CP+ 2022 On-site Event at Pacifico Yokohama Canceled
February 7, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Canon requests removal of toner cartridges offered by zhu hai chuang yue xin ke ji you xian gong si via Amazon
February 7, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Canon’s activities lead to the removal of 2,224 listings from Amazon in Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, The Netherlands and Turkey
February 7, 2022 By Leave a Comment
57 listings removed from Amazon in Canada, Mexico and the United States of America after Canon files infringement reports
February 7, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Thesis on Current-Assisted SPAD Sensors
February 6, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
Vrije Universiteit Brussel publishes a PhD thesis "Current-assisted SPAD sensors fabricated in conventional CMOS process" by Gobinath Jegannathan.
"In this work, a novel SPAD sensor is presented where the novelty arises from the integration of a large absorption volume and a very small avalanche multiplication volume. Such a detector topology allows to have a thick absorption layer which leads to higher quantum efficiencies for NIR wavelengths. This integration is enabled by “current-assistance” principle where a drift field is created in the substrate by applying a potential gradient. This “current-assisted SPAD” is fabricated in a cost-effective CMOS process which is commercially available."
trinamiX Face Authentication is the First to be Certified as Highly secure Behind OLED
February 5, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
trinamiX Face Authentication is the world’s first to fulfill highest biometric security demands while the hardware is invisibly mounted behind an OLED display. The solution was lately put to the thorough test of accredited assessment institutes. It was certified to be spoof-proof behind OLED according to the top standards defined by Android and FIDO Alliance.
To give proof of its higher security, trinamiX has put their technology to the test of accredited assessment institutes. Over a period of several months, it has undergone thousands of spoof attempts including the use of silicone masks with accurate three-dimensional shape. As a result, their face authentication solution has successfully been certified as spoof-proof (Spoof Acceptance Rate = 0 %) according to Android Biometric Class 3 (strong). It furthermore showed to fulfill the high requirements of FIDO Level C – the alliance’s soon-to-be top standard. Based on these assessments, trinamiX Face Authentication is officially approved for integration into Android phones as well as for use in sensitive applications like mobile payment. As the world’s first face authentication solution, it passed all biometric security tests while the hardware was mounted behind an OLED display.
Startups Funding in January 2022
February 4, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
Semiconductor Engineering publishes "Startup Funding: January 2022" There is a number of imaging startups in the list, mostly from China:- Keyang Semiconductor (KYS) raised over CNY 100.0M (~$15.8M) in a strategic investment. The company offers packaging and testing services, with a focus on wafer-level packaging, TSV packages, and fingerprint recognition devices. The funds will be used to upgrade its CIS production line. Founded in 2013, it is based in Suzhou, China.
- Hefei Sensor Turnkey Service (HSTS) raised nearly CNY 50.0M (~$7.9M) in a Series A round that included Hefei Industry Investment Group. HSTS specializes in CIS packaging and testing services covering 8-inch and 12-inch wafer testing, grinding, cutting, and module and terminal IC testing. Funds will be used to purchase equipment and in development of new production lines. Founded in 2020, it is based in Hefei, China.
- Silicon Integrated raised “several hundred million yuan” (CNY 100.0M is ~$15.8M) in Series D financing led by Wuyuan Capital, joined by ByteDance, Juhua Chuanxin Investment, and existing shareholders including Huaye Tiancheng and Source Code Capital. Silicon Integrated line of ToF 3D sensors uses BSI process with applications in face identification, AR/VR, motion capture, 3D modeling, machine vision, and automotive. It is also investing in color temperature detection for OLED screens, multispectral sensing, and ranging. Funds will be used for further iteration and commercialization of existing product lines, expanding to new products, and hiring. Founded in 2016, it is based in Wuhan, China.
- GWIC, also known as North GuangWei, raised an undisclosed amount in strategic financing from Fujirui Optoelectronics. GWIC produces uncooled infrared detectors for military, automotive, security, and other night vision applications. Founded in 2006, it is based in Beijing, China.
