Archives for January 2015

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Point Grey's announces its low cost 2.3 MP Blackfly BFLY-PGE-23S6 camera featuring the new Sony IMX249 Pregius image sensor, a 1/1.2-inch global shatter sensor based on 5.86um pixels. Comparing to the one year old IMX174 with the same 5.86um pixel size, the new sensor is slower (41fps vs 162fps) and has a better QE ( 82% vs 76%):

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ResearchInChina publishes its latest "Global and China CCM (CMOS Camera Module) Industry Report, 2014-2015." Some data from the report:

"In 2014, global CCM market size was worth about USD16.402 billion, growing by 13.4% from 2013, mainly stimulated by higher camera pixel of mobile phone and OIS. It is expected that OIS will expand rapidly in 2015, spurring CCM market to rise by 15.9% to USD19.018 billion. Also, the camera pixel of mobile phone will continue to be improved, being one of stimuli for market growth.

In 2014, iPhone 6Plus took up the largest share of mobile phones which adopt OIS with shipments of 18.20 million (about 25%), followed by Samsung Galaxy Note4 with shipments of about 6 million. It is projected that Samsung S6 and most of flagship phones in China will use OIS, and new generation Apple phone will also fully adopt OIS. It is estimated that shipments of mobile phones adopting OIS will amount to 178 million in 2015, surging by 145% against 2014, and will reach 361 million in 2017.

There are two technological routes for OIS camera module of mobile phone: one is based on Pure shift OIS Motor and the other Tilt-shift AF Motor. Pure shift has significant advantage over Tilt-shift, as the standard has long been established, system maturity is excellent, performance is the best, and supply chain is the most mature with majority of suppliers being Japanese ones. The bulk of vendors like Apple and Nokia adopt Pure shift. Even though the camera has to protrude, Apple insists on using Pure shift, showing powerful competitiveness of Pure shift. Vendors in Mainland China and HTC adopt Tilt-shift without a universally accepted standard. Moreover, there are lots of work to be done by CCM vendors. Low output and lack of unified standard cause the loss of its theoretically low cost advantage. The market may leave no growth room for Tilt-shift, and be swiftly captured by Pure shift.

Qualcomm and MediaTek planned to integrate dual lens software function into chipset and CRB (Customer Reference Board), thus greatly boosting percentage of high-end mainstream mobile phones using dual lens. However, dual lens provide only more special effects, but can’t enhance camera performance. Seen from configuration of HTC M8, the mobile phone has 4MP dual cameras, still a gap with mainstream 8 million pixel high-end mobile phones, obvious positioned as a middle-range phone.

If dual cameras both adopt high-pixel CCM, the cost will surge and may surpass that of OIS. Consumers has very low acceptance of dual lens compared with OIS. After all, Apple, Samsung, Nokia and LG have mainstream models using OIS, in contrast to two non-mainstream mobile phones adopting dual lens. Hence, dual lens may appear on middle-range mobile phones, and are unlikely to be utilized by a large number of vendors.

In CIS field, Sony continues to outshine rivals, leading high-end market and chased by OVT, but Samsung is falling short of its desires. With regard to lens, Largan sweeps over the world, grasping almost 90% of profit in the field and leading to sharp decline in revenue and partly operating loss of South Korean vendors which seek to advance into high-end segment. In CCM field, Sharp benefited from OIS and its revenue surged.

SEMCO is the largest supplier for Samsung. In order to reduce its dependence on Samsung and enter the burgeoning mobile phone market in Chinese Mainland, the company spared no effort to exploit the mainland market, but achieved poor results, not only failing to open up the market, but also loosing major customer- Samsung, with revenue declining distinctly. LITEON filled the position of SEMCO quickly, and became the second largest supplier of OIS for Samsung, behind Sharp. LITEON saw a surge in revenue in 2014.

LG INNOTEK is still the largest supplier for Apple, with slight rise in revenue. Thanks to big increase in shipments from major customers including Xiaomi, Lenovo and OPPO, Sunny Optical Technology also saw a substantial rise in revenue. In addition, Sony also entered CCM field with ambition, aiming to earn revenue of over USD1 billion in 2017. Undoubtedly, the competition in CCM field will prick up, and the gross margin will inevitably slide."

