Archives for October 2019

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PRNewswire: OmniVision that its OV6948 is the winner of the Guinness World Record for "The Smallest Image Sensor Commercially Available" with its size of 0.575mm x 0.575mm. Derived from this ultra small imager, the company also announced its OVM6948 CameraCubeChip – a fully packaged, wafer-level camera module measuring 0.65mm x 0.65mm, with a z-height of just 1.158mm:



"At Yole Développement (Yole), we expect disposable endoscope shipments to grow at a 35.9% CAGR over the next five years," asserted Marjorie Villien, technology and market analyst, medical and industrial imaging. "This industry is today driven by the recent recommendation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) related to the cross-contamination issues due to improper cleaning of the endoscopes. In this context, all major endoscope OEMs are developing cost-effective, small-diameter disposable endoscopes with high image quality."

Utilizing a highly effective and economical wafer-level packaging technology, the OVM6948 is making the mass production of disposable medical imaging equipment possible. Additionally, this complete module can be integrated into a catheter or endoscope with a diameter as small as 1.0mm. With this camera's small size and high 200x200, or 40 KPixel resolution, high quality images can be captured from within the body's narrowest blood vessels for neuro, ophthalmic, ENT, cardiac, spinal, urology, gynecology and arthroscopy procedures. Additionally, many space constrained dental, veterinarian and industrial applications can also benefit from the OVM6948's advanced design.

"Previously, procedures in the body's smallest anatomy were performed either blind or using low quality images from fiberscopes, as existing cameras were too big and reusable endoscopes were not cost effective," said Aaron Chiang, marketing director at OmniVision. "The OVM6948 wafer-level camera module offers a compact, high quality solution for disposable guidewires, catheters and endoscopes, which are experiencing growing demand because of their ability to reduce cross-contamination risks, downtime inefficiencies and costs associated with the repairs, preprocedural testing and sterilization of reusable endoscopes. In addition, these compact disposable medical devices can improve patient comfort and shorten recovery time."

The OVM6948 is said to be the only ultra small "chip on tip" camera with backside illumination, which helps to reduce LED heat, along with improved sensitivity. It also allows for the use of superior lens technology over competing front-side illumination cameras in this class. Additionally, this color analog camera with OmniBSI+™ technology enables easy calibration in production and is reflowable with a 4-pin interface for simplified integration, which shortens time to market while reducing costs.

Other key features of this camera module include a wide 120-degree FOV and an extended focus range of 3mm to 30mm. Its image array is capable of capturing 200x200 resolution images and video at up to 30 fps, and its analog output that can transmit over 4 meters with minimal noise. The camera also offers low power consumption of 25 mW, generating less heat for better patient comfort and flexible procedure durations.

The OVM6948 is available now for volume production in the tray format, along with an evaluation kit.

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Princeton Infrared Technologies wins a Phase II SBIR contract with the US Army at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ. The contract will fund the development of a small size, weight, power, and cost SWIR camera for precision guided gun launched munitions based on successful technology demonstrations in Phase I.

Princeton Infrared Technologies, Inc. will develop a small, low power, lightweight, uncooled 640x512 on 8 μm pixel pitch SWIR seeker for the precise engagement of targets during daytime, nighttime, and poor environmental conditions. This camera will enable the user to image and track laser designators and pointers deployed on the battlefield.

The $999,982, 2-year project will develop a gun hardened small InGaAs SWIR camera with the processing capabilities and frame rates to meet the imaging requirements of tracking targets on board of a small high speed gun or mortar launched projectile.

President of Princeton Infrared Technologies, Martin H. Ettenberg, notes, “The advantages of InGaAs SWIR imagers are their ability to image at long range through atmospheric obscurants better than visible cameras without a requirement for cooling. They support very high frame rates for negating the effects of image blur in very fast moving munitions. In prior programs, we have demonstrated that InGaAs SWIR imagers survive gun launched mechanical shock which we will leverage in this development.”

From the company's previous SBIR contracts talking about its camera design capabilities:

"We have shown that InGaAs SWIR imagers survive the 20,000g gun shock. We will be manufacturing a small 300 frame per second [camera] needed to meet the imaging needs of the user to track targets while inside small gun launched projectile.

The advantage of SWIR is its ability to image at long range through the atmosphere while being an uncooled technology thus minimizing the SWAP and cost. The removal of the cooling system and the minimum number of components to operate the imager with high speed imaging is necessary to survive launch shock. The imaging system will weight less than 60g with the battery and the lens while using less than 900mW of power."

