Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

PRNewswire: OmniVision announces the OV2312 automotive image sensor with multiple functions in one camera. The ability to capture both RGB and IR images with one GS sensor reduces the number of cameras and total system cost. The OV2312 features the 3.0-micron OmniPixel3-GS at resolutions of 1600x1300 at 60fps and 1280x720 at 90fps. Additionally, because this is the smallest 2MP GS sensor in its class—offered in a 7.2 x 6.1mm automotive chip-scale package—cameras can be placed out of sight from drivers and passengers. The NIR QE is 14% at the 940nm.

“The global automotive image sensor market is poised to experience accelerated growth due to the increased demand for driver state monitoring,” said Thilo Rausch, product marketing manager at OmniVision. “At the same time, automotive designers are looking for cost-effective ways to address consumer demand for applications like video conferencing in the mainstream car segment. By providing a dual-mode sensor that fuses human and machine vision capabilities, we are enabling designers to address both trends with a single camera.”

OV2312 samples are available now, and it is AEC-Q100 Grade 2 certified for automotive applications.

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Espros April newsletter promotes its ToF Academy courses and shows many knowledge areas needed for ToF system design:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Infineon Q2 FY19 presentation includes the company's vision of automotive vision components market:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Caeleste: When Arnaud Darmont died in a tragic accident last year, he was working on a new edition of his book on HDR imaging. His father finished the book with SPIE and it's available for purchase now:


Thanks to BD for the news!

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

vrt.be: Leonardo De Vinci himself probably participated in painting the version of "The Last Supper" in Tongerlo Abbey, according to an American art history professor who studied the canvas using a hyperspectral camera from Imec:



Thanks to JB for the link!

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

CounterpointResearch publishes its market forecast on smartphone market:

• We can expect smartphone OEMs to launch models with 64MP and more in H2 2019. In 2020, we expect smartphones with camera resolutions of 100MP and more.
• Huawei and Samsung are leading the adoption. Samsung is a big adopter of the three or more camera setup, especially in its models in the affordable-premium price bands. Apple launches later this year are also expected to give a boost to the category.
• Triple camera penetration in mid-premium (US$600-US$799) and premium (>US$800) price band is also expected to grow rapidly with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S10 series and the Huawei P30 series.
• Google does not even have no dual cameras on its flagship Pixel phones and was relying on the stellar image quality through software. However, with the premium segment increasingly adopting dual camera sensors, Google will be under pressure to integrate this into their upcoming flagships.
• 5MP CIS remain in tight supply as they’re essential for triple camera phones. This is likely to continue in case of 5MP and 8MP camera sensors.
• SK Hynix is a key supplier likely to benefit from the adoption of three or more cameras. However, supply may remain a significant issue, creating room for other suppliers such as Samsung.
• Sony is another key high-quality supplier for camera image sensors specializing in the 13MP camera setup, which is already going through capacity expansion in Japan. This is likely to suffice for the surging demand.

"In 2019, OEMs are taking the battle a step ahead with a triple camera setup now becoming popular. Almost 6% of smartphones sold globally had three or more rear camera sensors in March 2018. This figure is likely to go up to 15% by the end of 2019 and 35% by the end of 2020. We expect that by the end of 2021, 50% of the smartphones sold globally will have three or more camera sensors.

More than 40 smartphones launched as of April 2019 had three or more cameras. Among these, 30 launches were in Q1 2019. The Huawei Mate & P series, the Samsung Galaxy A series, the new Galaxy flagships, and the Vivo V15/Pro are some of the existing models driving the triple (and more) camera sensor penetration. We expect other OEMs, including Apple and OnePlus, to join the bandwagon later this year."

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

SystemPlus finds first ams d-ToF SPAD proximity sensor in Huawei Mate 20 Pro smartphone:

"This year, ams started mass production of its proximity sensors based on SPAD technology and offer the solution to several customers. The very first customer is Huawei, with ams supplying a custom proximity sensor in the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Following this, ams is expected to gain increasing market share with several design wins in other OEMs’ flagships this year.

The device is probably a custom version of the new TMF8701 component made specifically for Huawei, and is the first on the market from ams. The component includes a SPAD detector featuring a 15 µm-wide SPAD, with 128 pixel resolution, and a single Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL)."

