"The ongoing market conversion from CCD to CMOS image sensors has been accelerated both by an industry slowdown that began in 2018 as well as availability of advanced CMOS image sensors such as ON Semiconductor’s line of XGS products. In light of these factors, ON Semiconductor has been monitoring the sales activity and viability of our CCD image sensor products. The recent activity for the products on the attached device list has declined to a level which can no longer be sustained. As a result of this analysis we regret to announce discontinuance of our CCD products as described in this notification.
All CCD products are impacted by this change. The list of OPNs provided with this notification includes suggested replacement parts (where it was possible to identify a suitable replacement). In many cases, a call to ON Semiconductor Sales may be appropriate to discuss XGS CMOS image sensors in detail. For those devices that have no recommended replacement identified, ON Semiconductor has partnered with Rochester Electronics who will carry any remaining device inventory to potentially allow for a continued source after ON Semiconductor has completed its business process.
PLEASE NOTE: ON Semiconductor may implement minimum order quantities or dollar amounts based on inventories available. Also, Devices on this Product Discontinuance become NCNR (Non-Cancelable, Non-Returnable)."
HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY TO THE CCD ! Exactly this month, but 50 years ago, the CCDs were invented by Boyle and Smith of Bell Labs. And now after 50 years, the annoucnement is made that former Kodak CCD activities will pass away. Very sad coincidence ....
ReplyDeleteLook out, you're in danger of kicking off the whole Michael F. Tompsett controversy again.
DeleteThere are still embedded dinosaurs ;-)
DeleteIndeed, this announcement made me very sad... even though I wont miss the fancy H-/V-driver circuits and voltage levels :-D
ReplyDeleteHopefully, CCDs will continue to live through hybrid 'CCD in CMOS' concepts. Albert may know better, but I think there are several research activities on this topic in Europe.
ReplyDeleteToday at Gpixel we are develop multiple ccd in cmos products, mainly tdi line scan products. So not only research activity but actual products will hit the market in 2020. Please reach out to us if you want to understand more (wim.wuyts@gpixel.eu).
ReplyDeleteIn the CMOS active pixel with intra-pixel charge transfer invention, it was in fact a one or few stage CCD that was described as the pixel. So the CCD just evolved and is hardly dead. It just went from many many transfer stages and one FD-SF to one or a few transfer stages with many many FD-SFs. It combined the Weckler floating PN detector, the CTD (Smith and Boyle), Kosonocky's FD, Noble's SF per pixel, White's CDS, and a few other ideas like Teranishi's PPD. And since then has evolved to include sharing and some other tricks. (Global shutter was in the original patents). So, good technologies don't really die. Their DNA lives on in the next generation. Like chickens today having evolved from dinosaurs.
ReplyDeleteConclusion : CCDs are chickens and not dinosaurs (like you said in 1995) ???
ReplyDeleteI think I said, in 1995, that CCDs were dinosaurs, doomed to extinction. But above I was trying to comfort you in your time of loss and sadness with the thought that CCD DNA lives on in today's image sensors. If you taste dinosaur when you eat your chicken nuggets, I am happy for you.
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