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Imec presents a thin-film monolithic NIR & SWIR image sensor. The new thin-film process is said to promise an order of magnitude gain in fabrication throughput and cost compared to processing today’s conventional IR imagers, while at the same time enabling multi-megapixel resolution.

Imec's thin-film is based on quantum dots and is deposited directly on top of an electronic readout. They are manufactured in a monolithic process compatible with wafer-based mass production. The pixels embed newly developed high-performance low bandgap quantum dot materials that match or even surpass the performance of inorganic light absorbers. The stacks have been carefully engineered and can be tuned to target a spectrum from visible light all the way up to 2µm wavelength. Test photodiodes on silicon substrate achieve an external quantum efficiency above 60% at 940nm wavelength, exceeding the state-of-the-art, and above 20% at 1450nm, allowing for uncooled operation with dark current comparable to commercial InGaAs photodetectors. The prototype imager has resolution of 758x512 pixels and 5um pixel pitch.

“We are excited to present this outstanding thin-film imager, a collaborative result of several teams with expertise ranging from chemistry, device engineering, readout design through integration and fab manufacturing. This result opens up many new applications for thin-film imagers,” commented Pawel Malinowski, imec’s thin-film imagers program manager. “Our imagers could be integrated in next generation world-facing smartphone cameras coupled with eye-safe light sources, enabling compact sensing modules for augmented reality. In inspection, they could be used for food or plastics sorting, and in surveillance for low-light cameras with better contrast. Additionally, by enabling feature distinction in bad weather or smoke conditions, one can envision firefighting applications and, in the future, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).”

Here is the SWIR test chip processed at die level:


Looking further, imec aims to develop a wafer-level NIR and SWIR image sensor technology and develop technologies for companies with a roadmap in innovative image sensors, cameras and smart imaging applications. The current SWIR photodetector is the result of several collaborations, including the Flemish VLAIO-SBO project MIRIS (IWT/150029) with academic partners Ghent University and University of Hasselt, and Flanders based companies active in imaging technology.

Below are Imec SWIR sensors processed at wafer scale:


Imec Magazine gives more details on the thin-film structure:

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BusinessWire: ON Semiconductor has passed the landmark number of 100M AR0132AT image sensors shipped for driver assistance applications in 7 years since its first announcement. Among other customers, the AR0132AT is used in the stereo camera in Subaru EyeSight system to support safety functionality, including adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and sway warning, pre-collision braking and pre-collision throttle management.

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Canon News site refers to Canon Japan web page showing that the company expands its CMOS sensor lineup by 5 new products for security applications:


With these new sensors addition, Canon portfolio looks somewhat more full with products:


12MP 1-inch CMOS 4K Sensor

• Filter Type - RGB
• Sensitivity - 22,000 e/lx/sec @Analog gain x1 (TBD)
• Number of Effective Pixels - 4000 x 3000
• Pixel Size - 3.2 um x 3.2 um
• Shutter - Rolling shutter 12 bit, 24 fps (All Pixels)
• Maximum Frame Rate - 10 bit, 60 fps (4K2K)
• Saturation 22,000 e (TBD) @ Analog gain x 1
• Dark Random Noise - 2.8 e rms @Analog gain x16 (TBD)
• Dark Current - 17 e/sec (TBD) @package reverse side 60℃
• Power Consumption - 540 mW (Typ.) @All pixels readout 24fps (12bit)

12MP 1/1.7-inch CMOS Sensor

• Filter Type - RGB
• Sensitivity - 8,900 e/lx/sec @Analog gain x1 (TBD)
• Number of Effective Pixels 4000x 3000
• Pixel Size - 1.86 um x 1.86 um
• Shutter - Rolling shutter 12 bit, 15 fps (All Pixels)
• Maximum Frame Rate - 11 bit, 30 fps (4K2K)
• Saturation - 12,000 e (TBD) @Analog gain x1
• Dark Random Noise - 1.3 e rms @Analog gain x16 (TBD)
• Dark Current - 7 e/sec (TBD) @package reverse side 60℃
• Power Consumption - 520 mW (Typ.) @All pixels readout 15 fps (12bit)

