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Melexis publishes an article on its history in automotive ToF imaging, starting from cooperation with Free University of Brussels (VUB), continuing with VUB spin-off Softkinetic that was acquired by Sony and renamed to Sony Depthsensing Solutions.

So far, Melexis has shipped 1M automotive ToF sensors:

"At Melexis, we are proud of having designed the first automotive qualified ToF sensor IC with our first generation MLX75023. This proves our capability to not only design but also produce the new technology in line with stringent automotive quality standards. It is therefore with great pleasure that we are the first to have reached in 2019 the impressive milestone of having more than 1 million ToF image sensor ICs on the road."


Melexis also announces a QVGA ToF sensor MLX75027 and publishes "ToF Basics" tutorial.

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Yole Developpement report "Artificial intelligence and mass surveillance are pushing the camera and computing market to $38B in revenue by 2025" says: 

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Melexis publishes its Autosens September 2020 presentation on driver and in-cabin monitoring with its new ToF QVGA sensor MLX75026:

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Photron explains its CRYSTA high-speed 2D polarization camera features and applications:

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BusinessWire: ams and vivo have collaborated at a strategic technology level for over five years. The collaboration has resulted in several advancements – including Behind OLED (BOLED) display optical and proximity sensing, multi-camera imaging, camera white balance and laser detection auto focus (LDAF) – with joint achievements from the cooperation implemented in many vivo smart phones.

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Gpixel announces a new BSI 16.8MP (4096 x 4096) CMOS sensor, GSENSE4040BSI, with 9 μm × 9 μm pixels and an optical area of 36.8mm x 36.8mm. An intra-scene dynamic range of 85 dB is achieved by dual-gain 12bit HDR read out mode, together with a 39 ke– full well capacity and 2.3 e– readout noise. 18 pairs of LVDS channels are used to output data at a maximum frame rate of 24 fps.

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TechInsights publishes a teardown of Intel RealSense L515 LiDAR:

"The Intel RealSense L515 is rated for indoor use and can provide depth measurements between 0.25 m and 9 m with a field of view of 70° x 55°. Its LiDAR unit consists of an IR (860 nm) laser reflecting off a scanning MEMS mirror, coupled with an IR photodiode. It is also fitted with an RGB camera which provides a 1080p resolution at 30 fps.

The RealSense L515 is housed in a compact and lightweight “hockey puck” enclosure (61 mm x 26 mm / 100 grams), which makes it ideal for robotics applications, as it can be more easily incorporated into a product."

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 BusinessWire: Samsung introduces four new Samsung ISOCELL image sensors for its 0.7μm-pixel lineup; 108MP HM2, 64MP GW3, 48MP GM5, and 32MP JD1. 

“Samsung continues to pioneer innovations, such as ISOCELL Plus and Smart ISO, to deliver more pixels in a smaller package,” said Yongin Park, EVP of the sensor business at Samsung. “Last year, Samsung introduced the industry’s first 0.7μm-pixel image sensor and the first 108Mp sensors. Now we are bringing more of the advanced pixel technologies to mobile cameras in a variety of options that will enable high-resolution images and sleeker designs in a wider selection of tomorrow’s mobile devices.”

For ultra-high-resolution image sensors, even a mere 0.1μm-difference per pixel can have a significant impact on the overall size of the sensor as well as the height of the camera module. With pixels at 0.7μm, Samsung’s image sensors are up to 15% smaller than the 0.8μm sensors of the same resolution and reduce the height of the camera module by up to 10%.

To collect an ample amount of light and increase the full well capacity, Samsung has incorporated its advanced ISOCELL Plus and Smart-ISO technologies, especially optimized for 0.7μm. ISOCELL Plus retains the received light with a wall-like structure around the pixel while Smart-ISO makes full use of the incoming light by intelligently adjusting the ISO accordingly for optimal exposure.

In the latest 0.7μm products to be introduced later this year, Samsung will start rolling out an enhanced pixel technology, ISOCELL 2.0, which allows excellent performance despite the challenges with decreasing pixel sizes. The new technology further enhanced the wall structure between cells, resulting in added light sensitivity of up to 12 percent compared to the current ISOCELL Plus technology.