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

AIMS Electronics and Electrical Engineering paper "Design and simulation of a CMOS image sensor with a built-in edge detection for tactile vision sensory substitution" by Mazin H. Aziz, and D. Al-Shamaa from Mosul University and Nineveh University, Mosul, Iraq presents:

"Tactile Vision Sensory Substitution (TVSS) systems are used to convert scene images captured by the image sensors to tactile patterns that can be used to stimulate the skin sensory of the blind users. These types of devices needed to be wearable, small size, low power consumption, lightweight, and affordable cost. This paper presents the integration of an edge detection scheme inside a CMOS image sensor forming an Edge Detection CMOS Image Sensor (EDIS). The design is simulated using LTSPICE and MATLAB, performing three ways of simulation, giving accepted edge images having very few fine edges but keeping the main edges. The proposed way is simple, low component-count, doesn’t reduce the fill factor, use no analog to digital converter, presents adaptable comparator-reference-voltage, and make a step towards an integrated all-in-one tactile vision sensory substitution device."

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

VCSEL maker Finisar presents its view on 3D sensing solutions at Semicon China:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Credit Suisse report "Asia Semiconductor Sector" dated by April 18, 2019 shows the market data for automotive CIS. It's not clear why Credit Suisse analysts count Toshiba as a separate entity in 2017, while Sony has acquired Toshiba image sensor business in 2015:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

MDPI paper "Proximity Gettering Design of Hydrocarbon–Molecular–Ion–Implanted Silicon Wafers Using Dark Current Spectroscopy for CMOS Image Sensors" by Kazunari Kurita, Takeshi Kadono, Satoshi Shigematsu, Ryo Hirose, Ryosuke Okuyama, Ayumi Onaka-Masada, Hidehiko Okuda, and Yoshihiro Koga from SUMCO Corporation, Japan describes the company offers of epi wafers with gettering layer:

"We developed silicon epitaxial wafers with high gettering capability by using hydrocarbon–molecular–ion implantation. These wafers also have the effect of hydrogen passivation on process-induced defects and a barrier to out-diffusion of oxygen of the Czochralski silicon (CZ) substrate bulk during Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) device fabrication processes. We evaluated the electrical device performance of CMOS image sensor fabricated on this type of wafer by using dark current spectroscopy. We found fewer white spot defects compared with those of intrinsic gettering (IG) silicon wafers. We believe that these hydrocarbon–molecular–ion–implanted silicon epitaxial wafers will improve the device performance of CMOS image sensors."

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Cadence reports from TSMC 2019 Technology Symposium in Santa Clara:

• Camera is important, especially in the Asia market. Pixel size driving to 0.8um this year, and 0.7um next year.
• IR sensing important for security and ADAS. Achieved 940nm QE >45% (measured in silicon).

EEWeb reports that camera-base driver-monitoring system (DMS), which can detect a drowsy or distracted driver, will become mandatory in all new vehicles in Europe from 2022. While DMS developments in the past have tended to be focused around autonomous cars, the new EU rules will make them mainstream technology on all vehicles. So far, DMSes have found their way into only a few vehicles on our roads, with analyst Semicast Research saying that interior cameras for DMSes are in only 1% of new cars in 2019.

Trinamix demos its XperYenz – Adaptive 3D sensing system:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Nuit Blanche blog found an OSA OE paper "Ghost imaging with the human eye" by Alessandro Boccolini, Alessandro Fedrizzi, and Daniele Faccio from Heriot-Watt University and University of Glasgow, UK. This is a kind of ideas that are so simple, that now, once presented, look almost obvious to me. It's so strange that nobody came up with that before:

"Computational ghost imaging relies on the decomposition of an image into patterns that are summed together with weights that measure the overlap of each pattern with the scene being imaged. These tasks rely on a computer. Here we demonstrate that the computational integration can be performed directly with the human eye. This builds upon the known persistence time of the human eye and we use our ghost imaging approach as an alternative to evaluate the temporal response of the eye. We verify that the image persistence time is of order 20 ms, followed by a further 20 ms exponential decay. These persistence times are consistent with previous studies but can now potentially be extended to include a more precise characterisation of visual stimuli and provide a new experimental tool for the study of visual perception."