2.8MP 1/2.32-inch HDR CMOS Sensor - 3U3MRXSAAC

• Filter Type - RGB
• Sensitivity (e/lx/sec) 25,000 (Green) @Analog gain x1 (TBD)
• Number of Effective Pixels 1936 x 1456
• Pixel Size - 3.2 um x 3.2 um
• Shutter - Rolling shutter 120 dB, HDR
• Dynamic Range - 75dB, Normal
• Maximum Frame Rate (All Pixels) - 60 fps, Normal, 30 fps, HDR
• Operating Temperature - -40℃ ~ 105℃（-40°F ~ 221°F）
• Saturation - 23,000 e @Analog gain x1 (TBD)
• Dark Random Noise - 2.7 e rms @Analog gain x4 (TBD)
• Dark Current - 13 e/sec @Analog gain x 1, 60℃ (TBD), TBD @room temperature
• Output Format - @in all-pixel operating mode 12bit, 60fps
• Power Consumption - 300mW (Typ.) @using all pixels 60 fps (TBD)

Super 35mm 4K 9.34MP CMOS Sensor with 60 fps all-pixel readout

• Filter Type - RGB
• Sensitivity - 72,000 e/lx/sec @Analog gain x1 (TBD)
• Number of Effective Pixels 4112 x 2248
• Pixel Size - 6.4 um x 6.4 um
• Shutter - Rolling shutter
• Maximum Frame Rate 12bit, 60 fps (All Pixels)
• Saturation - 39,000 e(TBD) @Analog gain x1
• Dark Random Noise - 2.7 e rms @Analog gain x 8 (TBD)
• Dark Current - 54 e/sec(TBD) @package reverse side 60℃
• Power Consumption - 2 W (Typ.) @All pixels readout 60 fps

Full Frame 50MP CMOS Sensor

• Filter Type - RGB
• Sensitivity - 32,000 e/lx/sec @Analog gain x16 (TBD)
• Number of Effective Pixels 8688x 5792 (Horizontal x Vertical)
• Pixel Size - 4.14 um x 4.14 um
• Shutter - Rolling shutter
• Maximum Frame Rate - 6.8 fps (All Pixels)
• Saturation - 38,000 e (TBD)
• Dark Random Noise - 2.5 e rms @Analog gain x16 (TBD)
• Dark Current - 9.6 e/sec (TBD) @package reverse side 60℃
• Output Format - 16 ch analog outputs
• Power Consumption - 1.5 W (Typ.) @All pixels readout 6.8 fps

A couple of new videos showing the resolution power of Canon's older 120MP sensor:





Thanks to TG for the link!

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ST publishes a couple of videos promoting its VG5761 sensor for in-cabin monitoring. Interestingly, the sensor is marked as obsolete at ST site:

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Omnivision announces on Twitter: "Our OV6948 imager was just named by @GWR as “The Smallest #ImageSensor Commercially Available” at just 0.575 x 0.575mm. The sensor brings #FutureInSight to medical applications."

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Fudan University, Shanghai, PISD "successfully combines all functionalities in one transistor. This can largely simplify the pixel design and improve its efficiency. Considering the huge market of image sensor, the development of PISD is very helpful for China to break the monopoly in the global market."

Fudan University's IEEE EDL paper "A Novel One-Transistor Active Pixel Sensor With In-Situ Photoelectron Sensing in 22 nm FD-SOI Technology" by Yong-Feng Cao, M. Arsalan, J. Liu, Yu-Long Jiang, and J. Wan "is commented as “revolutionary” by its reviewer." From the abstract:

"For the first time, a novel active pixel sensor (APS) with 22 nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technology is experimentally demonstrated. The APS in-situ integrates photo sensing, charge integration, buffer amplification, and random access in one transistor without charge transfer and assistance of additional transistors. The deep depletion effect in the substrate of the SOI MOSFET is used to collect photoelectrons which are then sensed by the top Si channel. A sensor array is proposed and high sensitivity is experimentally verified in a simplified circuit."


IEEE JEDS publishes Peking University, Beijing, open-access paper "UTBB-Based Single Transistor Image Sensor of Submicron Pixel Using Back Gate Modulation" by Liqiao Liu, Xiaoyan Liu, and Gang Du:

"Image sensor has developed for decades. Now, submicron photo sensor device with high performance is required. In this work, a UTBB (ultra-thin body and box) based single transistor image sensor has been investigated. The light collection and signal readout are accomplished by a single transistor, so the pixel of the UTBB image sensor can shrink down to the submicron. The main parameters impacting the performance of the UTBB image sensor such as back voltage, the thickness of the BOX, well doping concentration and well depth are investigated. Besides, the UTBB image sensor can achieve multi-resolution to adapt to different requirements. The performance of the UTBB image sensor is evaluated by TCAD simulations."

