Kodak has developed a new chip for camera phones that improves picture and video quality the Kodak KAC-05020 Image Sensor, a 1.4 micron, 5 megapixel device.
Kodak’s new
sensor enables a new level of resolution in small optical formats,
using significantly smaller pixels. But unlike other small-pixel
sensors which can produce poor images, especially under low light
conditions, the 1.4 micron pixel used in the KAC-05020 Image Sensor
changes this convention, providing image quality that can equal or
surpass what is available from current devices using larger, 1.75
micron pixel CMOS designs.
“Camera phones and other small-pixel consumer imaging devices often
suffer from poor performance, especially under low light conditions. To
manufacture sensors that utilize these very small pixels - only two to
three times the wavelength of visible light - we needed to challenge
everything we knew about pixel and sensor design,” said Chris McNiffe,
General Manager of Kodak’s Image Sensor Solutions business. “By
completely rethinking the design of the CMOS pixel and leveraging our
work with high sensitivity color filter patterns and algorithms, Kodak
was able to develop this remarkable new sensor that will enable a level
of imaging performance previously unavailable from CMOS devices.”
Key to the performance of this new sensor is the KODAK TRUESENSE
CMOS Pixel, a re-engineering of the fundamental design and architecture
of traditional CMOS pixels. In a standard CMOS pixel, signal is
measured by detecting electrons that are generated when light interacts
with the surface of the sensor. As more light strikes the sensor, more
electrons are generated, resulting in a higher signal at each pixel. In
the KODAK TRUESENSE CMOS Pixel, however, the underlying “polarity” of
the silicon is reversed, so that the absence
of electrons is used to detect a signal. This change enabled a series
of improvements to the design and structure of the pixel that
ultimately results in CMOS imaging performance that rivals that
available from CCD image sensors.
Light sensitivity in the new sensor is enhanced through the use of
the recently announced KODAK TRUESENSE Color Filter Pattern, which adds
panchromatic, or “clear,” pixels to the red, green and blue pixels
already on the sensor. Since these pixels are sensitive to all
wavelengths of visible light, they collect a significantly higher
proportion of the light striking the sensor. This provides a 2x to 4x
increase in sensitivity to light (from one to two photographic stops)
compared to current sensor designs, improving performance in low light
and reducing motion blur in action shots.
At 5 million pixels, the KAC-05020 provides the highest resolution
available in the popular ¼” optical format, and enables imagery up to
ISO 3200 and support for full 720p video at 30 fps. The sensor is also
supported by the Texas Instruments’ OMAPTM
and OMAP-DM solutions, enabling a host of KODAK Image Processing and
Enhancement Features (such as digital image stabilization, rapid
auto-focus, red-eye reduction, and facial recognition) that provide
digital camera-like performance in a camera phone.
“For consumers today, high resolution is required but no longer
sufficient,” said Fas Mosleh, Worldwide Director of CIS Marketing and
Business Development for Kodak’s Image Sensor Solutions business.
“Smaller and thinner camera phones, high performance under low light,
and superior video performance are the types of features that will
enable the next generation of consumer imaging devices. And with this
new Kodak sensor, camera designers can now put those features directly
into the hands of their customers.”
The new sensor expands Kodak’s portfolio of CMOS and CCD image
sensors for consumer and applied imaging applications, and positions
the company to take advantage of the growing demand for high-quality
image capture in a variety of devices, regardless of size.