Reviews Online

From Businesswire  --- "OMNIVISION Announces World’s Smallest Global Shutter Image Sensor for AR/VR/MR and Metaverse". OmniVision has announced the industry’s first and only three-layer stacked BSI global shutter (GS) image sensor. The OG0TB is the world’s smallest image sensor for eye and face tracking in AR/VR/MR and Metaverse consumer devices, with a package size of just 1.64mm x 1.64mm, it has a 2.2µm pixel in a 1/14.46-inch optical format (OF). The CMOS image sensor features 400×400 resolution and ultra-low power consumption, ideal for some of the smallest and lightest battery-powered wearables, such as eye goggles and glasses. Ultra-low power consumption is critical for these battery-powered devices, which can have 10 or more cameras per system. Their OG0TB BSI GS image sensor consumes less than 7.2mW at 30 frames per second (fps). SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OMNIVISION, a leading global developer of semiconductor solutions, including advanced digital imaging,

C. Bamji et al. from Microsoft published a paper titled "A Review of Indirect Time-of-Flight Technologies" in IEEE Trans. Electron Devices (June 2022). Abstract: Indirect time-of-flight (iToF) cameras operate by illuminating a scene with modulated light and inferring depth at each pixel by combining the back-reflected light with different gating signals. This article focuses on amplitude-modulated continuous-wave (AMCW) time-of-flight (ToF), which, because of its robustness and stability properties, is the most common form of iToF. The figures of merit that drive iToF performance are explained and plotted, and system parameters that drive a camera’s final performance are summarized. Different iToF pixel and chip architectures are compared and the basic phasor methods for extracting depth from the pixel output values are explained. The evolution of pixel size is discussed, showing performance improvement over time. Depth pipelines, which play a key role in filtering and enhanc

Analog Devices has released an industrial-grade megapixel ToF module ADTF3175 and a VGA resolution sensor the ADSD3030 that seeks to bring the highest accuracy ToF technology in the most compact VGA footprint. ADTF3175 Features The ADTF3175 is a complete Time-of-Flight (ToF) module for high resolution 3D depth sensing and vision systems. Based on the ADSD3100, a 1 Megapixel CMOS indirect Time-of-Flight (iToF) imager, the ADTF3175 also integrates the lens and optical bandpass filter for the imager, an infrared illumination source containing optics, laser diode, laser diode driver and photodetector, a flash memory, and power regulators to generate local supply voltages. The module is fully calibrated at multiple range and resolution modes. To complete the depth sensing system, the raw image data from the ADTF3175 is processed externally by the host system processor or depth ISP. The ADTF3175 image data output interfaces electrically to the host system over a 4-lane mobile industry proce

Samsung has published details about its now 200MP sensor 'ISOCELL HP3'. https://semiconductor.samsung.com/image-sensor/mobile-image-sensor/isocell-hp3/ Press release: https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-unveils-isocell-image-sensor-with-industrys-smallest-0-56%CE%BCm-pixel Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today introduced the 200MP ISOCELL HP3, the image sensor with the industry’s smallest 0.56-micrometer (μm)-pixels. “Samsung has continuously led the image sensor market trend through its technology leadership in high resolution sensors with the smallest pixels,” said JoonSeo Yim, Executive Vice President of Sensor Business Team at Samsung Electronics. “With our latest and upgraded 0.56μm 200MP ISOCELL HP3, Samsung will push on to deliver epic resolutions beyond professional levels for smartphone camera users.” Epic Resolution Beyond Pro Levels Since its first 108MP image sensor roll-out in 2019, Samsung has been leading the trend o

From arXiv.org --- You Li et al. write: Autonomous vehicles rely on perception systems to understand their surroundings for further navigation missions. Cameras are essential for perception systems due to the advantages of object detection and recognition provided by modern computer vision algorithms, comparing to other sensors, such as LiDARs and radars. However, limited by its inherent imaging principle, a standard RGB camera may perform poorly in a variety of adverse scenarios, including but not limited to: low illumination, high contrast, bad weather such as fog/rain/snow, etc. Meanwhile, estimating the 3D information from the 2D image detection is generally more difficult when compared to LiDARs or radars. Several new sensing technologies have emerged in recent years to address the limitations of conventional RGB cameras. In this paper, we review the principles of four novel image sensors: infrared cameras, range-gated cameras, polarization cameras, and event cameras . Their compa

Photonics magazine has a new article about Pi Imaging Technology's high resolution SPAD sensor array; some excerpts below. As the performance capabilities and sophistication of these detectors have expanded, so too have their value and impact in applications ranging from astronomy to the life sciences. As their name implies, single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) detect single particles of light, and they do so with picosecond precision. Single-pixel SPADs have found wide use in astronomy, flow cytometry, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), particle sizing, quantum computing, quantum key distribution, and single- molecule detection. Over the last 10 years, however, SPAD technology has evolved through the use of standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. This paved the way for arrays and image sensor architectures that could increase the number of SPAD pixels in a compact and scalable way.  Compared to single-pixel SPADs, arrays offer improved