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Semiconductor Packaging News publishes a message from Forza Silicon's President and Co-Founder Barmak Mansoorian. Few quotes:

"In 2015, Forza Silicon will be celebrating its 14th year in the business of delivering innovative custom CMOS image sensor (CIS) and IC design solutions. ...Primarily through long-standing customer relationships and partner referrals, Forza has grown to where today the company employs one of the industry's largest and most experienced independent CMOS imaging engineering teams."

"We expect strong and steady growth in the CMOS image sensor market, particularly for consumer applications (wearable, mobile), automotive imaging, machine vision, security & surveillance and medical imaging."

"The recently introduced Forza Reconfigurable Image Sensor Technology Platform, utilizing advancements in stacked chip technology, is an example of how advanced imaging technology can be leveraged into real value for our customers. The image sensor has numerous reconfigurable capabilities and can be programmed to perform multiple monitoring and decision-making tasks at the sensor "edge... Furthermore, we believe 3D wafer stacking is the next step for image sensors. Forza is already on the leading edge of 3D integration imaging techniques to drastically improve system performance to levels once thought impossible. We’ve applied this technology in our projects with the DARPA SCENICC Program: Soldier Centric Via Computational Cameras and other DoD initiatives."

Once we are at Forza, its recent patent application US20150008308 "Analog-to-digital converter with redundancy for image sensor readout" by Steven Huang, Ali Mesgarni, and Daniel Van Blerkom proposes to add few redundant steps in SAR ADC flow, so that the MSB conversion steps can start earlier, without waiting for the complete settling of the column voltage:

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PR Newswire: Tampere, Finland-based Primoceler announces a new contract with the European Space Agency to design and manufacture CMOS sensor packages for orbital missions. Working with Primoceler on this contract will be ON Semiconductor. Based on ON Semiconductor's HAS3 hermetic design, CMOS sensors are encased in an impermeable seam of glass using laser welding technology, which helps to avoid any problems due to thermal changes, ensuring long-time stability.

"Hermeticity testing from a US laboratory proves that our glass weld has better than 6,0x10-12 atmcc3/s Kr-85 leakage rate, well exceeding the current military and aerospace standards," explained Ville Hevonkorpi, general manager at Primoceler. "Our new ESA contract marks the continuation of a fruitful and productive relationship. We're pleased to be involved with missions that will advance scientific knowledge and inspire humanity's quest for a better understanding of the universe."

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Mobileye published its presentation at Deutsche Bank 2015 Global Auto Industry Conference on Jan 13, 2015 with the company's Chairman and CTO Amnon Shashua talking about automotive camera trends. Few slides from the presentation:


Thanks to MM for the link!

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Intel publishes a Youtube video demoing its RealSense Tunnel exhibition at CES 2015:

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A number of recent theses published by various universities over the last year have not been covered in this blog for various reasons. Here is a quick catch-up:

1. University of Calgary, Canada published MSc thesis "High-Performance CMOS Image Sensor and System for Imaging Tissue Hemodynamics" by Xiao Zhang.
2. Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France publishes PhD thesis "Asynchronous Event Based Vision: Algorithms and Applications to Microrobotics" by Zhenjiang Ni
3. Linkoping University, Sweden publishes dissertation "Geometric Models for Rolling-shutter and Push-broom Sensors" by Erik Ringaby.
4. University of Trento, Italy publishes PhD thesis "Design and characterization of SPAD based CMOS analog pixels for photon-counting applications" by Ekaterina Panina.
5. University of Waterloo, Canada published MSc thesis "Phosphor Coated UV Responsive CCD Image Sensors" by Stefan Alexander
6. University of Texas at Austin published PhD thesis "Video Stabilization and Rectification for Handheld Cameras" by Chao Jia.
7. Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada published MSc thesis "Low Power Parallel Rolling Shutter Artifact Removal" by Nick Stupich.
8. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil, published PhD thesis "Simplified Wide Dynamic Range CMOS Image Sensor with 3T APS Reset-Drain Actuation" by Carlos Augusto de Moraes Cruz.

