Archives for July 2019

Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

ON Semi application note "Image Sensor Handling and Best Practices" describes best practices of image sensor cover glass cleaning:

Do not touch the cover glass with fingers or anything other than a cleaning paper as required in this section. Finger grease can etch optical coatings and cause permanent damage. The gloves should be static and powder free. Gloves should be static dissipative Nitrile gloves.

Materials:

• Clean compressed nitrogen
• Ultra−clean DI water (4−6 megaohms/centimeters deionized water that has been filtered)
• High-grade IPA (solvent grade/100% pure lab purity grade)
• ESD protective Wipe:
  ♦ For CCD sensors: Berkshire DurX 670
  ♦ For CMOS sensors: Puritech Puritech S1091PRT or RTMKC002
• ESD protective gloves for example: Nitrile Glove, required Ansell 93−401/402 or NiProTect CC529

Method A: Blow Off
This method is applicable for loose particle contamination. This is the only method that guarantees no residues such as drying spots.

• Remove particles from the glass by blowing with an ionized-N2 gun.
• Do not blow towards the other parts. If you work under a flow box, try to blow out of the box.

Method B: High-Grade IPA Clean or Ultra−Clean DI Water

• Apply cleaning solvent using a separate lab−ware quality polypropylene squeeze bottle (Nalgene trade name), not the original bottle
• Use a lint free wipe in one direction, with even pressure across the glass surface.
• Never wipe the cover glass with a dry cloth. The cleaning solvent should be applied directly to the cleaning wipe and never directly on the cover glass.
• The ESD protective wipe should not be saturated, only dampened with the cleaning agent.
• After each wipe, either start with a fresh wipe or fold the wipe to provide a fresh surface for glass cleaning

Note: High grade IPA or ultra-clean DI water are acceptable for cleaning both plain glass and AR coated glass.

Note: Method A and B are acceptable methods to clean the CCD image sensor cover glass with the following exception. DI Water or IPA is not recommended for cleaning the CCD image sensor cover glass. Instead, 100% ethanol is required as the cleaning agent for CCD image sensor cover glass.

Caution on Cleaning Agents:

• Use high-grade IPA only to clean the image sensor lid glass. Other solvents can contaminate the glass, attack the resin and sealant, and degrade reliability of the package.
• Do not use acetone because it attacks the resin that glues the cover glass to the package.
• Do not use methanol due to its toxicity and low quality cleaning properties.
• Do not use sodium hydroxide (NaOh) because it degrades the AR coating on the glass.
• Do not use highly alkaline (pH > 8) cleaning chemistries.
• Do not use any solvents commonly used in paint strippers: toluene, benzene, methyl-ethyl ketones, ester solvents, acetone or methyl chloride, freons, terpens, anionic surfactants and multi−hydroxyl ethers.

If the surface is not clean, repeat these procedures. If the contaminant is not removed in two or three wipes, it is possible that the cover glass is permanently damaged. Inspect the device in optical microscope for permanent damage.

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Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Albert Theuwissen announces 2019 Harvest Imaging Forum agenda:

After the Harvest Imaging forums during the last 6 years, a seventh one will be organized in December 2019, in Delft, the Netherlands.

The 2019 Harvest Imaging forum will deal with two subjects (both in the field of smart cameras) and two speakers. Both speakers are world-level experts in their own fields.

"On-Chip Feature Extraction for Range-Finding and Recognition Applications"
Makoto IKEDA (Tokyo University, Japan)


"Direct ToF 3D Imaging : from the Basics to the System"
Matteo PERENZONI (FBK, Trento, Italy)

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Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

BusinessWire: ams has signed a formal letter of intent to collaborate in the field of image sensors with SmartSens . This collaboration complements ams’ strategic approach to further broaden its portfolio for all three 3D technologies – Active Stereo Vision (ASV), Time-of-Flight (ToF) and Structured Light (SL). To quickly meet an expected increasing demand for 3D sensing solutions in mobile devices, the partnership’s initial focus will be on 3D NIR sensors for facial recognition and applications requiring a high QE in the NIR (2D and 3D).

To speed up the time to market for customers, the companies will collaborate on the development of a 3D ASV reference design to support the planned future launch of a 1.3MP Stacked BSI Global Shutter Image Sensor with state of the art QE up to 40% at 940nm. This NIR sensor is a perfect addition to ams’ 3D illumination offerings, extending ams’ 3D portfolio and optimizing overall system performance. The reference design will enable high performance depth maps for payment, face recognition and AR/VR applications at a highly competitive total system cost.

“This collaboration with SmartSens in Image Sensors brings customers the benefit of a faster time to market for 3D Active Stereo Vision and Structured Light applications in mobile phones and other devices including IoT applications, based on ams’ industry leading 3D technology and core IP on Voltage-Domain Global Shutter. The collaboration will also help accelerate time to market for exciting new automotive applications such as in-cabin 2D and 3D sensing,” said Stéphane Curral, EVP for the Division Image Sensor Solutions at ams.

