New Delhi: Samsung Electronics on Tuesday launched four mobile image sensors with 0.7µm (micrometre) sized pixels which is the industry’s smallest pixel size for smartphones of the future.
With the new 0.7µm ISOCELL technology, Samsung plans to expand the ultra-high-resolution offerings to mainstream smartphones.
Last year, Samsung introduced the industry’s first 0.7µm-pixel image sensor and the first 108Mp sensors.
“Now we are bringing more of the advanced pixel technologies to mobile cameras in a variety of options that will enable high-resolution images and sleeker designs in a wider selection of tomorrow’s mobile devices,” Yongin Park, executive vice president of the sensor business at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement.
For ultra-high-resolution image sensors, even a mere 0.1µm-difference per pixel can have a significant impact on the overall size of the sensor as well as the height of the camera module.
With pixels at 0.7µm, Samsung’s newest image sensors are up to 15 per cent smaller than the 0.8µm sensors of the same resolution and reduce the height of the camera module by up to 10 per cent.
Smaller form factors give smartphone manufacturers more flexibility, such as added features or more streamlined designs, when developing their next-generation devices, the company said.
The four image sensors are the 108MP Isocell HM2, 64MP Isocell GW3 that supports 4K 60 frames per second video filming, 48MP Isocell GM5 that supports ultrawide and folded zoom, and 32MP Isocell JD1.
ISOCELL HM2 is Samsung’s third 108MP image sensor following the HMX and HM1 while ISOCELL GW3 is a 64MP-image sensor optimized for mainstream devices.
ISOCELL GM5 is a versatile 48MP-image sensor designed for use in telescoping or ultra-wide-angle cameras.
ISOCELL JD1 is the industry’s smallest 32MP-image sensor, making it an ideal solution for smartphones with bezel-less displays that incorporate a hole-in-active-area or motorized pop-up mechanism for the front-facing camera.
In the latest 0.7µm products to be introduced later this year, Samsung will start rolling out an enhanced pixel technology, ISOCELL 2.0, which allows excellent performance despite the challenges with decreasing pixel sizes.
