Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Sony Posts RGBW Sensor Flyer

Sony publishes 1/3.06-inch 13MP, 1.12um pixel IMX278 sensor flyer. Chipworks has found it inside Huawei P8 smartphone. Other than internal RGBW to Bayer re-mosaic block, the new sensor features "Dual sensor synchronization operation." Possibly, Sony prepares to the wide use of dual sensors in smartphones.

Functions and Features:
  • Stacked CMOS image sensor Exmor RS
  • 1.12um pixel
  • RGBW coding color filter and RGB primary color mosaic reproduction on chip
  • Super High SNR and Advanced Noise Reduction for white remosaic
  • Full resolution @30 frame/s (Normal). 4K2K @30 frame/s (Normal)
  • Lens Shading Correction
  • 2-wire serial communication (I2C “Fast mode Plus” is also supported)
  • Output video format of RAW10/8, COMP8
  • Independent flipping and mirroring
  • CSI-2 serial data output (MIPI 2lane/4lane, Max. 1.2 Gbps/lane )
  • Dual sensor synchronization operation
  • Power-on reset function
  • 7.168 K bit of OTP ROM for users
  • Built-in temperature sensor

5 comments:

  1. where is the temp sensor located?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Must be located close to the pixel array.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Since it's a stacked sensor, the real question is where is it located in relation to parts of the digital logic that generate more heat than others. One of the challenges with stacked sensors is figuring out what to do with the logic layer that won't generate enough heat to cause imaging issues. Sony's been trying to answer that question for a couple of years.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What does White remosaic mean. I know that they need to remosaic the RGBW demosaicked image to Bayer mosaic. But why white remosaic?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Certainly the "white" channel needs to be part of the remosaic process, but there will also need to be correction for color artifacts. The artifact correction will likely be computationally intense. My guess is that this really means remosiac/artifact removal.

      Delete

All comments are moderated to avoid spam and personal attacks.