“We are pleased to partner with ams to combine our expertise in Image Sensors and NIR technology with ams’ 3D expertise and core Image Sensing IP. We believe this combination of robust technology and channel to market will provide an optimal solution to meet customer demand,” said Chris Yiu, CMO, SmartSens Technology.

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Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Sony adds two more 4K sensors to its 4K lineup: IMX485LQJ and IMX415-AAQR.

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Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

GlobeNewswire: STMicroelectronics announces its user presence detection where the output from ST’s FlightSense ToF ranging sensor is used by Intel Context Sensing to improve PC data security while reducing power consumption. ST’s FlightSense ToF sensor, hidden behind a cover glass in the bezel of a laptop, monitors the user’s presence in front of their PC. When the user leaves, the ToF sensor detects their absence and immediately locks the system and directs it into the Windows Modern-Stand-by low-power state, improving security and reducing power consumption. The ToF sensor then enters a low-power autonomous mode, scanning the scene for the user returning while keeping the PC asleep to save power. When the user returns, the ToF sensor wakes the PC and automatically enables facial recognition to log in without waiting for a key press or mouse movement.

The ST patented algorithm used in the system can distinguish an immobile person sitting in front of a PC from an inanimate object, such as a chair, without relying on video analytics from the power-hungry and potentially intrusive webcam.

“By leveraging ST’s market-leading FlightSense Time-of-Flight ranging technology, the development of user presence detection brings extended battery life, improved data protection, and increased convenience to PC users,” said Eric Aussedat, EVP and GM Imaging, STMicroelectronics.

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Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

ALA News: Isorg and Sumitomo Chemical announce their agreement to develop new organic photodetectors (OPDs) for use as smartphone fingerprint sensors and hybrid organic CMOS image sensors. The fingerprint sensors can be incorporated beneath the entirety of a smartphone display, allowing fingerprint recognition from any point or position on that display. The hybrid organic CMOS image sensors are intended for use in cameras, including those designed for near infrared capabilities. Sumitomo Chemical and Isorg anticipate that these sensors will meet the performance and quality standards necessary for application in the security, automotive, diagnostics and consumer electronics markets.

This agreement expands the existing collaboration between Sumitomo Chemical and Isorg that began in 2013. Isorg will license its technology processes to its OEMs, while Sumitomo Chemical will manufacture the dedicated organic semiconductor material, as well as support Isorg in terms of production technology and marketing.

“Partnering with Isorg will allow us to fill a void in the market for difficult-to-manufacture, but affordable, full-size fingerprint and CMOS image sensors that are suitable for demanding applications in smartphone displays and hybrid visible and near infrared cameras,” said Hiroshi Ueda, EVP at Sumitomo Chemical. “Sumitomo Chemical is leveraging its materials platform to seize new opportunities for growth in the imager arena.”

“Isorg is honored to collaborate with Sumitomo Chemical in providing OEMs with what we believe will be the leading solution for fingerprint sensors and hybrid organic CMOS image cameras, and which offer significant performance advantages,” said Jean-Yves Gomez, CEO and co-founder of Isorg. “With the strong backing of Sumitomo Chemical, and its industrial leadership, global footprint and drive for excellence, Isorg’s customers will have added assurances in our ability to deliver quality products. We look forward to engaging with customers on the designs and applications of these products.”

Going forward, Sumitomo Chemical and Isorg will work jointly on commercialization of the products to promptly meet the needs of customers.

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Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

Hidekazu Takahashi from Canon Inc. kindly sent me pictures that he shot on his EOS 5D Mark4 DSLR on the Awards ceremony at IISW 2019 in Snowbird, UT, last week:

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Image Sensors World        Go to the original article...

PRWeb: Beijing, China-based VKANSEE launches its Matrix Pinhole Image Sensing (MAPIS). MAPIS is "integrated into an OLED panel, effectively turning the entire display into a high-resolution fingerprint lens and allowing simple installation of the CMOS sensor anywhere under the display screen. Unlike other sensors that are obscured by the high density of OLED driver circuits which yield low resolution when placed fully under the OLED display, the MAPIS integrated OLED solution captures high-resolution fingerprint details of 800 PPI to better recognize challenging cold and dry fingers. The sensor captures high-resolution and high contrast, exposing 3rd level fingerprint features to achieve excellent performance even under strong ambient light. For the user, a fingerprint icon lights up on the display, which could be located anywhere, to guide the user and disappears upon authentication."

The first company to integrate the new design is OLED display maker BOE Technology, announced a year ago. The second partnership with Tianma has been announced but quickly pulled back from the company website. It still can be found in Google cache.

“We are focused on bringing our novel MAPIS optical fingerprinting technology to users across the globe to improve security and convenience, and hope to make MAPIS optics as a standard design of OLED,” stated Jason Chaikin, President of VKANSEE. “In partnership with Egis, we’re confident this will happen in the near future. We believe integrating the MAPIS optics into the OLED screen will greatly change the fingerprint sensor industry similar to the history of integrating touch sensing into the OLED screen.”

Google patent search reveals a number of different VKANSEE lens designs. It's not clear which one is used in the actual product:

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