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Fudan University, Shanghai, PISD "successfully combines all functionalities in one transistor. This can largely simplify the pixel design and improve its efficiency. Considering the huge market of image sensor, the development of PISD is very helpful for China to break the monopoly in the global market."

Fudan University's IEEE EDL paper "A Novel One-Transistor Active Pixel Sensor With In-Situ Photoelectron Sensing in 22 nm FD-SOI Technology" by Yong-Feng Cao, M. Arsalan, J. Liu, Yu-Long Jiang, and J. Wan "is commented as “revolutionary” by its reviewer." From the abstract:

"For the first time, a novel active pixel sensor (APS) with 22 nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technology is experimentally demonstrated. The APS in-situ integrates photo sensing, charge integration, buffer amplification, and random access in one transistor without charge transfer and assistance of additional transistors. The deep depletion effect in the substrate of the SOI MOSFET is used to collect photoelectrons which are then sensed by the top Si channel. A sensor array is proposed and high sensitivity is experimentally verified in a simplified circuit."


IEEE JEDS publishes Peking University, Beijing, open-access paper "UTBB-Based Single Transistor Image Sensor of Submicron Pixel Using Back Gate Modulation" by Liqiao Liu, Xiaoyan Liu, and Gang Du:

"Image sensor has developed for decades. Now, submicron photo sensor device with high performance is required. In this work, a UTBB (ultra-thin body and box) based single transistor image sensor has been investigated. The light collection and signal readout are accomplished by a single transistor, so the pixel of the UTBB image sensor can shrink down to the submicron. The main parameters impacting the performance of the UTBB image sensor such as back voltage, the thickness of the BOX, well doping concentration and well depth are investigated. Besides, the UTBB image sensor can achieve multi-resolution to adapt to different requirements. The performance of the UTBB image sensor is evaluated by TCAD simulations."

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AAA report on pedestrian detection in modern cars ADAS emphasizes a limited efficiency of the camera-based systems. The night time tests (with headlights) were especially disappointing:

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Sony announces that the Sociable Cart SC-1, jointly developed with Yamaha Motor, will begin service on November 1, 2019. The first phase of this service launch will take place in Okinawa Prefecture's Kanucha Bay Resort in Nago City, and the Southeast Botanical Garden in Okinawa City.

Sociable Cart SC-1 features image sensors capable of vision beyond that of human capacity on all sides of the vehicle, allowing it to sense the surrounding environment using images that are in-focus in all directions. Moreover, the ultra-high sensitivity characteristics of the image sensors and the high-resolution display installed inside the vehicle allow the passengers to see their surroundings at night even without any headlights. The SC-1 also incorporates mixed reality (MR) technology developed by Sony that can superimpose computer graphics onto the surroundings being displayed on the monitor. This turns the area that used to be taken up by windows, where passengers could only see the scenery, into an entertainment area, thereby enabling a more enjoyable mobility experience.

The initial service, Moonlight Cruise, is a night-time showcase where passengers ride on SC-1 after dark. Rather than being controlled by the passengers, SC-1's ultra-high sensitivity image sensors and high-resolution display start by showing the night-time scenery and overlaying entertainment content generated by the MR technology, while passengers are free to sit back and enjoy the experience.

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AnandTech attempts to figure out the technology behind Huawei Mate 30 Pro smartphone 7680fps slow motion:

One of the headline features of the Mate 30 Pro is its super slow motion capabilities. Most smartphones available on the market today, if they offer slow motion, do it at either 120 fps, 240 fps, or up to 960 fps. This typically comes in the form of a sensor and system that can take 120 frames per second video and do clever interpolation to appear as if it is a higher frame rate. We’ve seen some good and bad solutions here.

The way that traditional slow motion cameras work is on a sliding scale – the trade-off between frame rate is resolution. If you reduce the area of the sensor that needs to take the image by one quarter, then technically the fast memory storing the video data can store 4x as much – as long as you can poll data from the sensor at 4x the speed, it should be good to go.