- Mojo Vision raised $45.0M in Series B financing from Amazon Alexa Fund, PTC, Edge Investments, HiJoJo Partners, and others. Existing investors New Enterprise Associates, Liberty Global Ventures, Advantech Capital, AME Cloud Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, and Open Field Capital also participated. Mojo Vision’s contact lens uses a self-designed low power image sensor. The company is currently working on FDA approval. A particular focus for the company is providing performance data and real-time stats to athletes, and it has partnered with several sports apparel and app brands. Founded in 2015, it is based in Saratoga, California, USA.
- Owl Autonomous Imaging drew $15.0M in Series A funding. OwlAI offers a monocular 3D thermal imaging and ranging solutions for automotive active safety systems. The company says the system is particularly good at detecting pedestrians and cyclists more quickly than other sensor types and works in poor lighting and weather conditions. Founded in 2018, it is based in Fairport, New York, USA.
- Lidar developer RoboSense received an undisclosed amount in strategic investment from EV company BYD. RoboSense is aiming to go public in Hong Kong later this year. Founded in 2014, it is based in Shenzhen, China.
- VisionICs Microelectronics raised “hundreds of millions of yuan” (CNY 100.0M is ~$15.8M) in strategic financing from Chendao Capital, GoerTek, BYD, and others. The startup develops SPAD dToF sensors, with products including both 1D dToF and 3D dToF chips. Applications include robotic vacuum cleaners, UAVs, and mobile phones, as well as AR/VR, smart home, and automotive lidar. Funding will be used for mass production and developing new products. Founded in 2018, it is based in Nanjing, China.
- Automotive lidar startup Zvision Technologies, also known as Yijing Technology, raised “hundreds of millions of yuan” (CNY 100.0M is ~$15.8M) in pre-Series C funding from Xpeng Motors, Shang Qi Capital, Dongfeng Asset Management, and Intel Capital. The startup develops solid state MEMS lidar systems with long-range and short-range options. Funds will be used for R&D and to move to mass production. Based in Beijing, China, the company was founded in 2017.
Sony Reports Quarterly Results
February 3, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
Sony reports its quarterly results for the quarter ended on January 31, 2021:
- Despite severe conditions in the smartphone market, such as weakness in the Chinese market and shortages of components, especially semiconductors, the efforts we have made heretofore to expand and diversify our mobile sensor customer base, as well as to recover our market share on a volume basis, are having some success.
- However, it is taking longer than expected to introduce the high-performance, high resolution custom sensors that we have been working on with Chinese smartphone makers, so the speed of profitability improvement resulting from an increase in addedvalue products going into next fiscal year will be slightly lower than originally planned.
- Recently, the trend toward Chinese smartphone makers purchasing larger-sized sensors for their high-end products is improving after having stagnated due to the contraction of our business with a certain Chinese customer. We expect the Chinese smartphone market to normalize in the second half of next fiscal year.
- Since we feel better about the possibility of sales growth and further market share expansion next fiscal year, we will focus even more on increasing the added-value of our products and strive to improve profitability.
- On January 25, 2022, Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation completed its initial investment in Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (“JASM”), as a minority shareholder.
- Sony will support JASM by assisting with the start-up of this new logic wafer factory which aims to begin mass production during calendar year 2024.
IC Insights: CIS Sales Did Not "Surge" in 2021
February 3, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
IC Insights market report says that "Optoelectronics sales growth was muted in the 2021 rebound due to the lack of a surge in CMOS image sensors, which were held back by trade frictions and technology disputes between the U.S. and China, fluctuations in some key end-use applications, and shortages of ICs and other components used in digital-imaging systems. Optoelectronics sales increased 9% in 2021 to a record-high $47.9 billion, and the large CMOS image sensor category only grew 6% to $20.3 billion last year, says the January report."Talking about the 2021 market observations, Tencent says that "Samsung has raised its CIS quotation since December 2020 by 40%, and the quotations of other CIS suppliers have also increased by about 20%."
