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Sony announces IMX377, a 12MP, 1.55um pixel CMOS sensor for DSC and camcorder applications. The sensor features 35fps speed at full resolution or 60fps in 4K2K mode.

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EETimes publishes Yole Developpement's table on CIS vendors market shares in 2012 and 2014:

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PRNewswire: AltaSens introduces collaborative products that incorporate its Super-35 4K sensor and a new mini 4K camera module. The AL-CM460 Camera Module delivers full video processing control of UHD 4K video at 60 fps while simultaneously saving to SD card and outputting via Fiber Optic, 4 x 3G-SDI, or HDMI 2.0. The Micro Four Thirds (MFT) lens mount allows the capture of high-end cinematic imagery with affordable lenses, while the short flange focal distance means most cinema lenses can be adapted for use. Multiple down-converted formats also offer superior quality video for applications using HD footage. The AL-CM460 is driven by AL41410C 4K CMOS sensor, with 5.2 um pixel pitch and appears to be a reduced size version of the module announced a year ago.

"Owing to the fruits of extensive collaboration with our parent, JVC Kenwood, and our camera partner, Bradley Engineering, we are thrilled to debut our excellent 4K Image sensor simultaneously with leading edge UHD camera solutions to the broadcast community," explained Lester Kozlowski, the company's founder and CEO.

Ilya Koshkin, VP of Business Development at AltaSens added, "The unmatched versatility of our 4K Camera Module makes it an ideal solution for nearly any application where crystal clear "Beyond HD" video quality and flexible system design are a priority."

AltaSens' AL-CM460 4K Camera Module

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PRNewswire: OmniVision and VIA Technologies announce a partnership to develop a battery-powered HD video monitoring solution that enables OEMs to dramatically reduce time-to-market for wireless multi-node monitoring systems in homes and small businesses.

"This partnership between OmniVision and VIA Technologies exemplifies both companies' desire to meet the rapidly growing demand for turnkey solutions that can give OEMs the ability to quickly and cost-effectively bring innovative smart devices to market," said Paul Gallagher, senior director of marketing at OmniVision. "By offering 'instant-on' crisp HD video and streaming capabilities in an extremely power-efficient, battery operated package, OmniVision's OV9712 and OV788 video signal processor together provide excellent capabilities for the advanced solution now under development."

Utilizing the OV9712 sensor with OmniPixel3-HS high sensitivity pixels, the solution will operate in conjunction with OmniVision's ultra-low power OV788 video signal processor. That processor will provide video compression, 720p HD video streaming, and AES-256 encryption over any Wi-Fi network, thus allowing users to quickly stream high quality video content using the video monitoring solution.

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Caltech presents its paper "Nanophotonic coherent imager" by Firooz Aflatouni, Behrooz Abiri, Angad Rekhi, and Ali Hajimiri published in Optics Express. The 4 x 4 pixel imager is utilizes a coherent LIDAR principle and is said to be able to resolve 15um depth difference at 0.5m distance.

"By having an array of tiny LIDARs on our coherent imager, we can simultaneously image different parts of an object or a scene without the need for any mechanical movements within the imager. By coupling, confining, and processing the reflected light in small pipes on a silicon chip, we were able to scale each LIDAR element down to just a couple of hundred microns in size—small enough that we can form an array of 16 of these coherent detectors on an active area of 300 microns by 300 microns," says Ali Hajimiri. In the future, Hajimiri says, that the current array of 16 pixels could also be easily scaled up to hundreds of thousands.


Thanks to TKL for the pointer!

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Sony posts Youtube videos comparing a phase detection AF with a contrast one:

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Pelican Imaging patent application US20150091900 "Systems and Methods for Depth-Assisted Perspective Distortion Correction" by Samuel Yang, Manohar Srikanth, Dan Lelescu, and Kartik Venkataraman proposes a solution to the common selfie problem:

"Close range portraiture photographs, such as self-portraits, are often perceived as having apparent perspective distortions at typical image viewing distances, even if the optics produce a geometrically accurate perspective projection of the scene. A mismatch in the field of view of the camera and that of the viewing display configuration can result in the perceived distortion, which in portraiture photographs, tends to magnify the size of the nose and chin, among other features. These distortions are especially common with photographs taken with mobile device cameras due to the wide angular field of view typical of such cameras and close range nature of many self-portraits and candid portraits."

