SPECIAL ADVERTISEMENT
Samsung s Leadership in CMOS Image Sensors
D
igital imaging is one of the most rapidly evolving areas in electronics. The market has been exploding in recent years as consumers discover all the new capabilities that digital still and video cameras, PC cameras and surveillance cameras now offer,. In particular,
mobile handsets with cameras have increased in popularity, with an astounding 800 million units projected to be sold in 2007.
Design engineers and technical managers, looking to source for their next generation camera phones, camcorders, videoconference and related devices, should consider solutions using Samsung s comprehensive line of
CMOS image sensor products.
Samsung s lineup features its latest
1/4-inch, 3-megapixel sensors that use
Samsung s leading 1.75um pixel technology. These sensors are made in
Samsung s 90nm process technology in a state-of-the-art 12 wafer fab.
Offered in both a sensor only version as well as system-on-chip (SOC) version, which combine the sensor and
ISP (image signal processor) in a single chip, Samsung s 3-megapixel solutions are targeted simply to allow camera phones to take the best possible
images particularly in sub-optimal low light conditions.
Pushing the quality and cost performance continuum, Samsung s leading edge CIS technology enables low light sensitivity and SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) that is competitive with CCD technology performance. This is important in camera phones, which have no onboard flash. Utilizing 90-nm process technology, the latest sensors use
Samsung s proprietary 90nm copper wire technology that reduces the distance between the micro-lens to the photo diode, resulting in maximizing the sensor reception to overcome the potential decline of image quality as the pixel size scales down. In addition,
CMOS technology consumes less power and is much more compact than traditional CCD image sensors, which
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