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• Will Semi  is the second largest company in China's semiconductor and chip stocks by market value, second only to SMIC.
• According to data from the China Semiconductor Industry Association, Will Semi is the second largest company in China's IC design companies in terms of revenue, second only to HiSilicon.
• According to Techsugar's statistics, Will Semi design revenue in 2020 is about 17.3 billion yuan, and it is the only company with a revenue of over 10 billion among the Shanghai and Shenzhen IC design companies. Goodix Technology’s IC design business is the second only 67 100 million yuan in revenue.
• Will Semi is the company with the largest number of employees (3291) among domestic listed chip design companies, with the highest per capita research and development expenses -up to 1.05 million yuan per capita. In 2020, the research and development expenses reached 1.727 billion yuan.
• The per capita salary of Will Semi reaches 456,631.64 yuan, and the employee benefits are among the best

In 1985, Yu Renrong successfully entered Tsinghua University's Department of Wireless Communication (now Electronic Engineering Department) 85 EE85 class, only then began to have the legendary character of the protagonist in the novel:

Class 85 EE85 of the Department of Wireless Communications of Tsinghua University (Beijing) is known as "Half of China's Chip Industry". Many people who will stir China's chip and sensor industries in the future come from here, such as:

• Zhao Weiguo - Tsinghua Unisplendour and Yangtze River Storage, Chairman (leading domestic chip company)
• Yu Renrong - Founder of Will Semi
• Feng Chenhui - Co-founder of Zhuosheng Microelectronics (Leading RF Chip Enterprise)
• Lu Huang - One of the early investors of Will Semiconductor and Zhaoyi Innovation. Founder of 4 companies including Quanzhou Kuntaixin Microelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., Quanzhou Yushuo Industrial Design Co., Ltd. and Quanzhou Aifang Technology Co., Ltd.
• Lidong Zhao - Founder of Suiyuan Technology (China's first self-developed artificial intelligence high-end training chip), former General Manager of RDA
• Zhao Lixin - Founder of Galaxycore Microelectronics (leading domestic camera sensor company)
• Ren Zhijun - Founder of Xinhenghui Smart Card Company
• Shu Qingming - One of the founders of Zhaoyi Innovation (a leading company in memory chips)
• Weidong Liu - Founder of Jiuhao Electronics (sensor signal conditioning chip)
• Yu Qunhui (female) - Deputy General Manager of Feitian Integrity
• Gao Feng - General Manager of Stony Brook Capital (Semiconductor Investment Fund), former Deputy General Manager of Tsinghua Unisplendour

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IEEE Buenaventura Section publishes a presentation "Evolution of Scientific Image Sensor ICs - Past, Present, and Future" by Atul Joshi , CEO and chief innovation officer of SAAZ Micro Inc.

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 Imec has updated its page on SWIR imagers, including a new Vimeo video:

The Pixel Technology Explore activity is looking at two methods for cost-effective uncooled IR detection:

1. thin film on silicon – Materials such as organic and colloidal quantum dots offer low-cost synthesis, compatibility with a variety of substrates and processing feasibility on a large area. This article gives you an in-depth view.
2. hybrid infrared imagers – Both III-V hetero-epitaxy on silicon and III-V material transfer on silicon are compatible with processing in a silicon wafer fab and reduce the manufacturing costs of IR sensors.

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BusinessWire: SiLC launches the new Eyeonic LiDAR providing accurate instantaneous depth, velocity, and dual-polarization intensity information while enabling immunity to multi-user and environmental interference. No performance data has been released.

“Eyeonic will be transformational to many industries across the globe by enabling the anticipated mass migration to coherent imaging,” explained Mehdi Asghari, founder and CEO, SiLC. “Our unique technology and innovative manufacturing process puts SiLC in the optimal position to provide the key building blocks needed for this next wave of significant innovation – at a competitive price.”

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Lucid Vision presents its SWIR camera based on Sony SenSWIR InGaAs stacked sensor:

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MIPI Alliance has recently released the Camera Service Extensions (MIPI CSESM) v1.0 specification, which enhances the MIPI Camera Serial Interface 2 (MIPI CSI-2) image sensor interface with end-to-end functional safety and other features for automotive applications:

• A cyclic redundancy check (CRC-32) to detect data transmission errors, ensuring the image data captured by the sensor is accurate when received at the ECU
• A frame counter to detect frame loss or duplication, with its accuracy verified by the CRC, ensuring the continuity of video streams from cameras to ECU
• A message counter that can be used as a timeout checker to detect any loss of data caused by a stopped or stuck transmission between an image sensor and ECU
• Service Extension Packet (SEP) functionality is implemented over the entire PHY link, which provides packetization and uniform delivery of image data.