Olympus CAMEDIA C-2000 Z retro review
February 2, 2022 By Leave a Comment
The Olympus C-2000 Z was a compact from 1999, featuring a 3x zoom, 2.1 MP sensor, and fine control over exposure. 23 years later I rescued a neglected sample from an antique shop and in this post will show you why it received rave reviews back in the day!…
Superlattice-based Imagers
February 2, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
Center for Quantum Devices at Northwestern University publishes a presentation on superlattices for low noise imaging from UV to VLWIR by Manijeh Razeghi:
MIPI Adopts A-PHY v1.1
February 1, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
MIPI Alliance adopts A-PHY v1.1 automotive SerDes, doubling the maximum downlink data rate from 16 Gbps to 32 Gbps, doubling the uplink data rate and providing manufacturers with additional implementation options.
Silkworms Create Image Sensor-based Security Device
February 1, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
PRNewswire: A physical unclonable function (PUF) is a physical feature that takes advantage of microscopic differences in electronics to create unique security "keys." These keys, when read by an electronic device, help establish or refute the authenticity of the input, thereby either granting or denying access. Now, researchers from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, have designed the first natural PUF. Using native silk fibers obtained from Bombyx mori (domesticated silkworms), the research team designed PUF-based tags. These tags were then used to devise a lens-free, optical (light-based), and portable PUF (LOP-PUF) module."When a beam of light hits the disordered silk fibers of an optimal density, it causes light diffraction. The nanostructures in individual microfibers enhance the contrast of light intensity with respect to the background. The diffracted light is then captured by an image sensor. Since the pattern of the microholes is naturally-made, it is unique, giving rise to a unique pattern of light," explains Young Min Song, professor at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.
The research paper "Revisiting silk: a lens-free optical physical unclonable function" by Min Seok Kim, Gil Ju Lee, Jung Woo Leem, Seungho Choi, Young L. Kim & Young Min Song is published in Nature Communications.
Silkworms Create Image Sensor-based Security Device
February 1, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
PRNewswire: A physical unclonable function (PUF) is a physical feature that takes advantage of microscopic differences in electronics to create unique security "keys." These keys, when read by an electronic device, help establish or refute the authenticity of the input, thereby either granting or denying access. Now, researchers from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, have designed the first natural PUF. Using native silk fibers obtained from Bombyx mori (domesticated silkworms), the research team designed PUF-based tags. These tags were then used to devise a lens-free, optical (light-based), and portable PUF (LOP-PUF) module."When a beam of light hits the disordered silk fibers of an optimal density, it causes light diffraction. The nanostructures in individual microfibers enhance the contrast of light intensity with respect to the background. The diffracted light is then captured by an image sensor. Since the pattern of the microholes is naturally-made, it is unique, giving rise to a unique pattern of light," explains Young Min Song, professor at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.
The research paper "Revisiting silk: a lens-free optical physical unclonable function" by Min Seok Kim, Gil Ju Lee, Jung Woo Leem, Seungho Choi, Young L. Kim & Young Min Song is published in Nature Communications.
Canon aids relief effort following volcano eruption and tsunami in the Kingdom of Tonga
February 1, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Hynix Begins Mass Production of 0.7um Pixels
January 31, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
BusinessKorea: Keeping an earlier promise, SK Hynix has started to mass-production of 50MP sensors with 0.7㎛ pixels. The image quality is said to be "at the same level as Sony products."Samsung has been manufacturing a 50MP sensor with 0.64㎛ pixels since June 2021. Omnivision announced 200MP sensor with 0.61㎛ pixels.
SK Hynix is expected to supply its 50MP 0.7um sensor to Samsung for use in Galaxy A series of smartphones scheduled to be released in the 2H2021. Previously, SK Hynix supplied 1.0㎛ pixel-based 13MP sensors for Samsung's foldable smartphone Galaxy Z Flip 3.