The New 0.7μm Lineup;

• ISOCELL HM2 is Samsung’s third 108MP image sensor following the HMX and HM1. The new 108Mp-sensor is around 15% smaller than the 0.8μm-based predecessors, and reduces the height of the camera module by 10%. The HM2 features Super PD, a faster and more effective PDAF, and like the HM1, comes with a nine-pixel binning technology as well as 3x lossless zoom.
• ISOCELL GW3 is a 64MP sensor for mainstream devices. The GW3’s optical size is nearly identical to that of Samsung’s 0.8μm 48MP sensor. In addition to Tetracell and Smart-ISO technologies that help the sensor take bright images with high color fidelity, the GW3 features gyro-based EIS for still photos and videos. The image sensor supports video recording at up to 4K resolution at 60 fps.
• ISOCELL GM5 is a 48MP-image sensor for use in telescoping or ultra-wide angle cameras. When used as a 5x optical telescoping sensor for folded-zoom, the GM5 takes advantage of the 0.7μm pixel size to minimize the camera bulge. For ultra-wide shots, the GM5 supports high-speed full-HD recording at 480fps. The sensor also offers a staggered-HDR feature, a faster and more power-efficient HDR technology that expedites image processing by sending a readout of long, medium, and short exposures of each row of pixels respectively to the mobile processor. As the readout is performed based on Tetracell’s 1.4μm two-by-two pixels, rather than at the individual 0.7μm-pixel level, staggered-HDR can provide brighter and clearer images with less noise.
• ISOCELL JD1 is the industry’s smallest 32MP-image sensor at 1/3.14-inches for smartphones with bezel-less displays that incorporate a hole-in-active-area or motorized pop-up mechanism for the front-facing camera. Like the GM5, the JD1 is also the one the first ISOCELL image sensors to offer staggered-HDR.

Samsung ISOCELL HM2, GW3 and JD1 are currently in mass production, and the company is sampling GM5.

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Nikkei Asian Review reports that Sony used to sells billions of dollars worth of smartphone image sensors to Huawei each year. Now, Sony is considering applying for a license to keep selling sensors to the Chinese company.

Sony announces its technology initiatives at the briefing held on Sept. 10. Integrating AI with image sensors is the main initiative in the Imaging and Sensing Division:

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FBK publishes a MDPI paper "Numerical Model of SPAD-Based Direct Time-of-Flight Flash LIDAR CMOS Image Sensors" by Alessandro Tontini, Leonardo Gasparini, and Matteo Perenzoni.

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MDPI paper "CMOS Depth Image Sensor with Offset Pixel Aperture Using a Back-Side Illumination Structure for Improving Disparity" by Jimin Lee, Sang-Hwan Kim, Hyeunwoo Kwen, Juneyoung Jang, Seunghyuk Chang, Jongho Park, Sang-Jin Lee, and Jang-Kyoo Shin from from KAIST and Kyungpook National University, Korea, compares FSI and BSI 3D imagers with PDAF pixels:

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Counterpoint Research publishes its component analysis of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G. The cameras cost is $60.30 out of the $468 BOM.

"The device also features one of the most advanced camera sensors in a nicely integrated three-sensor module. Unlike the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G features a lower resolution telephoto lens, omitting the DepthVision sensor, and adding a laser auto-focus module optimized for faster focusing. Samsung CIS camera sensors have come a long way and compete fiercely with Sony for design wins," says the company's Senior Analyst, Ethan Qi.

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OSA Optics Express paper "Self-powered broadband photo-detection and persistent energy generation with junction-free strained Bi2Te3 thin films" by Bruno Lorenzi, Yoichiro Tsurimaki, Akihiro Kobayashi, Masayuki Takashiri, and Svetlana V. Boriskina from MIT, University of Milano Bicocca, and Tokai University proposes a way to generate voltage from light with no p-n junction:

"We experimentally demonstrate efficient broadband self-powered photo-detection and power generation in thin films of polycrystalline bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) semiconductors under inhomogeneous strain. The developed simple, junction-free, lightweight, and flexible photo-detectors are composed of a thin active layer and Ohmic contacts on a flexible plastic substrate, and can operate at room temperature and without application of an external bias voltage. We attribute the observed phenomena to the generation of an electric field due to a spontaneous polarization produced by strain gradient, which can separate both photo-generated and thermally-generated charge carriers in bulk of the semiconductor material, without a semiconductor junction. We show that the developed photo-detectors can generate electric power during both the daytime and the nighttime, by either harnessing solar and thermal radiation or by emitting thermal radiation into the cold sky. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the power generation in a simple junction-free device under negative illumination, which exhibits higher voltage than the previously used expensive commercial HgCdTe photo-diode. Significant improvements in the photo-detector performance are expected if the low-charge-mobility polycrystalline active layer is replaced with high-quality single-crystal material. The technology is not limited to Bi2Te3 as the active material, and offers many potential applications in night vision, wearable sensors, long-range LIDAR, and daytime/nighttime energy generation technologies."