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EETimes: Pixart launches Single-Axis Distance Sensor (SAS) product line based on the optical-geometric technology.  There are two sensors in the new product line: PAC7088J1 is a middle-range version and PAC7088J2 is s short range one.

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 ISSCC publishes its 2022 Agenda. There are 13 image sensor-related papers:

1. Charge-Domain Signal Compression in Ultra-High-Speed CMOS Image Sensors
   Keiichiro Kagawa,
   Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, Japan
2. A 0.37W 143dB-Dynamic-Range 1Mpixel Backside-Illuminated Charge-Focusing SPAD Image Sensor with Pixel-Wise Exposure Control and Adaptive Clocked Recharging
   Y. Ota, K. Morimoto, T. Sasago, M. Shinohara, Y. Kuroda, W. Endo, Y. Maehashi, S. Maekawa, H. Tsuchiya, A. Abdelghafar, S. Hikosaka, M. Motoyama, K. Tojima, K. Uehira, J. Iwata, F. Inui, Y. Matsuno, K. Sakurai, T. Ichikawa,
   Canon, Kanagawa, Japan
3. A 64×64-Pixel Flash LiDAR SPAD Imager with Distributed Pixel-to-Pixel Correlation for Background Rejection, Tunable Automatic Pixel Sensitivity and First-Last Event Detection Strategies for Space Applications
   E. Manuzzato, A. Tontini, A. Seljak, M. Perenzoni
   Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, Italy; Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
4. An 80×60 Flash LiDAR Sensor with In-Pixel Histogramming TDC Based on Quaternary Search and Time-Gated Δ-Intensity Phase Detection for 45m Detectable Range and Background Light Cancellation
   S. Park, B. Kim, J. Cho, J-H. Chun, J. Choi, S-J. Kim
   Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Korea; SolidVue, Suwon, Korea, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea
5. A 38μm Range Precision Time-of-Flight CMOS Range Line Imager with Gating Driver Jitter Reduction Using Charge-Injection Pseudo Photocurrent Reference
   K. Yasutomi, T. Furuhashi, K. Sagawa, T. Takasawa, K. Kagawa, S. Kawahito
   Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, Japan
6. A 1/1.57-inch 50Mpixel CMOS Image Sensor with 1.0μm All-Directional Dual Pixel by 0.5μm-Pitch Full-Depth Deep-Trench Isolation Technology
   T. Jung, M. Fujita, J. Cho, K. Lee, D. Seol, S. An, C. Lee, Y. Jeong, M. Jung, S. Park, S. Baek, S. Jung, S. Lee, J. Yun, E. S. Shim, H. Han, E. Park, H. Sul, S. Kang, K. Lee, J. Ahn, D. Chang
   Samsung Electronics, Hwasung, Korea
7. A 4.9Mpixel Programmable-Resolution Multi-Purpose CMOS Image Sensor for Computer Vision
   H. Murakami, E. Bohannon, J. Childs, G. Gui, E. Moule, K. Hanzawa, T. Koda, C. Takano, T. Shimizu, Y. Takizawa, A. Basavalingappa, R. Childs, C. Cziesler, R. Jarnot, K. Nishimura, S. Rogerson, Y. Nitta,
   Sony
8. A Fully Digital Time-Mode CMOS Image Sensor with 22.9pJ/frame∙pixel and 92dB Dynamic Range
   S. Kim, T. Kim, K. Seo, G. Han,
   Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
9. A 64Mpixel CMOS Image Sensor with 0.56μm Unit Pixels Separated by Front Deep-Trench Isolation
   S. Park, C. Lee, S. Park, H. Park, T. Lee, D. Park, M. Heo, I. Park, H. Yeo, Y. Lee, J. Lee, B. Lee, D-C. Lee, J. Kim, B. Kim, J. Pyo, S. Quan, S. You, I. Ro, S. Choi, S-I. Kim, I-S. Joe, J. Park, C-H. Koo, J-H. Kim, C. K. Chang, T. Kim, J. Kim, J. Lee, H. Kim, C-R. Moon, H-S. Kim,
   Samsung Electronics, Hwaseong, Korea
10. A 200 x 256 Image Sensor Heterogeneously Integrating a 2D Nanomaterial-Based Photo-FET Array and CMOS Time-to-Digital Converters
    H. Hinton, H. Jang, W. Wu, M-H. Lee, M. Seol, H-J. Shin, S. Park, D. Ham
    Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Suwon, Korea
11. A 0.8V Intelligent Vision Sensor with Tiny Convolutional Neural Network and Programmable Weights Using Mixed-Mode Processing-in-Sensor Technique for Image Classification
    T-H. Hsu, G-C. Chen, Y-R. Chen, C-C. Lo, R-S. Liu, M-F. Chang, K-T. Tang, C-C. Hsieh
    National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
12. Augmented Reality – The Next Frontier of Image Sensors and Compute Systems
    C. Liu, S. Chen, T-H. Tsai, B. De Salvo, J. Gomez
    Meta Reality Labs, Redmond, WA
13. Concepts, Architectures and Circuits for Sub-THz Sensing and Imaging
    A. Stelzer,
    Linz University, Linz, Austria