Pelican proposes to use the depth information to post-process the image and fix the distortions:

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Electronics360: IHS teardown of GoPro Hero revealed On Semi (Aptina) 8MP sensor inside, although the camera is speced at 5MP. The 1/3.2-inch sensor is based on 1.4um pixel.

The camera module is estimated to cost about a quarter of the total cost of $47.11:

GoPro Hero cost contributors

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Japanese ITE (Institute of Image Information and Television Engineers) Transactions on Media Technology and Applications announces a forthcoming Special Section on “Advanced Image Sensor Technology” to be published in April 2016. The objective of the special section is focus on the advances in image sensor technologies. The original research papers are invited. The topics include the following:

• CMOS image sensors, CCD image sensors, and related technologies
• Application specific image sensors
• Novel architecture, operation and materials for imaging devices
• Invisible imaging devices (IR, UV, X-ray, high-energy particles, ions, etc.)
• Machine vision
• Others

Papers must be submitted by August 31, 2015.

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ADSReports presents a report on China image sensor market:

"The new report recognizes the following companies as the key players in the Mobile Image Sensor Market in China: Aptina Imaging Corp., OmniVision Technologies Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sony Semiconductor Corp.

Other Prominent Vendors in the market are: Canon, GalaxyCore, LG Innotek, Panasonic Corporation, Sharp, Sharpvision, SiliconFile, Sunny Optical Technology, STMicroelectronics and Toshiba.

Further, the report states that one of the main challenges that are hindering the growth of this market is the high cost of production because of the high cost of raw materials. The cost of producing image sensors is increasing yearly because of the R&D expenditure incurred by vendors and also because of the marketing costs."

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PR Newswire: As has been reported earlier, a settlement between Lead Plaintiffs and OmniVision, Shaw Hong, Anson Chan, and Aurelio "Ray" Cisneros (the "Individual Defendants" and collectively, with OmniVision, the "Defendants") in the amount of $12,500,000 has been proposed by the Settling Parties. A hearing will be held before the United States District Judge on June 5, 2015.

Meanwhile, SeekingAlpha speculates about the chances that Omnivision buyout deal goes through:

"Officers and directors, as a group, own less than 5% of the company, and don't appear to be personally incentivized toward a sale. (CEO Shaw Hong, for instance, would earn profit about $2.7 million off a sale at $30, relative to current prices. His annual compensation has averaged $3.9 million over the last three years.)

In addition, it's not at all clear that such a buyout could get done. The federal government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) would likely be involved, and at least one expert sees the combination of foreign ownership and the inclusion of state-owned Shanghai Pudong Science as being a potential roadblock. An agreement now or in the near future could see the approval process run into the 2016 elections, when, as Derek Scissors told Barron's, "the general economic mood is anti-foreign and certainly anti-China."

Micro Market Monitor: The South American image sensor market, mainly driven by the increasing demand for cameras in smartphones and tablets, along with the increasing application of image sensors in the South American medical diagnostic and image sensor market was estimated to be $622.3 million in 2014 and is projected to reach $1,053.6 million by 2019 at a CAGR of 11.1% from 2014 to 2019.

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IMVEurope publishes thoughts by Yole Developpment analyst Pierre Cambou on Sony CCD end of life decision. One quote:

"It is always sad for technologists to watch the creative destruction of technology shifts. I believe this major transition will renew the innovation drive of the industry. Let’s buckle up for a new technology cycle. I am convinced we are not to be disappointed. CCD image sensors are dead, long live CMOS image sensors!"

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PR Newswire: Synopsys announces its new DesignWare EV Family of vision processors. The EV52 and EV54 vision processors are fully programmable and configurable vision processor IP cores that deliver over 1000 GOPS/Watt power efficiency, said to be 5X better efficiency than other available vision processors. The cores can operate at up to 1 GHz in a typical 28nm process. The DesignWare EV52 and EV54 Processors are scheduled to be available in May 2015.

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Business Wire: Toshiba starts mass production of the previously announced 1/3-inch 1080p60 TCM3232PB sensor at the end of April. The PR stated the sensor HDR mode provides 108dB DR, while the flyer talks about 100dB:

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Mikeselectricstuff posts a Youtube video of SEM imageinery of FLIR Lepton thermal sensor, the last stage of its teardown. See the previous stages here and here.