Chinese CIS Companies Report All-Time High Profits
January 31, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
SecuritiesTimes: Omnivision's net profit in 2021 is expected to be in range of 4.468 billion to 4.868 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 65.13% to 79.91%. The net profit after deducting "non-deductible items" (?) is 3.918 billion to 4.268 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 74.51% to 90.10%.
Galaxycore too expects operating income of 6.652 billion to 7.492 billion yuan in 2021, net profit of 1.135 billion to 1.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 46.83% to 74.57%; Profits ranged from 1.086 billion to 1.291 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.75% to 68.52%, both of which are expected to exceed the revenue growth rate over the same period.
Indeed, Strategy Analytics reports show that Omnivision and other Chinese companies increase their smartphone market share at the expense of Sony and Samsung:
Canon requests removal of toner cartridges offered by xianshi yanliangqucanranbaihuoshanghang via Amazon
January 31, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Panasonic Develops Low-Cost LWIR Lens
January 30, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
Panasonic has developed a mass production technology of low-cost far-IR aspherical lenses. These lenses are made of chalcogenide glass having excellent transmission characteristics in the far-IR. In addition to realizing low-cost (approx. half compared to the company’s conventional method) by newly developed glass molding method and mold processing technology, Panasonic is now able to offer a variety of lenses such as diffractive lens, the world's first* highly hermetic frame-integrated lens without using adhesive (leak detection accuracy of less than 1x10-9 Pa･m3/sec in helium leak test).
A low-cost silicon that has been commonly used as the lens material for far-IR sensors is not suitable for high pixel counts due to its low transmittance, so germanium spherical lenses having high transmittance are widely used as the number of pixels increases. However, as the pixel count increases further, the effect of aberration caused by a spherical lens becomes more pronounced. To reduce this effect, combination of many spherical lenses and an aspherical lens will be required, which leads to increase in cost and size.
To resolve this problem, Panasonic has developed a new technology for the low-cost production of high-performance aspherical lenses suitable for far-infrared optical systems, based on the glass molding technology the company cultivated through the production of visible light aspherical lenses for cameras.
Hermetic sealing is important for thermal imaging camera modules. A low cost lens solution makes thermal cameras more accessible to general consumer applications.
SmartSens News
January 30, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
PRNewswire: PDF Solutions announces that SmartSen has selected Exensio Fabless as the platform to perform data management and analytics for their entire family of CIS products.SmartSens has experienced superior performance and flexibility with Exensio Fabless, as well as powerful analytic templates, the combination of which has enabled SmartSens engineers to achieve a 50% reduction root cause analysis time.
“SmartSens is very focused on the needs and requirements of our customers and achieve this by delivering innovative image sensors to the marketplace, and providing our customers with the product volume they need,” said Shao Zexu, VP of Process & IP Strategy at SmartSens. “Exensio Fabless enables our product engineering organization to achieve new levels of excellence in data analytics for all of our product lines. This has resulted in faster time-to-market and exceptional yield for our products, and has increased the demand for our products worldwide.”
Smartsens announces the SC1346, a 1MP DSI-2 CMOS sensor for smart cameras. The 1MP SC1346 features a 2.65μm pixel size and comes in a 29-Pin CSP package.
Smartsense announces an in-depth cooperation with Hangzhou Acceleration Technology Co., Ltd. (Speedcury) to jointly develop ultra-high resolution high-speed image acquisition test system for high -speed interface testing of ultra-high frame rate image sensors . The high-speed image acquisition and test system is expected to have a data transmission rate of 3.5Gsps , which will help SmartSens accelerate the mass production of high-end CMOS sensors for smartphone main cameras, drones, 8K smart security cameras , and high-speed industrial cameras.