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OSA Optics Express paper "Self-powered broadband photo-detection and persistent energy generation with junction-free strained Bi2Te3 thin films" by Bruno Lorenzi, Yoichiro Tsurimaki, Akihiro Kobayashi, Masayuki Takashiri, and Svetlana V. Boriskina from MIT, University of Milano Bicocca, and Tokai University proposes a way to generate voltage from light with no p-n junction:

"We experimentally demonstrate efficient broadband self-powered photo-detection and power generation in thin films of polycrystalline bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) semiconductors under inhomogeneous strain. The developed simple, junction-free, lightweight, and flexible photo-detectors are composed of a thin active layer and Ohmic contacts on a flexible plastic substrate, and can operate at room temperature and without application of an external bias voltage. We attribute the observed phenomena to the generation of an electric field due to a spontaneous polarization produced by strain gradient, which can separate both photo-generated and thermally-generated charge carriers in bulk of the semiconductor material, without a semiconductor junction. We show that the developed photo-detectors can generate electric power during both the daytime and the nighttime, by either harnessing solar and thermal radiation or by emitting thermal radiation into the cold sky. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the power generation in a simple junction-free device under negative illumination, which exhibits higher voltage than the previously used expensive commercial HgCdTe photo-diode. Significant improvements in the photo-detector performance are expected if the low-charge-mobility polycrystalline active layer is replaced with high-quality single-crystal material. The technology is not limited to Bi2Te3 as the active material, and offers many potential applications in night vision, wearable sensors, long-range LIDAR, and daytime/nighttime energy generation technologies."

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Technode reports that "in July, Dekema (AKA Dekoma, Decoma, Tacoma), a Nanjing-based chipmaker backed by the local government, announced it was bankrupt because of “financial difficulties” in raising additional funds from investors. The Nanjing company previously received $3 billion from investors including the Nanjing municipal government."

Nanjing local web site China Business Network publishes photos of the abandoned image sensor fab and talks about the project history:

"The second phase of the project is a 12-inch wafer fab, with an investment of US$2.3 billion and a designed monthly capacity of 20,000 12-inch wafers. The main product is its own brand image sensor. The above-mentioned economic development zone staff stated that the reason for agreeing to cooperate with Dekema is that it has the support of foreign-funded enterprises and that it has the corresponding technical capabilities. What it lacks is only capital.

However, it is worth noting that the so-called technology of Decoma was also purchased from foreign companies. The first to be included in the bag by Deco code is the relevant process authorization of the CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor purchased from STMicroelectronics. Then they bought related patents and technology licenses from ON Semiconductor. Later, a chip design company was established in Japan, and the original Japanese Toshiba CMOS image sensor design and R&D team was recruited."

Nikkei reports that TowerJazz too has been involved in Dekema (Tacoma) project: "TowerJazz didn't contribute any cash to the project but was contracted as a technical consultant. Tacoma paid TowerJazz $30 million under a technology license agreement. TowerJazz also promised to purchase as much as 50% of Tacoma's targeted 40,000 wafers a month."

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Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, publishes a MDPI paper "Current-Mode Self-Amplified CMOS Sensor Intended for 2D Temperature Microgradients Measurement and Imaging" by Patrick M. Santos, Davies W. L. Monteiro, and Luciana P. Salles.

"This paper presents the design of a current-mode CMOS self-amplified imager operating in dark conditions, for thermal imaging, which provides an innovative solution for precision thermal contact mapping. Possible applications of this imager range from 3D CMOS integrated circuits to the study of in-vivo biological samples. It can provide a thermal map, static or dynamic, for the measurement of temperature microgradients. Some adaptations are required for the optimization of this self-amplified image sensor since it responds exclusively to the dark currents of the photodiodes throughout the array. The sensor is designed in a standard CMOS process and requires no post-processing steps. The optimized image sensor operates with integration times as low as one μs and can achieve both SNR and dynamic range compatible to those of sensors available on the market, estimated as 87dB and 75dB, respectively; noise equivalent temperature difference can be as low as 10mK; and detection errors as low as ±1%. Furthermore, under optimal conditions the self-amplification process enables a simple form of CDS, enhancing the overall sensor noise performance."

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Sony publishes flyers of 9 new sensors IMX535, IMX536, IMX537, IMX545, IMX546, IMX547, IMX565, IMX566, IMX567. The new sensors feature 2.74um stacked global shutter pixel:

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NHK holds on-line IBC exhibition on Sept. 8-11. The company presents a three-layer organic-film color image sensor among other stuff.

"This structure enables all color information of red, green and blue to be obtained within a single pixel, achieving a high-resolution image sensor that uses light more efficiently. We will continue to work reducing the pixel size and increasing the number of pixels, and accelerate R&D toward realizing a compact, high-resolution, single-chip camera."

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TheElec: Corephotonics-Samsung has withdrawn its patent violation claim against LG InnoTek after the validity of Corephotonics’ patents were rejected by South Korea’s IP Trail and Appeal Board (KIPO). Corephotonics prepares an appeal against the patent board’s judgment.