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Engadget, Business Insider, Newsweek: The same group Science for the Masses that has shown the human vision extension to IR, now publishes another experiment showing night vision improvement with eyedrops. The group used Chlorin e6 cancer treatment substance mixed with insulin for their experiment. They claim that the eyedrops significantly enhance night time vision at distances up to 50 meters for a time of few hours.

The experimenter, Gabriel Licina describes his feelings "It’s subtle. It’s not like ‘oh my gosh I have super vision!’ It’s more like dark became dim, everything was a little brighter. Not a crazy noticeable light, burning and doom, but more a subtle, ‘oh I can see a thing!"

The adverse effects of the proposed solution have not been studied.

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SPIE has published a video of its Prizm Award ceremony for Seek Thermal & Raytheon consumer-grade thermal camera, a competitor of FLIR One:



One can see a teardown of Seek Thermal camera and its comparison with FLIR One in mikeselectricstuff videos: Part 1 and Part 2, as well as the analysis of its thermal gradient artifacts.

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Point Grey confirms that Sony will discontinue operations of their CCD 200mm wafer line at Kagoshima Technology Center in Japan by the end of March 2017. This line is responsible for production of all Sony CCD image sensors used in Point Grey cameras. Point Grey did not confirm exact last-time buy (LTB) or last-time ship (LTS) dates for the affected CCDs, commenting that recently publicized dates of August 2015 and March 2020, respectively, should not be considered final. “Point Grey has been actively discussing details about the closure directly with Sony,” said Michael Gibbons, Director of Sales and Marketing at Point Grey. “This is a very dynamic situation and final details, including official last-time buy and ship dates, have not yet been released publicly by Sony. We caution our customers against making quick decisions based on preliminary information circulating the Internet.”

Point Grey continues to see high and growing demand worldwide for both CCD and CMOS sensor technology, and believes that CCD technology will continue to play an important part in the imaging world for many years to come. “Our goal is to provide customers with three options,” said Gibbons. “First is to continue to buy their existing Sony CCD-based cameras for the natural lifespan of the systems they’re designed into. If customers are happy with these products there is no need to change. For those customers who still prefer CCD technology but want to explore alternatives to Sony, we are actively adding new CCDs from suppliers such as Sharp into our camera lineup. And finally, for those customers interested in the benefits of CMOS technology, we will continue to lead the charge in integrating image sensors from companies like Sony and On Semi into our products.”

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Digitimes: Image sensor wafer-level packaging house Xintec will be listed on the Taiwan over-the-counter (OTC) stock market at the end of March. Xintec is a TSMC and Visera affiliate and reported revenues of NT$4.93 billion (US$158M) for 2014. The company presentation gives some background info:

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ST publishes a recorded video of its Google Hangout session on VL6180X ToF-based 3-in-1 proximity, gesture and ambient light sensor. The session took place today at 4:00 CET.

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Ziptronix kindly sent me its CTO and VP R&D Paul Enquist's presentation at 2015 Image Sensors Conference held last week in London, UK. Few key slides from the presentation:

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Marketwired: Silicon Frontline Technology announces that Forza Silicon has selected the company's P2P (IR Drop and Resistance Mapping) for fast, early IR Drop analysis and full-chip verification of their CMOS image sensors.
"Forza Silicon is focused on providing customers with cutting-edge image sensor solutions and we have stringent verification requirements in order to deliver high quality imagers," said Kevin Johnson, CAD Manager at Forza Silicon. "We selected Silicon Frontline's P2P to perform full-chip powernet analysis of our CMOS image sensors designs because it meets our accuracy, speed and quality standards."

Resistance Mapping may be performed at any point in the design cycle, allowing early identification and fixes of problem areas. This ensures detailed IR drop and electromigration analysis is performed with a good candidate design, providing faster time to design closure and earlier market entry.

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Eye tracking camera and software maker Tobii plans IPO on Nasdaq Stockholm, Sweden. However, this news is forbidden to distribute in the USA, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. Everybody can get more details following the link after the declaration that he's not citizen or resident of the above countries.

The company has been founded in 2001 and now has 600 employees in Sweden, USA, China, Japan, Germany, UK, and Norway. Its 2014 annual turnover is 621M SEK ($73M).