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During the recent Qualcomm's mobile processor announcements, there was a part on establishing a joint lab with Sony in San Diego working on image sensor and processor co-optimization:

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The new T2000 IP Engine 4 features enhanced computing power to handle huge volumes of imaging data while also reducing test times and the cost of test. Used along with Advantest’s 4.8GICAP image capture module, the new tester can perform high-volume, at-speed testing of the most advanced mobile CIS including 3.5-Gsps C-PHY and 4.8-Gbps D-PHY devices. Image-processing accelerators enable fast testing of high-resolution CIS with more than 200MP.

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iNews, Lieyunwang, iFeng: Guangzhou Tyrafos (Chinese name Guangzhou Yinxin Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd.) announces the A+ round of financing led by Yunqi Capital. By the end of this round of financing, Yinxin Semiconductor is expected to receive hundreds of millions of yuan in the near future.

Tyrafos also announces announced the release of "the world's first non-single photon dToF" (possibly, they mean dToF that is not based on SPADs) and ELISA molecular biological detection solution basedon image sensors.

"The world's first non-single-photon dToF released by Yinxin Semiconductor is the world's first technical solution to achieve direct ToF using CMOS process. Not only the accuracy and resolution are several times higher than the existing SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode) solution. In addition, the overall power consumption of the laser light source at the transmitting end and the sensor at the receiving end has been reduced by 90%, catching up with the core technology of foreign manufacturers such as Apple and STMicroelectronics in this field, and the underlying architecture and circuit IP are independently developed by Yinxin Semiconductor, it solves the technical problem of the neck stuck in the field of 3D perception, and is a milestone breakthrough in the field of 3D perception."

"In the field of fingerprints under the optical screen, Yinxin Semiconductor adopts the innovative design of pixel architecture level to break through the area and cost limits. The chip area is 30%~50% smaller than that of competing products, and the module volume is more than half smaller than that of competing products. It has an ultra-high cost performance. Competitive advantage, in 2019, through cooperation with customers, it became the first optical under-screen fingerprint recognition solution certified by South Korea's Samsung mobile phone. At present, Yinxin Semiconductor has reached an agreement with 4-5 global leading fingerprint solution providers to purchase under-screen fingerprint chips. Intentional orders are expected to contribute hundreds of millions of yuan in revenue."

"The world's first digital ELISA molecular biological detection solution released by Yinxin Semiconductor is the world's first digital solution that directly performs molecular biological detection on the surface of an image sensor. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay, abbreviated ELISA or ELASA) refers to a qualitative and quantitative detection method that combines soluble antigens or antibodies on solid-phase carriers such as polystyrene, and uses antigen-antibody specific binding for immunoreaction. . Taking advantage of the company's advantages in high-speed and high-sensitivity image sensors, Yinxin Semiconductor has created a complete set of micro-molecular biological detection equipment based on ELISA standards, achieving a zero breakthrough in this field, and surpassing the United States in detection accuracy and speed. NASDAQ listed company Quanterix (the core technology comes from the Harvard University technical team, the technology founder David Walt is an academician of the American Academy of Engineering and the Medical School, and is also the scientific founder of Illumina) SiMoA (Single-molecule Array) system, and Yinxin Semiconductor In terms of equipment cost and consumables cost, the digital ELISA technology of the company has a significant improvement over Quanterix's SiMoA system technology. The sensitivity of the digital ELISA technology is more than 1000 times higher than that of the traditional ELISA. Its appearance brings protein detection technology directly into the era of single-molecule and digital detection, becoming the true king in the field of fg-level ultra-low abundance protein detection. The optimization of detection accuracy, speed and cost is more conducive to application promotion. In the future, it will have great application potential in the fields of coronavirus detection, influenza virus detection, and early cancer screening."

Tyrafos has been established in May 2019 and its core team coming from TI, Omnivision, Samsung, Himax, TSMC, Mediatek, ASE, Foxconn, and Chi Mei. The company has >90 full-time R&D and operations employees. The core members of the team have 15-20 years experience in the semiconductor industry. The company names Sony and Samsung as its strategic partners, and TSMC, Samsung, and Tower as its foundries.

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 Lucid Vision Labs publish an explanatory video about Sony IMX490 5.4MP automotive sensor:

Lucid Vision Labs also publishes a measured EMVA1288 performance of the sensor:

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