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Thursday, May 09, 2019

Samsung Announces 64MP 21fps 0.8um Pixel Sensor for Smartphones

Samsung introduces two new 0.8μm pixel CMOS sensors – the 64MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 and 48Mp ISOCELL Bright GM2. With this, Samsung expands its 0.8μm image sensor lineup from existing 20MP to 64MP resolutions.

With more pixels and advanced pixel technologies, Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 and GM2 will bring a new level of photography to today’s sleekest mobile devices that will enhance and help change the way we record our daily lives,” said Yongin Park, EVP of sensor business at Samsung Electronics.

With pixel-merging Tetracell technology and remosaic algorithm, GW1 can produce 16MP images in low-light environments and highly-detailed 64MP shots in brighter settings. GW1 supports real-time HDR of up to 100dB. In comparison, the dynamic range of a conventional image sensor is at around 60dB, while that of the human eye is typically considered to be around 120dB.

GW1 is equipped with a Dual Conversion Gain (DCG) that converts the received light into an electric signal according to the illumination of the environment. This allows the sensor to optimize its FWC. Sharper results can be delivered through Super PD, a high-performance phase detection auto-focus technology, and full HD recording at 480fps is supported.

ISOCELL Bright GM2 is a 48MP image sensor that also adopts Tetracell technology in low-light environments and a remosaic algorithm in well-lit settings. GM2, like GW1, adopts DCG as well for added performance and Super PD for fast autofocus.

Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 and GM2 are currently sampling and are expected to be in mass production in the second half of this year.

9 comments:

  1. With a pixel size of 0.8um and a resolution of something like 9000x7000 the sensor area would be roughly 7.2 x 5.6 mm in size or 9.1 mm in diameter!
    I wonder how the the lens stack for this sensor will look like such that it is still thin enough for a Smartphone. Maybe it will be 90° angled like the tele lens in the P30 Pro?

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    1. Albert Theuwissen - Harvest ImagingMay 10, 2019 at 12:21 AM

      In the mid '90's we did at Philips also a 9K x 7K. At that time it was a CCD. Pixel size was 12 um, diagonal was 140 mm. Not really applicable for mobile phones. But amazing how technology evolved.

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    2. The P30 Pro has a periscope on its 8MP Sony sensor, and the phone is 8.5mm thick.

      Even if Samsung's pixels were half the size it's going to be quite a bump on the back of the cellphone. They'd probably have to tip the sensor less than 45° and use additional mirrors to half the thickness.

      A 1 cm phone is a non-starter from a marketing standpoint (unless it has capability that people could use, what point is a 4'x8' enlargement from a lens that had to make compromises).

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    3. Lens Height 5mm, φ9.2mm, 6P By Largan.

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  2. Then the cellphone will be very thick which is the same

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  3. GW1 supports real-time high dynamic range (HDR) of up to 100-decibels (dB) that provides richer hues. GW1 is equipped with a Dual Conversion Gain (DCG) that converts the received light into an electric signal according to the illumination of the environment.

    Any idea how this is done ?

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  4. according to https://www.edmundoptics.de/resources/application-notes/imaging/limitations-on-resolution-and-contrast-the-airy-disk/
    the min spot size for a 1.4 f# optic is about 1.7um. i dont understand why smaller pixels than this still bring a benefit?

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    1. Super sampling. Each pixel is only red, green or blue still and has to be debayered with estimations made about the missing colour. If oversampled these estimations become less relevant and far less likely to cause artifacts.

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  5. A box filter of diameter 1.7um will have an MTF that hits zero at 1.7/2 = 0.85um. Airy discs will blur even less as their PSFs decline as you move away from the center, unlike a box filter's.

    If the finest useful pixel pitch were to be limited by the airy disc diameter, you wouldn't need Optical Low Pass Filters since the box filtering by the pixel's (assuming near 100%) fill factor itself would remove frequencies above Nyquist.

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