TheElec: Corephotonics also sues Apple over infringement on its telephoto camera patents. US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) rejected Apple's invalidation request against Corephotonics. Apple appeals this decision.

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IS&T publishes a talk by Yasuyuki Fujihara, a PhD student at Tohoku University, Japan, on over 120dB DR 2-stage LOFIC sensor. After a short introduction about IS&T society, the talk itself starts at 6:00 time in the video:

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BusinessWire: Ouster raises $42M in a Round B funding. After launching its second generation of high-resolution lidar sensors in January, Ouster’s 12-month revenue has grown by 62%, with third quarter bookings up 209% year over year as customers adopt its sensors in key computer vision technologies. Ouster now counts over 800 customers across 15 markets, including Konecranes, Postmates, Ike, May Mobility, Kodiak Robotics, Coast Autonomous, the U.S. Army, NASA, Stanford University, and MIT University, as well as Chinese automation leaders idriverplus, WhaleAI, Hongjing Drive, and Qcraft.

Ouster has opened offices in Paris, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, and Suzhou to expand global sales and customer service capabilities. The company has also expanded overseas production of its sensors with Benchmark, a contract manufacturer, to keep up with growing demand.

“Ouster’s digital lidar architecture gives us fundamental advantages that are winning over customers in every market we serve. Digital CMOS technology is the future of lidar and Ouster was the first to invent, build, patent, and commercialize digital lidar. Once our customers experience the resolution and reliability of these sensors at an affordable price, there’s no turning back to legacy analog lidar,” said Angus Pacala, CEO of Ouster.

Forbes quotes Derek Frome, Director of Marketing for Ouster: “In absolute numbers, we're projected to finish the year around a similar revenue number as Luminar, and about one-third the size of Velodyne—pretty incredible for only having been selling sensors for about 20 months versus more than 10 years for Velodyne.”

Yole Development names Ouster second highest in revenue in the “high resolution” category for lidar manufacturers, according to Ouster. The company has raised $140M to date, and will use its new funds to expand product development and international sales.

BusinessWire: Aeva and ZF announce a partnership where ZF would mass produce Aeva's FMCW LiDAR.


BusinessWire: Velodyne publishes another presentation updating about its business. The company reports a gross margin of 14% for its LiDAR sensors, despite a relatively fat price tag:


TheElec reports that SOS Lab is going launch its 2D LiDAR SL-2 aimed at factory automation in October. Next year, the company intends to launch a 3D solid-state LiDAR ML-1 aimed to autonomous market.

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PRNewswire: SEMI reports that fab equipment spending increases. Image sensors equipment spending is expected to rise 4% to US$3B in 2020 and jump 11% to US$3.4B in 2021.

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Ishikawa Laboratory from the University of Tokio uses eye tracker to compensate for optical illusions:

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BusinessWire: OmniVision and GEO Semiconductor announce a joint solution for rear-view cameras (RVCs), surround-view systems (SVS) and e-mirrors. This solution includes OmniVision’s OX03C10, that combines a large 3.0um pixel, HDR of 140dB, and LED flicker mitigation (LFM). This sensor takes advantage of the GEO GW5 CVP family’s ability to process 140dB HDR images with full LFM at 60fps. Conversely, the GW5 family’s advanced local tone mapping enables it to make optimal use of the OX03C10’s industry-leading HDR and LFM image captures, providing a more pleasing image for drivers.

GlobeNewswire: Teledyne e2v announces a 2MP compact module featuring a pre-focused, industrial-grade scanning optic. This MIPI interfaced module is amed to scanning, embedded vision and many other computer vision applications. The module uses Snappy 2MP CMOS sensor with a 2.8 µm low-noise global shutter pixel.


Brookman publishes a gesture recognition demo based on its ToF sensor:

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BusinessWire: OmniVision and GEO Semiconductor announce a joint solution for rear-view cameras (RVCs), surround-view systems (SVS) and e-mirrors. This solution includes OmniVision’s OX03C10, that combines a large 3.0um pixel, HDR of 140dB, and LED flicker mitigation (LFM). This sensor takes advantage of the GEO GW5 CVP family’s ability to process 140dB HDR images with full LFM at 60fps. Conversely, the GW5 family’s advanced local tone mapping enables it to make optimal use of the OX03C10’s industry-leading HDR and LFM image captures, providing a more pleasing image for drivers.

GlobeNewswire: Teledyne e2v announces a 2MP compact module featuring a pre-focused, industrial-grade scanning optic. This MIPI interfaced module is amed to scanning, embedded vision and many other computer vision applications. The module uses Snappy 2MP CMOS sensor with a 2.8 µm low-noise global shutter pixel.


Brookman publishes a gesture recognition demo based on its ToF sensor:

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