The 3.5Gsps CIS high-speed image acquisition test system (ST8016C) jointly developed by Smartsens and Acceleration Technology is expected to be completed and mass-produced in Q3, 2022.
Ouyang Jian, Deputy General Manager of Smartsens, says: "Currently Smartsens has the design capability to be compatible with both D-PHY and C-PHY high-speed data transmission interfaces. We will jointly develop a high-speed image acquisition and test system. I believe that with the combination of strong powers, we can further speed up the testing and mass production process of Smartsens' high-end CMOS image sensor products, so as to realize the effective sharing of resources and win-win development of both parties."
Ling Yun, General Manager of Accelerated Technology, said : "I am very pleased to be able to cooperate with a high-end image sensor company like SmartSens to develop a future-oriented CIS high-speed image acquisition test system. Accelerated Technology has always maintained a close cooperative relationship with SmartSens. At present, Smartsens' Kunshan test factory has been equipped with Accelerator Technology ATE Tester (ST2532) and has achieved mass production, with a production capacity of 9kk/month. Accelerator Technology will continue to help outstanding Chinese image sensor companies represented by Smartsens. The development of the company is striving to stand side by side with the international CIS chip giants in the forest of the world, and contribute to the vigorous development of China's semiconductor industry!"
Recent Videos: CEA-Leti, Himax, Gigajot, Trieye, Pixart, Oculi
January 29, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
CEA-Leti publishes a video about its low power always-on image sensor presented in May last year:Himax presents its always-on image sensor solutions:
Gigajot publishes a video about its USB3 QIS camera and sensor evaluation platform:
Trieye publishes its CEO Avi Bakal's presentation at Autosens Brussels 2020:
Pixart presents its forehead temperature measurement module:
Oculi presents its combines Sensor-Processor Unit (SPU): "Oculi provides a single-chip vision solution combining sensing + pre-processing at the pixel, up to 30x better in energy-delay product enabling the most efficient vision solutions."
ESPROS Presents OHC15L Process
January 28, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
Espros presents its new CCD-CMOS process OHC15L:"Many new imaging and optical sensor applications, which are now in the stage of being deployed into mass applications like TOF, LiDAR or spectroscopy, suffer from very poor NIR sensitivity and non-existent or limited charge handling capacity as well as imaging speed. TOF and LiDAR applications need time resolving capabilities as fast as 100ps with very high sensitivity in the NIR domain. Our technology with a QE of more than 70% at 905nm allows best-in-class imaging in this specific application domain.
The cornerstones of the novel OHC15L imager technology are an unprecedented sensitivity in the NIR (>70% @ 905nm), CCD’s with a CTE of 0.99999 at a transfer speed of more than 250MHz, all combined with powerful mixed signal CMOS and in a cost effective package."
Interview with Sony STARVIS 2 Designers
January 28, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image Sensors World Go to the original article...
In June 2021, Sony introduced STARVIS 2 pixel technology for security cameras:"As the importance of image sensors for security cameras which monitor spaces is growing day by day, the characteristics required of them are also becoming more advanced. Fulfilling all of these requirements, which include low-illuminance performance to allow targets to be discerned even in dark locations, a high dynamic range for face recognition even against a light source such as in entranceways, and performance capable of recording images of moving targets accurately without causing blur or color tints, was a task at a level impossible to accomplish just with improvements to conventional sensors. That is why STARVIS 2 was developed. By redesigning the structure of its image sensor from the ground up, it has successfully implemented characteristics unmatched by any other."
Sony publishes an interview with STARVIS 2 developers:
Shimizu：It was triggered by requests from our customers. Although STARVIS had achieved greater low-illuminance sensitivity and improved image quality performance, there were also separate requests to expand its dynamic range so that faces could be accurately recognized even in situations such as entranceways, where the exterior is bright and shooting images against that light source causes faces to become dark and shadowed. Development on STARVIS 2 began to answer these requests.
