Bigger image sensors are better because they allow the pixels embedded in their surface to be larger.
Micron had developed the same kind of design image sensors that OmniVision was selling, and the product was higher quality than OmniVision's.
The miniaturization of pixel size impacts performance of light sensitivity and signal to noise ratio (SNR) in today's 1.12 micrometer pixel image sensors.
ENGADGET: Toshiba preps 13MP phone camera sensor that promises low-light shooting without the noise
Sales of CMOS image sensors will remain high in the April-June quarter, as demand for smartphones equipped with high-resolution cameras is expected to be strong.
The dual "TRUE (Three-layer Responsive Ultimate Engine) II" image processing engine dedicated to Foveon X3 direct image sensors improves the processing speed and overall quality of the final image.
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As the first step towards the commercialization of its new CMOS image sensors, Sony has developed a model with built-in signal processing functionality, an element that usually requires external embedment.
ENGADGET: Sony's new cameraphone CMOS jams bigger gear into the same space (video)
Increased demand for NAND flash chips used in mobile devices and enhanced revenue in the System LSI Business, which creates mobile application processors and CMOS Image Sensors, supported overall profitability.
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Every Android phone and tablet maker touts these specs because CPUs, image sensors, and displays are the rapidly evolving technology waves that they ride and where most of their evolution resides.
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Average selling prices for its products continue to fall due to a higher percentage of lower-end VGA chips which means that the company is not getting traction at higher resolution image sensors.
This image sensor layers the pixel section containing formations of back-illuminated structure pixels onto chips containing the circuit section for signal processing, which is in place of supporting substrates for conventional back-illuminated CMOS image sensors.
ENGADGET: Sony's new cameraphone CMOS jams bigger gear into the same space (video)
The System LSI Business, which creates application processors (AP) and image sensors for smartphones, is forecasted to maintain profitability in the third quarter as demand for faster and higher-capacity chips used in mobile devices increases.
Also putting pressure on the company's stock was a report on the website Digitimes, which covers the computer and related industries, that Hewlett-Packard had chosen Micron Technology over Omnivision to supply image sensors for its cameras.
Back in 2005, OmniVision, which designs image sensors--silicon semiconductors that turn photons into electrons so that they can be processed, stored or displayed--made about 75% of revenues from selling its camera chips to developers of mobile phones.
While the quality of mirrorless cameras can be close to that of low-end SLR cameras, premium model SLRs still offer greater photo quality because they have larger image sensors and have features that are important to professional photographers.
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"As mobile devices like smartphones and tablets get smaller and thinner, the pixel size of image sensors needs to shrink accordingly, " said Andrew Burt, vice president of the Analog and Imaging Business Unit, System LSI Group at TAEC.
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In addition to the higher pixel numbers, superior image quality and faster speeds which conventional image sensors pursued, the newly-developed image sensors further achieve more highly-advanced functionalities and a more compact size, thus paving the way for enhanced camera evolution.
ENGADGET: Sony's new cameraphone CMOS jams bigger gear into the same space (video)
Hereafter, Sony will position it as the next generation back-illuminated CMOS image sensors, and unwaveringly strive to further develop this image sensor and expand its product lineup, thereby contributing to the further development of user-friendly cameras and to shooting enjoyment.
ENGADGET: Sony's new cameraphone CMOS jams bigger gear into the same space (video)
Sony has succeeded in establishing a structure that layers the pixel section containing formations of back-illuminated structure pixels over the chip affixed with mounted circuits for signal processing, which is in place of supporting substrates used for conventional back-illuminated CMOS image sensors.
ENGADGET: Sony's new cameraphone CMOS jams bigger gear into the same space (video)
OmniVision shares are trading sharply lower this morning after FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger asserted in a research note that the chip company could be at risk of losing its status as the dominant provider of image sensors for the Apple iPhone.
Conventional CMOS image sensors mount the pixel section and analog logic circuit on top of the same chip, which require numerous constraints when wishing to mount the large-scale circuits such as measures to counter the circuit scale and chip size, measures to suppress noise caused by the layout of the pixel and circuit sections, and optimizing the characteristics of pixels and circuit transistors.
ENGADGET: Sony's new cameraphone CMOS jams bigger gear into the same space (video)
They are already being used in car-airbag sensors and digital image projectors.
It also uses an accelerometer and light sensors to snap an image when a person enters a new environment, and an infrared sensor to take one when it detects the body heat of a person in front of the wearer.
More sensors means more detail is captured and, generally, produces a higher resolution image.
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