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Open-access IEEE Journal of the Electron Devices Society publishes an early-access paper "A Pump-gate Jot Device with High Conversion Gain for a Quanta Image Sensor" by Jiaju Ma and Eric Fossum. The new jot sensor uses BSI pixel with charge stored under TG:


A special precaution has been made to reduce the FD capacitance by spacing it away from TG and making RST gate of trapezoidal shape:


The simulated CG of the jot is 380uV/e for a 1.4um pixel in 65nm process (FD capacitance of 0.4fF). The work was sponsored by Rambus.

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Yahoo: Vishay Intertechnology acquired all of the remaining outstanding shares of Taiwan based Capella Microsystems for approximately NT$668.2 million or US$21.0 million. Vishay initially acquired 88.95% of Capella’s shares in September 2014 for the aggregate price approximately NT$6.05 billion (approximately US$201.2 million).

Capella is a manufacturer various light, proximity, and color sensors, including gesture control sensors. In the past, the company has tried to enter CMOS sensors market with no success, apparently.

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PR Newswire: SmartRounds Technology, LLC "SRT" of Brighton, Colorado announces a 18mm non-impact, non-lethal smart bullets, initially be available in two versions: a ShockRound and a PepperRound. Each one is equipped with an image that turns ON the round is fired, and activate the round milliseconds before impact. A Youtube video explains how it works:

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Consumer Reports publishes an article on BMW, Volkswagen, and Visteon (Ford) gesture control systems presented at CES 2015. The general conclusion is that gesture control "looks cool, but not always better."

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Leap Motion reports that its 3D camera Meadowhawk module is used to create a gesture interface in Mercedes-Benz concept shown at CES 2015. Leap Motion technology also featured in a demo by Hyundai, as well as a standalone demo that Leap Motion team brought to the showcase. Designed to work in extreme lighting and higher temperature conditions, Meadowhawk uses specialized 720p high-frame rate image sensors and 16 high-powered infrared LEDs (only 6 are seen on the picture below). The module is designed to be embedded by OEMs:

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Sony patent application US20150002709 "Solid state imaging device and electronic apparatus" by Atsushi Masagaki proposes to use the area for one of the shared PDs for a compact placement of the SF, RST and SEL transistors. The CFA color arrangement also needs to be changed accordingly:

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Taiwanese smartphone brand InFocus launches M530 handset, marking the debut of Cambridge Mechatronics' SMA OIS actuators to the consumer market. This follows over three years of development at Cambridge Mechatronics facilities, resulting in over 20 patents covering the design of smart metal micro actuators, precision control algorithms and drive electronics. The 13MP OIS camera is supplied by Foxconn and includes an SMA OIS actuator produced by CML's manufacturing partner Hutchinson Technology (HTI). HTI and Foxconn are said to be in full mass production of SMA OIS actuators and cameras respectively in their manufacturing facilities in the US and China.

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PR Newswire: OmniVision announces that it has partnered with CEA-Leti spin-off Wavelens to bring to market an MEMS AF technology instead of the dated VCM used in consumer devices today. OmniVision couples its 23.8MP OV23850 sensor with Wavelens' AF solution for flagship smartphones. Wavelens' MEMS motor principle of operation has been presented here some time ago.

Grenoble, France-based Wavelens intends to implement autofocus, image stabilization, and zoom with its MEMS actuators. So far, only AF motors are shown at the company's web site:

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Northwestern University's Center for Quantum Devices (Evanston, IL) publishes a Youtube video on its superlattice MWIR imaging works:



An expanded pdf paper "Advances in mid-infrared detection and imaging: a key issues review" by Manijeh Razeghi and Binh-Minh Nguyen can be downloaded here.

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Marketwired: FLIR announces an enhanced resolution 2nd generation Lepton thermal camera core and attachments for Android or iOS devices, including iPhone 6 and iPad. FLIR's MSX technology, providing enhanced thermal images with sharp detail from visible camera for easy interpretation. The new attachment will be available globally mid-year at FLIR.com and major retail outlets.

FLIR CEO Andy Teich says in a Youtube video that the new Lepton core features 4x higher resolution than the old camera. Electronista says that the new Lepton has 180x120 resolution. The older generation Lepton used to have 80 x 60 pixel array.

