Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Tower Semiconductor | Subject: Biomorphic CMOS image sensors
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 25 November 2005
Tower starts producing Biomorphic image
sensors
Tower Semiconductor is starting to produce Biomorphic's 2.0 and 1.3-megapixel CMOS image sensors for cell phones.
Speciality foundry Tower Semiconductor has announced the start of volume production of some Biomorphic image sensors targeted for mobile phones Tower has begun manufacturing Biomorphic 2.0 and 1.3-megapixel CMOS image sensors
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 10 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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Biomorphic chose the Israeli fab because its pixel IP and its own optically-optimised multilayer metallisation (OptiMuM) process achieves dramatically better optical sensitivity, making cellphone cameras suitable for situations where little light is available.
Biomorphic has already won one of the five leading global cellphone manufacturers for one of these new products, which responds to the increasing demand for higher image quality on small mobile handsets.
Japanese market research firm Techno Systems Research (TSR) estimates the 2006 total market for 2.0-megapixel CMOS modules to be 65 million units, while the 1.3-megapixel market is estimated at 190 million units.
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The Bi8910T 1.3-megapixel and Bi8921T 2.0-megapixel SoC image sensors are produced in 0.18mu process at Tower's Fab2, utilising Tower's pixel IP and the company's optically-optimised multilayer metallisation (OptiMuM), which achieves dramatically better optical sensitivity by reducing stack height from silicon to micro-lens.
Compared with other leading foundry IP, Tower's pixel IP provides 70% higher sensitivity; 50% less pixel defect density; and 70% lower dark current level.
"With Tower's 0.18mu process and pixel IP, we achieved excellent sensor performance", said Bimal Mathur, Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of Biomorphic Microsystems.
"Pixel performance was key in our ability to win a leading customer design".
"We were also very pleased with Tower's intimate customer support through design and ramp to production, contributing to our fast time-to-market".
"We are glad to complement Biomorphic's expertise in image solutions with our advanced pixel IP and process offering to bring superior yet low-cost image sensors to market that handset manufacturers need today", said Dr Avi Strum, General Manager of CIS and NVM product line at Tower.
"Biomorphic's swift penetration to a tier one cellphone maker with these new products is the best testimony for the success of our joint work".
Biomorphic's Bi8921T is a highly affordable CMOS colour image sensor that debuts new technologies with an advanced 2-megapixel sensor.
These include a colour processing pipeline and JPEG compression in a single compact component.
The Bi8921T offers UXGA resolution and is designed for cellular phone applications.
It provides single-chip integration of a full suite of image processing functions to directly support viewfinder, still image, and video capture capabilities in today's latest mobile imaging platforms.
Plus, with the addition of on-chip JPEG compression, full-size images can be captured with high readout speeds, yet low data transfer rates.
With an embedded thumbnail image in the JPEG stream, the host processor need not decompress the full image for review.
The Bi8921T provides superb image quality, ease of integration, compact size, and low power consumption for outstanding overall performance.
The Bi8910T offers SXGA resolution and is designed for cellular phone applications.
The highly advanced sensor design provides single-chip integration of a full suite of image processing functions to directly support viewfinder, still image, and video capture capabilities in today's latest mobile imaging platforms.
The Bi8910T provides superb image quality, ease of integration, compact size, and low power consumption for outstanding overall performance.
Both products are now in mass production.
Bi8921T and Bi8910T are priced $6 and $3.5 per unit for large volumes, respectively.
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