BusinessWire: Starting from security and surveillance sensors, Smartsens has recently expanded into automotive applications. Now, the company announces plans to penetrate smartphone image sensor market with the CS (Cellphone Sensor) Series products—including the SC200CS-mono, SC200CS-color, SC500CS, SC800CS, and SC1300CS/SC1301CS—covering a range of 2MP to 13MP resolutions to meet a diverse set of applications and customers.
SmartSens is leveraging its proprietary SFCPixel Technology and ultra-low noise reading circuit design in its new smartphone sensors, borrowing from its years of experience in developing superior night vision imaging technology for security devices. These technologies effectively improve performance in low-light environments, allowing smartphone cameras to capture rich and vibrant images under extremely challenging conditions.
The new CS series deliver excellent signal-to-noise ratio. For example, the SC500CS reduces reading noise by over 30% compared with products of the same specifications in the industry while the fixed noise of SC800CS is significantly reduced by 72% with the Max SNR increased by 3dB compared to similar products. Coupled with the signal-to-noise ratio, the noise reduction optimizes for a natural look and feel.
The other standout features of the CS series include the high dynamic range that enables better images in complex light and shadow environments. Compared with the current 60-70dB dynamic range of mainstream smartphone image sensors, the new CS series products can reach over 72dB with a total range more than 6K electrons and the random noise of less than 1.5 electrons. These capabilities allow associated cameras to process images taken in a wide range of lighting conditions, clearly distinguishing the light and dark details.
The sensors also crucially address the emergence of 5G mobile phones and their associated higher power consumption. This is where the CS series excels. The new range benefits from SmartSens’ unique high-end processing and ultra-low power consumption circuit design that reduces sensor power consumption and extends mobile phone standby time without sacrificing the performance.
“Our new range of CMOS image sensors takes SmartSens’ expertise and innovation in mission critical camera applications and brings them to one of the most important devices in consumers’ digital lifestyles: the smartphone,” said Yaowu Mo, SmartSens CTO. “The new CS Series image sensors utilize stable technologies from our other lines—including night-vision imaging, excellent noise reduction, PDAF and ultra-low power consumption—to empower advanced smartphone imaging applications and give users an overall better photography experience.”
I am always surprised that companies express the sensitivity of their sensor in mV/lux.s without telling us anything about the spectrum of the light source, exposure time, etc. Moreover, I do not know these sensors, but I guess that they have all digital outputs. So a customer is even not able to measure the output in mV, only digital numbers are available at the output.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, the performance of the sensors are specified in an unknown condition of light input, unknown condition of sensor operation and in a unit that nobody can measure.
Why not simply give us numbers that we can work with ... ?
This hasn't changed much in 40 years starting with CCD specs. Sometimes even in IEEE TED or JSSC (or IEDM or ISSCC) papers the full conditions of measurement or hidden parameters are not revealed. But as long as you mention this, here is an old article I wrote in 1999 talking about this issue, at least a little bit:
ReplyDeletehttp://ericfossum.com/Publications/Papers/CMOS%20digital%20cameras%20need%20new%20figures%20of%20merit.pdf
The figures of merit are there and we all know that. Hiding the true performance is deliberate. "Specmenship" driving by the desire of avoiding to be benchmarked against competition. We all know that and none of us will change it.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote : "We all know that and none of us will change it". Unfortunately I do have to agree with you ....
DeleteBut about 15 years ago I was part of the ISSCC selection committee for image sensors. The committee decided to reject papers that had not listed the conversion gain, and to inform the authors of rejected papers about this request. This way of working was very efficient. But since 2010 I am no longer involved in ISSCC, so I do not know the process of today.