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Intel publishes a Youtube video showing yet another use case for its RealSense camera:

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Optics.org, i-Micronews: American Infrared Solutions, Hudson, NH, USA, (AIRS) has announced it is to expand both its staff and laboratories at its headquarters. The company said it is increasing its sensor fabrication and high vacuum dewar processing capacity by 150% in response to growing customer demand. ”Demand had grown rapidly for AIRS high performance SWIR, MWIR and LWIR sensors in both hyperspectral and ISR missions and we are responding with increased throughput and capability. We continue to rapidly develop capabilities necessary to support a wide range of cooled infrared imaging and sensing applications,” said Dan Manitakos, President of AIRS.

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WSJ: Dell Venue 8 7000 Android tablet is the first product on the US market featuring Intel R200 RealSense 3D depth camera:

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Business Wire: Ambarella introduces H1 camera SoC for sports and quadcopter cameras (flying cameras). H1 supports 4K H.264 video encoding at 60fps and 4K H.265/HEVC standard at up to 30fps. H1 features a new generation of ISP with HDR processing, EIS, and a hardware de-warping engine supporting 360-degree panoramic cameras. In addition to 4K Ultra HD encoding, it also supports 1440p (QHD) video at 120 frames per second and 1080p video at 240 frames per second, for smooth slow-motion playback.

“The adoption of 4K Ultra HD video has been accelerating across consumer electronics markets,” said Fermi Wang, President and CEO of Ambarella. “The Ambarella H1 will enable a new generation of sports and flying cameras with high frame rate Ultra HD video, bringing professional-quality film making to the consumer.”

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AAC Technologies and Pelican Imaging announce that AAC Technologies is the chosen lens supplier for Pelican’s latest array camera module. The array camera, manufactured by Jabil, Inc., is slated for inclusion in an upcoming reference design that allows very accurate near-field and far-field depth acquisition. Pelican’s unique, flexible array camera solution provides depth when used as a standalone camera, or when used as a depth sensor in conjunction with a traditional camera.

Jack Duan, COO at AAC Technologies, noted, “We foresee strong demand for high-quality array lenses in the next wave of mobile devices. AAC Technologies is quite pleased to be partnering with Pelican Imaging on their latest array camera module as this offers AAC a great opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation in mobile imaging.”

Pelican Imaging and Jabil Circuit, Inc., announce that the companies are collaborating to produce a high-resolution array camera module for inclusion in a reference design that allows accurate depth acquisition. The new Jabil camera module, based on Pelican’s array camera architecture, is expected to be broadly available in Q2 2015.

Irvin Stein, Business Unit Director of Jabil’s Embedded Camera Group, noted “We believe that array cameras are a key segment of the embedded camera market and will experience significant growth…we’re looking forward to fulfilling the demand for this from Jabil’s customers worldwide.”

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PR Newswire: OmniVision announces that the world's first 100% wireless HD security camera developed by NETGEAR will be using OmniVision's video recording and processing chipset. "By using OmniVision's OV9712 image sensor and OV788 video processor, the Arlo camera delivers crystal clear HD image quality, power efficiency and superior 'instant on' video recording. OmniVision's leadership in advanced digital imaging solutions makes them a natural fit for NETGEAR's smart home innovations," said Erich Volkert, senior director of product management for NETGEAR.

PR Newswire: OmniVision and Ring, producer of the battery-operated, wireless, video doorbell, announce that OmniVision's low-power consumption OV9712 image sensor and OV788 video processor are used for HD video recording and streaming in the new Ring Video Doorbell. The OV788's ultra-low power consumption also helps extend Ring's battery life to up to 14 months. "Through OmniVision's three-year partnership with Ring, we've witnessed how Ring has taken bold steps to create the revolutionary device you see today," said Sam Huang, VP of design engineering at OmniVision. "We greatly value our relationship with Ring, and pride ourselves in being the 'eyes' for products that truly redefine their categories."

PR Newswire: OmniVision announces that it is collaborating with Inuitive Ltd. to develop a reference design for building 3D imaging modules for consumer electronics. OmniVision's family of computer vision-optimized sensors and Inuitive's NU3000 ASIC, a 3D imaging and computer vision processor, are capable of bringing a host of advanced features for a wide range of consumer devices, including smartphones, tablets, notebooks, smart TVs, and wearable devices.