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

AMS publishes the Youtube videos on its ToF poximity sensor and an ambient light sensor:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Smartsens launches its "SmartSensor" AI platform based on 3D integration of image sensor with an image analysis processor. The company has selected TSMC's 3D chip manufacturing process for its "SmartSensor Platform" as its development platform, and hopes to work with leading partners to achieve innovative "smart sensor" designs, further promoting the Internet of Things industry and development of artificial intelligence technology.

Wang Xiaoyong, VP of systems and algorithms at SmartSens, said: "Sensor-side computing and 'smart sensor chips' are one of the major trends in the future development of the IoT industry. To achieve this innovation, it is impossible to rely solely on sensor chip manufacturers. SmartSens launched the 'SmartSensor Platform' to explore the infinite possibilities of 'smart sensor chip' innovation by leveraging the strength of the entire industry through close collaboration with partners across the entire industry chain."

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Spectronet publishes videos on polarization and multipectral imaging applications:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

There happens to be one emerging application that is not sensitive to image quality, pixel size, power consumption, or any other parameter - jewelry. It is not clear how large this market is:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Arxiv.org paper "Recent Progress and Future Prospects of 2D-based Photodetectors" by Nengjie Huo and Gerasimos Konstantatos from Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology and ICREA reviews graphene imagers developed in the recent years.

"Conventional semiconductors such as silicon and InGaAs based photodetectors have encountered a bottleneck in modern electronics and photonics in terms of spectral coverage, low resolution, non-transparency, non-flexibility and CMOS-incompatibility. New emerging 2D materials such as graphene, TMDs and their hybrid systems thereof, however, can circumvent all these issues benefiting from mechanical flexibility, extraordinary electronic and optical properties, as well as wafer-scale production and integration. Heterojunction-based photodiodes based on 2D materials offer ultrafast and broadband response from visible to far infrared range. Phototransistors based on 2D hybrid systems combined with other material platforms such as quantum dots, perovskites, organic materials, or plasmonic nanostructures yield ultrasensitive and broadband light detection capabilities. Notably the facile integration of 2D-photodetectors on silicon photonics or CMOS platforms paves the way towards high performance, low-cost, broadband sensing and imaging modalities."

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

ON Semi has held Analyst Day on March 9, 2019 and also announces Q1 earnings a few days ago. Few quotes:


From SeekingAlpha earnings call transcript:

"In ADAS applications, our momentum continues to accelerate. We are seeing strong interest from customers in our broad portfolio of automotive image sensor products. Recall that we are the only provider of automotive image sensors with complete portfolio of 1 megapixel, 2 megapixel and 8 megapixel image sensors. The breadth of our portfolio has enabled us to secure many design wins from leading global OEMs and tier-1s."

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Velodyne closes an agreement with Nikon, under which Sendai Nikon Corporation will manufacture LiDARs for Velodyne with plans to start mass production in the second half of 2019. “Mass production of our high-performance lidar sensors is key to advancing Velodyne’s immediate plans to expand sales in North America, Europe, and Asia,” said Marta Hall, President and CBDO, Velodyne Lidar. “For years, Velodyne has been perfecting lidar technology to produce thousands of lidar units for autonomous vehicles (AVs) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). It is our goal to produce lidar in the millions of units with manufacturing partners such as Nikon."

Compare this last statement with a previous Velodyne PR on its Megafactory: "Located in San Jose, CA, the enormous facility not only has enough space for high-volume manufacturing, but also for the precise distance and ranging alignment process for LiDAR sensors as they come off the assembly line. ...more than one million LiDAR sensors [are] expected to be built in the facility in 2018. That high-volume manufacturing will feed the global demand for Velodyne’s solid-state hybrid LiDAR."

Instead of shipping 1M LiDARs in 2018 alone, "Velodyne has shipped a cumulative total of 30,000 lidar sensors" from the start of the company to the end of March 2019.

One of the reasons expanding in Japan is said to be cost: "Working with Nikon, an expert in precision manufacturing, is a major step toward lowering the cost of our lidar products. Nikon is notable for expertly mass-producing cameras while retaining high standards of performance and uncompromising quality. Together, Velodyne and Nikon will apply the same attention to detail and quality to the mass production of lidar. Lidar sensors will retain the highest standards while at the same time achieving a price that will be more affordable for customers around the world,” Marta Hall says. However, Japan is not a cheap manufacturing location these days. It's not clear how production in Japan makes Velodyne LiDAR cheaper.

