CMOS image sensors made with smaller pixels

The Tower platform is a very attractive option for customers seeking high resolution, low noise and small form factor.

A new image sensors platform from Tower Semiconductor adds advanced imaging capabilities onto the base of the company's 0.18um technology produced in its advanced Fab2 facility.

The latest release in this family, the 2.2um pixel, exhibits excellent noise and dark current performance even at elevated temperatures.

The most important parameters for low light conditions, dark current and dark signal nonuniformity (DSNU), achieve world class performance results of less than 1.5 and 9e/s, respectively, at room temperature.

This new 2.2um pixel joins Tower's broad family of advanced pixel IPs which includes the 2.8, 3.2 and 3.6um pixels, already manufactured in mass production with very high yields.

Using smaller pixels, designers can increase the camera's resolution without increasing its size, thereby attaining a very cost-effective solution for high-volume applications.

Several Tower customers are already developing new sensors using this new 2.2um pixel at various resolutions, ranging from very small VGA sensors through 3Mpixel sensors for cellular-phone applications up to 5Mpixel sensors for digital stills cameras.

The world market for image sensor ICs for cellphones and DSCs is estimated to grow by an annual growth rate of 14% to reach US $5 billion dollars in 2010.

Tower's new offering addresses the requirements of more than 80% of this market.

Tower expects potential accumulated shipments of this technology from its Fab2 to reach more than 50,000 wafers through the coming 2 years.

Tower's pixel IP methodology, where Tower provides its customer with a fully developed and fully characterised pixel has proven to shorten time to market while providing first time success, thereby enabling users to compete successfully in the fast-paced cellular-phone and DSC markets.

"We are very excited to provide existing and emerging customers with this world class CMOS image sensor platform", says Dr Avi Strum, General Manager of the CIS product line at Tower Semiconductor.

"The outstanding performance and resulting picture quality makes the Tower platform a very attractive option for customers seeking high resolution, low noise and small form factor".

The new CIS platform is also available on Tower's shuttle programme for fast and low-cost design verification and engineering samples.

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