"We are proud to partner with OmniVision to develop a new line of 3D cameras that enable advanced features such as augmented reality, 3D scanning, post processing photography, natural user interface and more," said Shlomo Gadot, co-founder & CEO at Inuitive. "In our view, the levels of performance and flexibility that these solutions offer make them among the most competitive on the market for OEMs looking to integrate 3D capabilities with their products." The new line of 3D cameras will utilize OmniVision's OV7251 global shutter image sensor or the quad high definition OV4688 image sensor.

Inuitive Camera

Inuitive ASIC

PR Newswire: OmniVision announces the immediate availability of an OpenCL optimized imaging algorithm library ideally suited for ARM Mali GPUs. The library includes advanced imaging features such as 3D noise suppression, chroma noise reduction, de-fringe and de-haze and is targeted at smartphones, tablets and notebooks.

"Through our close collaboration with ARM, we have developed imaging solutions that make effective use of the heterogeneous architecture of next generation application processors containing GPU Compute capable GPUs such as the ARM Mali GPU family," said Johnson Shan, VP of Software Algorithm Engineering at OmniVision. "The new algorithm library dramatically reduces execution time and power consumption, resulting in an enhanced user experience and extended battery life."

Update: PR Newswire: OmniVision announces that its OV7251 global shutter image sensor has been selected by Mantis Vision as one of the sensors intended for its next-generation 3D camera reference design, as part of its MV4D technology platform for mobile devices. OmniVision's OV7251, a VGA image sensor with global shutter capabilities, will facilitate accurate 3D imaging and content creation for the MV4D technology platform.

"By developing our 3D mobile camera using OmniVision's OV7251 sensor, Mantis Vision's MV4D technology platform has taken a leap forward in meeting the demands of our partners with daylight operability, sub-mm data accuracies, and slim form-factor compatibility," said Gur Arie Bittan, CTO of Mantis Vision. "With OmniVision's support, we expect the new camera reference design to be available for mobile OEM's in mid-2015."

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Business Wire: – ON Semiconductor (Aptina) has successfully characterized and demonstrated its first fully-functional stacked CMOS sensor featuring a smaller die footprint, higher pixel performance and better power consumption compared to traditional monolithic non-stacked designs. The technology has been successfully implemented and characterized on a test chip with 1.1µm pixels and will be introduced in a product later this year.

“3D stacking technology is an exciting breakthrough that enhances our ability to optimize ON Semiconductor’s future sensors,” said Sandor Barna, VP of Technology for ON Semiconductor’s Image Sensor Group. “This technology provides manufacturing and design flexibility to ensure continued performance leadership across our entire sensor product portfolio.”

Business Wire: On Semiconductor (Aptina) announces 13MP/30fps AR1335 sensor based on advanced 1.1µm pixel featuring a dramatic increase in QE and linear full well capacity. On Semi's CFA processing is sait to have increased the sensitivity by nearly 20% compared to the previous generation. The sensor delivers 4K video and Cinema formats at 30fps and 1080P at 60fps. The high 32-degree CRA supports low z-height applications for smartphones.

“The AR1335 image sensor comes from an intersection of engineering innovation and customer focus,” said Shung Chieh, VP of Consumer Imaging for ON Semiconductor’s Image Sensor Group. “Technology improvements, coupled with smart design and optimized production processes, result in a cost effective solution for smartphone manufactures who wish to deliver a full, rich camera experience in their devices.”

The AR1335 is in mass production in die format and has been designed into several smartphone models with availability in leading phones expected by Q2 2015.

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ULIS publishes a Youtube video showing various applications for its IR cameras:

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Pelican Imaging' Youtube video says that depth is a future of imaging:

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Softkinetic publishes a vice Youtube video on 3D camera use cases in everyday life:

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MIT has published a PhD thesis "Decoupling Algorithms from the Organization of Computation for High Performance Image Processing" by Jonathan Ragan-Kelley devoted mainly to Halide language and compiler. The thesis applies Halide for optimization of trade-offs between parallelism, locality, and the total amount of computation. One of the basic statements is that moving data in a processing system consumes the major power:

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Delft University publishes IEDM 2014 review paper "Toward 1Gfps: Evolution of Ultra-high-speed Image Sensors -ISIS, BSI, Multi-Collection Gates, and 3D-stacking" by T. G. Etoh, V. T. S. Dao, K. Shimonomura, E. Charbon, C. Zhang, Y. Kamakura, and T. Matsuoka. The new paper is an extended and updated version of the previously published open-access review.

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