others.

The new partnership combines Sunny’s automatic manufacturing capacity, quality control and optical development capabilities with Corephotonics’ innovation in optics, camera mechanics and computational imaging. This strategic license agreement covers various dual camera products, including typical wide + tele cameras, as well as various folded dual camera offerings, allowing an increased zoom factor, optical stabilization and a reduced module height.

The partnership allows Sunny to act as a one-stop-shop dual camera vendor, providing customized dual camera designs in combination with well-optimized software features. The collaboration leverages Sunny's manufacturing lead and strong presence in the Chinese dual-camera market.

“Sunny Optical has the powerful optical development capability and automatic lean manufacturing capacity. We have experimented with virtually all dual camera innovations introduced in recent years, and have found Corephotonics dual camera technologies to have the greatest contribution in camera performance and user experience. Just as important is the compliance of their dual camera architecture with high volume production and harsh environmental requirements,” said Cerberus Wu, Senior Marketing Director of Sunny Optical.

“We are deeply impressed by Sunny's dual camera manufacturing technologies, clearly setting a new benchmark in the thin camera industry," added Eran Briman, VP of Marketing & Business Development at Corephotonics. “The dual camera modules produced under this collaboration present smartphone manufacturers with the means to distinguish their handsets from those of their rivals through greatly improved imaging capabilities, as well as maximum flexibility and customizability."

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EETimes Junko Yoshida publishes a review of ISSCC 2018 image sensor session, covering Sony motion detecting event-driven sensor:


Microsoft 1MP ToF sensor:


Toshiba 200m-range LiDAR:


and much more...

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Image Sensor Society web site published most of the papers from 3rd International Workshop on Image Sensor and Systems (IWISS2016) held at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in November 2016. There are 18 invited papers and 20 posters presented at the Workshop, mostly from Japan and Korea.

Thanks to NT for the pointer!

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MDPI Special Issue on the 2017 International Image Sensor Workshop publishes NIT paper "QLog Solar-Cell Mode Photodiode Logarithmic CMOS Pixel Using Charge Compression and Readout" by Yang Ni.

"In this paper, we present a new logarithmic pixel design currently under development at New Imaging Technologies SA (NIT). This new logarithmic pixel design uses charge domain logarithmic signal compression and charge-transfer-based signal readout. This structure gives a linear response in low light conditions and logarithmic response in high light conditions. The charge transfer readout efficiently suppresses the reset (KTC) noise by using true correlated double sampling (CDS) in low light conditions. In high light conditions, thanks to charge domain logarithmic compression, it has been demonstrated that 3000 electrons should be enough to cover a 120 dB dynamic range with a mobile phone camera-like signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) over the whole dynamic range. This low electron count permits the use of ultra-small floating diffusion capacitance (sub-fF) without charge overflow. The resulting large conversion gain permits a single photon detection capability with a wide dynamic range without a complex sensor/system design. A first prototype sensor with 320 × 240 pixels has been implemented to validate this charge domain logarithmic pixel concept and modeling. The first experimental results validate the logarithmic charge compression theory and the low readout noise due to the charge-transfer-based readout."


"The readout noise was measured at 2.2 LSB, which is 268 µV. Taking into account the source follower gain, the temporal noise on the floating diffusion was estimated at 335 µV. With a floating diffusion node capacitance estimated from design at 4 fF, the noise electron number is 12.3 electrons. The temporal noise in the logarithmic regime was measured at 6 LSB, which represents 34 electrons inside the buried photodiode. From this Johnson noise, the photodiode capacitance can be estimated at 6.2 fF which is quite close to the estimation from the layout."

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Teledyne DALSA starts publishing a series of articles on facial recognition science. The first part discusses fairly generic issues, such as the resolution that humans use for facial recognition task. It's all dynamic:

"The ganglion cells in the human retina can produce the equivalent of a 600 megapixel image, but the nerve that connects to the retina can only transmit about one megapixel."

"Analysts predict that the global facial recognition market is expected to grow from USD 4.05 Billion in 2017 to USD 7.76 Billion by 2022. Companies are very interested in the possibilities of facial recognition technologies and global security concerns are driving interest in better biometric systems."

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Albert Theuwissen continues his review of ISSCC 2018 presentations. The second part includes Sony 3.9MP, 1.5um pixel pitch event-driven sensor:

"The overall resolution of 3.9 Mpixels is reduced to on 16×5 macro pixels. In this “macro” pixel mode, the power consumption is drastically reduced as well, and the sensor behaves in a sort of sleeping mode. Once the sensor detects any motion in the image (by means of frame differencing), the device wakes up and switches to the full resolution mode."

TSMC presents their 13.5MP 1.1um pixel sensor and NHK unveils 8K 36MP 480fps sensor for slow-mo sports shooting at the oncoming Tokyo Olympics.

The third part of the review starts with Toshiba hybrid LiDAR that is enhanced by a Smart Accumulation Mode that, basically, tracks the subjects in depth domain. As long as it works, the detection range can reach 200m, but it relies on a lot of intelligence inside what is supposed to be just a dumb sensor delivering the "food for thought" to the main CPU or NPU.

Microsoft presented an evolution of its ToF sensor used in Kinect-2 - higher resolution, smaller pixels, BSI, higher QE, better shutter efficiency, etc. AGC has been added to the pixel, and background light suppression has been removed, if we compare this pixel with the previous Microsoft design.

TU Delft and FBK presented SPAD designs. The FBK one is aimed to entangled photon microscopy to increase the resolution by a factor of N, where N is the number of mutually entangled photons.

Albert Theuwissen concludes his review on an optimistic note:

"Take away message : everything goes faster, lower supply voltages, lower power consumption, stacking is becoming the key technology, and apparently, the end of the developments in our field is not yet near ! The future looks bright for the imaging engineers !!!"

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Panasonic has developed an 8K (36MP), 60fps, 450ke- saturation sensor with global shutter and with sensitivity modulation function. The new CMOS sensor has an organic photoconductive film (OPF).

"By utilizing this OPF CMOS image sensor's unique structure, we have been able to newly develop and incorporate high-speed noise cancellation technology and high saturation technology in the circuit part. And, by using this OPF CMOS image sensor's unique sensitivity control function to vary the voltage applied to the OPF, we realize global shutter function. The technology that simultaneously achieves these performances is the industry's first."

The new technology has the following advantages:

• 8K resolution, 60fps framerate, 450Ke- saturation and GS function are realized simultaneously.
• Switching between high sensitivity mode and high saturation mode is possible using gain switching function.
• The ND filter function can be realized steplessly by controlling the voltage applied to the OPF.

This Development is based on the following technologies:

1. "OPF CMOS image sensor design technology", in that, the photoelectric-conversion part and the circuit part can be designed independently.
2. "In-pixel capacitive coupled noise cancellation technique" which can suppress pixel reset noise at high speed even at high resolution
3. "In-pixel gain switching technology" that can achieve high saturation characteristics
4. "Voltage controlled sensitivity modulation technology" that can adjust the sensitivity by changing the voltage applied to the OPF.

Panasonic holds 135 Japanese patents and 83 overseas patents (including pending) related to this technology.

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