Shirahama：Normally, we move on to commercialization only after a product’s technology is in place, but since both proceeded simultaneously in this case, we were required to execute development and testing in extremely short cycles. We had no choice but to move forward while resolving each issue one at a time. Because of these conditions, the first prototype was full of problems and was completed in a state that was entirely unacceptable for commercialization.
However, since there was no leeway in the commercialization schedule, delays were not something that could be allowed easily, so the question of how to move the overall project forward while staying aware of its issues was very important. Even when we thought “It’s no use anymore,” we kept an eye on the schedule while resolving each problem, and took one step ahead at a time. And as we did so, our thoughts of “It’s no use anymore” gradually changed more and more into feelings of “Maybe it will work!” Even though the team for this project consisted of members working together for the first time, they possessed the capabilities to solve issues and the flexibility to skillfully move the project forward even under its strict schedule. I began to think “This just may be an incredible team” and working with the team became more and more enjoyable. One of the unique experiences that arose during this project was that as it went forward, the trust we felt toward our team grew and grew.
Kawamura：As our development policy, we are constantly making product improvements while maintaining the strengths of the products. This time, in order to address the issue of expanding the dynamic range, there was a need to increase the saturation of the photodiode. Therefore, instead of attaching the photodiode to a conventional silicon surface, we developed a structure which accumulated electric charge in the vertical direction within the silicon.
At the same time, we also introduced new technology for a high dynamic range feature.
We had to proceed with the development of these two new structures that had not yet been established while staying within the schedule for commercialization, so it was a challenge under an extremely tight development period. As Shirahama-san mentioned earlier, there were problems with charge transfer in the initial prototype and it was full of issues, so we were not able to even sufficiently evaluate them.
Iwabuchi：This vertical-structure photodiode had not yet been applied to image sensors, so it was a technology with high risks regarding mass production. Still, we desperately needed a form of breakthrough technology to achieve a wider dynamic range, so since there was a section for prototypes on the development line at Atsugi TEC, we started by trying it out there. We proceeded step-by-step starting from verifying its principles as we marked each development milestone. The commercialization schedule this time had been formulated under the assumption that all parts of technological development would proceed smoothly. As we were faced with successive issues from the very start that did not go as planned, we were continually walking a tightrope to figure out how we could somehow maintain the development schedule.
Iwabuchi：To expand the dynamic range, we had to increase the saturation signal while also suppressing noise.
The new vertical structure adopted this time was an innovative structure that could increase the saturation signal amount, but we faced tremendously difficult struggles to optimize the process conditions so that those increased signals could be transmitted reliably.
Regarding the other matter of noise suppression, since both the structure and process were new, we were thoroughly aware of the possibility that the dark characteristics, which were the cause of noise, might become worse.
In order to simultaneously resolve the two issues of increasing the saturation capacity while suppressing noise, we implemented various measures such as reviewing the pixel layout and process conditions, and finally succeeded in developing characteristics to obtain image quality that would fulfill the requests of our customers.
Kawamura：In this project, we made a change to a new pixel structure, but I believe it is still just the beginning. Changing the photodiode to a vertical configuration to make it possible to increase the saturation capacity for greater depth has an enormous amount of hidden potential. I believe it will become essential in the security field to improve image recognition rates, so we intend to further enhance our pixel characteristics such as infrared sensitivity and high dynamic range while also miniaturizing pixels, to make our range of image sensor applications wider than ever before.
Iwabuchi：I believe that Sony’s strengths lie in its ability to carry out advanced development of image sensors with unequaled characteristics that use processes which cannot be copied by competitors, like STARVIS 2. Sony has an atmosphere which encourages new internal challenges, and its engineers in each field are full of motivation to try new things. I hope that we will be able to fully apply the advantages of this environment, to continue to develop revolutionary image sensors distinctive to Sony which are the first of their kind in the world.
Sony Stacked Sensor Inventions
January 28, 2022 By