It seems that Huawei is doing a mix of things here to get 7680 fps. The camera offers several settings, which comes with a slider from 2x to 256x. Any setting 32x or lower gives a 1080p video, while 64x and higher gives a 720p video:

• 1080p at 120 fps = 4x speedup
• 1080p at 240 fps = 8x speedup
• 1080p at 960 fps = 32x speedup
• 720p at 1920 fps = 64x speedup
• 720p at 7680 fps = 256x speedup

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BusinessKorea: Samsung is trying to leverage its advantage in advanced processes to overtake Sony on image sensor market. "Samsung Electronics' System LSI Business Division is expected to boost its image sensor sales and market share as it secured LG Electronics as one of its corporate customers. Major smartphone makers including China's Xiaomi and Oppo also reportedly adopted Samsung's image sensors for their latest products. Therefore, Samsung's share in the image sensor market is expected to grow."

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FLIR Firefly DL combines Sony image sensor with Intel-Movidius AI processor in a compact body for relatively low price of $299:




Charbax publishes a demo of similar compact AI camera based on Lattice SensAI FPGA framework:

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IPVM publishes the results of its testing of lasers impact on surveillance cameras:

"Our testing showed it is difficult to permanently damage surveillance cameras because:

• Close range required: Permanent damage did not occur from distance of ~50 feet or further from the camera, regardless of the strength of the laser we tested.
• Aiming by hand difficult: Targeting a laser towards a camera is difficult from more than ~10' away. Attaching the laser to a stationary object for aiming makes sensor damage much more likely.

Striking or shooting a camera is far more likely to damage a camera than using a laser.

Finally, at close range (5-10'), even small, less than 5 mW laser pointers using AAA batteries (e.g., the ones used to play with pets) were able to damage sensors, albeit only a few pixels at a time. High powered 30,000 mW lasers more quickly damaged sensors and in larger "chunks" of pixels, but were also able to effectively "cook" the camera, creating smoke within a few seconds of steady aiming."

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CBS reports that Researchers at the University of Central Florida and Imec propose to use hyperspectral camera to help Florida’s fight against the invasive Burmese python in the Everglades. The python is typically very difficult to detect because of its camouflage markings. Thermal imaging doesn’t work because pythons are cold-blooded and adopt the temperature of their surroundings.

The new hyperspectral camera works in conjunction with an LED light source that together detect a python’s reflection, rather than its heat signature:

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Imec publishes a list of its spin-offs in chronological order. Quite many of them are imaging-related:

• FillFactory, high speed imagers (acquired by Cypress, then sold to ON Semi)
• XENICS - IR ROICs and imagers
• Camargus is a start-up centered around multicamera and video stitching technology for the broadcasting market
• Magcam - imaging of magnetic fields
• Morrow - tunable lenses optics for everyday people’s glasses
• Midiagnostics - lens-free-imaging based disposable blood tests
• Spectricity - spectral sensing sensors

Recently, Imec has setup a local VC fund imec.XPAND to support the creation of more start-ups.

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PRNewswire: Smartsens wins the “China’s Most Promising Company Award 2019,” jointly hosted by Ernst & Young and Fudan University School of Management. SmartSens was founded as a company focusing on security applications. While it continues to advance its lead in the Security & Surveillance industry, SmartSens is expanding its portfolio of products for artificial intelligence (AI), automotive and ADAS applications.

“We are honored to have been recognized by Ernst & Young and Fudan University, and to have received the ‘China’s Most Promising Company’ Award,” said SmartSens Co-Founder Li Yue. “In recent years, China has seen historic growth in research capabilities at unprecedented speeds, and it is changing the competitive landscape of a multitude of industries, including that of CMOS image sensors. SmartSens will continue leveraging its technological edge and collaboration with industry partners to meet the demands of new applications, driving CMOS image sensing technology into a new era.”


SmartSens also announces the launch of its own LED flicker suppression technology. "LED flicker suppression is a must-have feature for automotive CMOS image sensors," said Chris Yiu, CMO of Smartsens. "This time, through the independent research and development, it has been implemented on domestic CMOS image sensors. This function is believed to be a great success in the development of China's automotive electronics industry. In the future, CMOS image sensor chip products launched by Smartsens for the automotive electronics market will be equipped with this technology to help customers improve automotive electronic systems."

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Korea Joongang Daily quotes IHS Markit data on CIS market shares:


IFNews quotes IHS Markit report on smartphone camera market: "IHS Market states that though global smartphone market declines, yet the camera market is growing in 2019. Considering the image sensor size is increasing 40%~50% while upgrade from 16MP to 48MP or even 64MP, and total wafer demand will increase about 50% in 2019."

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