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Aptina's patent application US20150009375 "Imaging systems with dynamic shutter operation" by Gennadiy Agranov, Sergey Velichko, and John Ladd presents the artifacts issue:

"In conventional imaging systems, image artifacts may be caused by moving objects, moving or shaking camera, flickering lighting, and objects with changing illumination in an image frame. Such artifacts may include, for example, missing parts of an object, edge color artifacts, and object distortion. Examples of objects with changing illumination include light-emitting diode (LED) traffic signs (which can flicker several hundred times per second) and LED stop lights of modern cars.

While electronic rolling shutter and global shutter modes produce images with different artifacts, the root cause for such artifacts is common for both modes of operation. Typically, image sensors acquire light asynchronously relative to the scenery being captured. This means that portions of an image frame may not be exposed for part of the frame duration. This is especially true for bright scenery when integration times are much shorter than the frame time used. Zones in an image frame that are not fully exposed to dynamic scenery may result in object distortion, ghosting effects, and color artifacts when the scenery includes moving or fast-changing objects. Similar effects may be observed when the camera is moving or shaking during image capture operations."

The proposed solution is:

"Each image pixel in a pixel array may include a shutter element for controlling when the photosensitive element acquires charge. For example, when a pixel's shutter element is “open,” photocurrent may accumulate on the photosensitive element. When a pixel's shutter element is “closed,” the photocurrent may be drained out from the pixel and discarded.

The shutter elements may be operated dynamically by being opened and closed multiple times throughout the duration of an imaging frame. Each cycle of dynamic shutter operation may include a period of time when the shutter is open and a period of time when the shutter is closed. At the end of each cycle, the charge that has been acquired on the photosensitive element during the cycle may be transferred from the photosensitive element to a pixel memory element. By repeating this sequence multiple times, the charge accumulated on the pixel memory element may represent the entire scenery being captured without significantly unexposed “blind” time spots."

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Toshiba patent application US20150008482 "Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof" by Motoyuki Sato says that making SiGe superlattice under transfer gate can drastically reduce the influence of SiO2/Si interface traps that potentially can capture photoelectrons during the transfer. The dark current and white pixel defects are also said to be reduced:

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Popular Science: With all the privacy concerns associated with drone usage, Rapere.io offers a counter-drone. "Simply take it outside, put it on the ground, and press the GO button. The Rapere will take off, while at the same time scanning the sky for drones. It can tell the difference between a bird and a drone, and will fly over top of any drone within range, then disable it." Rapere strikes with string by lowering a tangle line onto the rotors of its target:


Twelve 90fps VGA cameras pointing in every direction are used to guide the drone to it's target - hovering above the free floating target drone. Rapere says that detecting a free floating object which is well illuminated and far from any other visible object is easy. The counter-drone can burn lots of watts on the onboard computer, because of the short intercept flight time, which also simplifies the work.

With drones and anti-drones both using many cameras, it appears that image sensor market is set for a new explosive growth.

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Less than a week left to submit abstracts to the 2015 International Image Sensor Workshop. The submission deadline is January 23, 2015

Details are in the final call for papers at http://www.imagesensors.org.

Vaals, The Netherlands, place for IISW 2015

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Windows Central publishes an interview with Juha Alakarhu, Head of Imaging Technology on the Microsoft Lumia Windows Phones. Juha talks about the new camera features in the upcoming Windows Phone Denim upgrade, probably the biggest camera upgrade since Windows Phone 8:

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Belgian newspaper Tijd (Time) reports that CMOSIS is studying the possibility of an IPO. The process is still in the early stage. The company's turnover in 2014 was 50 million euros and the operating margin (EBITDA) was 30%.

80% of the company belongs to its investor TA Associates, while 20% of the stock is in hands of its founders and staff.

CMOSIS CEO Luc De Mey (left) receives Award of the Most Promising Belgian Company of the Year, Oct. 2014

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Barron's: Rosenblatt Securities‘s analyst Brian Blair forecasts 13MP selfie cameras in this year's smartphones: "The basic idea is that front facing cameras on smartphones have generally been VGA – 1MP over the last 5 years. We believe that this is shifting in 2015 to 5MP — 13MP sensors for front-facing cameras. We expect to initially see this at the high end of the market, but we anticipate the trend will quickly filter into mid-tier models as well. We recently saw evidence of this trend at CES with a few models that had 5MP – 13MP front facing cameras (from Samsung and HTC notably) and we expect MWC in early March to showcase numerous additional models. This trend is critical, as it meaningfully lifts dollar content per handset and raises overall ASPs/ revenues, and provides a bump to gross margins as well."

One of the new smartphones demoing this trend at CES 2015 is Saygus V2 with 21MP rear camera and 13MP front camera, both equipped with OIS:

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Already linked in an earlier post, the Mobileye CTO and Chairman Amnon Shashua presentation at Deutsche Bank 2015 Global Auto Industry Conference is now published as a Youtube video:

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EE Catalog publishes Forza and Lattice article with explanations on the companies' joint stacked sensor product. Forza's image sensor is stacked on top of Lattice MachXO/2/3 FPGA:


Lattice slide shows a use case example:

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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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