The companies are said to continue to investigate further areas of a wide-ranging and multifaceted business alliance.

One major part missing from this PR is a fate of Velodyne Mega-Factory in San-Jose. Half a year ago, the company has appointed a new COO with responsibility to introduce even more automation on the site. It looks like these efforts were not successful enough.

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Caeleste ELFIS imager is said to be the first image sensor ever combining the following features:

• True HDR (“MAF HDR”, motion artifact free HDR)
• Global shutter using GS technology,
• Allowing low noise CDS readout
• Enabling Global Shutter (IWR) without dark current penalty
• Backside illumination
• TDI radiation hard design

It has been developed for ESA in collaboration with LFoundry and Airbus. A whitepaper explains the sensor's operation:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Sony results of FY 2018 ended on March 31, 2019 show 9.5% YoY growth in image sensor sales. The company forecasts a 18% sales growth next year:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

ON Semi demos its 3rd Gen SiPM LiDAR design:



Update: The demo has been prepared in collaboration with Phantom Intelligence startup.

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Tesla revealed its Gen. 3 HW chip in its Autonomy Day presentation:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Nikkei: Sony decided to delay mass production of its IMX424 and IMX324 7.42MP automotive sensor to 2020. The company has shipped the first samples of the sensor in 2017, aiming for the volume production in June 2018. However, the production start has been delayed due to specification changes, additional functions and market trends. Now, the company finally decided when to start volume production.

On Semi too plans to start its 8MP sensor volume production in the early 2020s. Sony presented a demo of its new cameras on a model car - 4 cameras are 7.42MP and another 4 are 2MP:

Go to the original article...

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

ResearchInChina publishes a report "Global and China Automotive Night Vision System Industry Report, 2019-2025." Few quotes:

"For the automotive sector, night vision system is of little value and seems like “chicken ribs” – tasteless when eaten but a pity to throw away.

In function, night vision system is a special solution for automobiles now that it enables a vehicle to see an object more than 300m ahead at night (compared with a mere 80m offered by headlamps) and gives driver more time to react, ensuring safer driving. ADAS and other technologies (like LiDAR and ordinary optical camera), however, play a part in night driving safety as well. And the stubbornly high price justifies the sluggish demand for night vision systems such as infrared night vision system.

According to the statistics, night vision system was a standard configuration for 58 of vehicle models available on the Chinese market in March 2019, just less than in 2015, of which 18 were Savana (caravans). Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are less enthusiastic about the technology, and just equip it to their luxury models each priced above RMB1 million (a combined 67% of models carrying the system).

In the meantime, the insiders hold such different views on night vision system as follows:

Negative:

“It’s not something that’s really necessary because optical cameras actually do pretty well at night and you have a radar system as backup that is not affected by light,” said Dan Galves, a senior vice president at Intel Corporation’s Mobileye.

Bosch argues that technical advances bring about the decreasing demand for night vision system. One reason is that ordinary camera alone can work outstandingly at night with the maturity of image sensing technology. Also, the progress in technologies for automotive lighting, like LED headlamp, offers a horizon as long as 100-200m. So Bosch has shifted its attention away from night vision solution.

Positive:

Tim LeBeau, the vice president of Seek Thermal, thinks that the current optical radar for autonomous cars cannot detect the heat of an object to ensure whether it is a creature or not, and that the cost of thermal sensors is slashed by about 20 percent a year as they get widely used.

People who detest high beam agree that headlamps delivering 200m beam will interfere with other drivers’ sight, and the solution combining low beam and passive night vision (infrared thermal image) system is the best choice.

Still, some vendors are sparing no efforts in making the technology more feasible for automotive application. Examples include Veoneer whose third-generation night vision system capable of detecting both pedestrians and animals is integrated with rotary LED headlamps which will automatically turn to the front object detected by the system; and Adasky’s Viper system that can classify the obstacles through convolutional neural network-based unique algorithms and display them on the cockpit screen to remind the driver.

Vendors will also work on laser-based night vision, low-light-level night vision, bionic night vision and head-up display (HUD) as well as headlamp fusion.

In brief, as long as price comes down to an affordable level, “the chicken ribs” will become “a delicious homely dish.”"

Go to the original article...