Tobii PCEye Explore entry level eye tracker

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Imaging Resource: Ricoh reveals pixel shift technology which utilizes Bayer pattern properties to minimize the interpolation artifacts: "Ricoh's special pixel-shift enhancement mode involves shifting the sensor in one-pixel increments up and down and back and forth, so after four exposures, each pixel contains full RGB data. The end image has the same number of megapixels as the sensor itself, but the data is of much higher quality, with no interpolation needed to "fill in" missing color or luminance information."

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Fujitsu presents smartphone prototype with iris authentication. The active LED and camera system has been exhibited at the MWC 2015 and received the "Best Innovation Award" from AndroidPIT:


Fujitsu Youtube video in Japanese promotes the iris ID system:



In another news, the oncoming Microsoft Windows 10 features Hello component: "Windows Hello will make Windows 10 more personal by providing instant access to your devices through biometric authentication – using your face, iris or fingerprint to unlock your devices – with technology that is significantly safer than traditional passwords. We’re working closely with our hardware partners to deliver Windows Hello-capable devices that will ship with Windows 10. We are thrilled that all OEM systems incorporating the Intel RealSense F200 sensor will fully support Windows Hello, including automatic sign-in to Windows."

"For facial or iris detection, Windows Hello uses a combination of special hardware and software to accurately verify it is you – not a picture of you or someone trying to impersonate you. The cameras use infrared technology to identify your face or iris and can recognize you in a variety of lighting conditions."

The company Youtube video explains its use cases:

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Electronics Weekly, ST Social News, ST Unions in France report that Crolles ST facilities wend on strike over compensation dispute. The strike includes 200mm and 300mm fabs producing image sensors, among other chips.

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Re/code, LightField Forum: Lytro raised $50M in a round led by a new investor GSV Capital and includes participation from all of Lytro’s existing investors along with Allen & Co. and Danhua Capital. It values the company at five times its last financing round.

Lytro plans to use the new funding to make a strategic shift, taking its light-field technology into new areas, including video and virtual reality.

Lytro CEO Jason Rosenthal told Re/code “Fifty million dollars is a nice big number, but it is not unlimited. We had to make some pretty tough decisions. We are going to have to make some cuts in some areas so we can staff up in some new ones.” The company is expected to lay off 25 to 50 people out of its 130 employees, while at the same time looking to hire those with expertise in the new areas that were not previously of focus for the company.

Late last year, Lytro founder and Chairman Ren Ng announced he was leaving full-time work at the company to take a professorship at the University of California, Berkeley.

Meanwhile, Lightfield Forum reviews a recently published Lytro patent application with movable lightfield lens array to allow the camera operate in both lightfield and a regular 2D imaging mode:

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A 71-page long Rambus patent application US20150070544 "Oversampled image sensor with conditional pixel readout" by Craig Smith, Michael Guidash, Jay Endsley, Thomas Vogelsang, and James Harris expands the previously published applications (1, 2, 3) to 4T-like pixels with added transistor for a conditional reset. There are two versions, both featuring an additional "transfer-enable transistor 253", both able to operate in a partial charge transfer mode:

IP stands for "Image Pixel"

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Strategy Analytics publishes "Smartphone CMOS Image Sensor Market Share 2014" report. The market for CMOS image sensors in smartphones increased by 28.5% to 2.41 billion units in 2014. The smartphone image sensor market is largely dominated by Sony, Samsung and Omnivision who together accounted for almost 60% of 2014 shipments. Main camera sensors accounted for 55.4% of the total smartphone image sensor market in 2014 with front facing camera sensors accounting for the remaining 44.6% (up from 26.8% in 2010). Samsung is said to have a narrow market share lead, as measured in units.

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ULIS announces Pico640 Gen2 low cost VGA/120fps thermal sensor for security and surveillance applications. The 17um microbolometric pixel sensor is aimed to "making thermal imaging more accessible. In addition to security and surveillance systems, ULIS’s new sensor can also be used in cameras for outdoor leisure, such as nature observation or hunting."

The new sensor's NEDT is below 50mK, a more than 15% improvement over ULIS earlier generations, without any trade-off in power consumption. It operates at less than 130mW with a 60Hz frame rate. Other thermal imaging sensors in this category are siid to consume more power, typically 200 to 350mW at an equivalent frame rate. Pico640 Gen2 is housed in ceramic packaging, a cost-saving production technique ULIS first introduced to the market ten years ago. It has shown its value and vacuum integrity in the 500,000 ULIS thermal image sensors already in the field.

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