OmniVision BSI camera sensors get smaller, yet see more light
Today OmniVision announced that is has a new backside illumination (BSI) CMOS camera sensor to offer OEMs. Backside illumination switches up the normal order of the layers in a CMOS camera sensor, placing the silicon layer above the metal layers in the sensor, meaning that only the color filter and the microlens sits between a pixel and the light coming from the lens.
This has multiple positive effects. For starters, since the silicon sensor layer is higher up in the stack, it has access to light coming from a much wider angle of attack. Think of the difference in your field of view when standing 10 feet inside a tunnel, looking out, and when you are standing 100 feet inside the tunnel. Moving the silicon layer closer to the light source reduces the amount of tunnel vision, so to speak.
Not only can the cameras using these modules offer larger aperatures (ie. a wider lens opening that lets in more light), but the BSI technology also allows smaller pixel sites to be used compared to traditional CMOS technology. So not only will a BSI sensor be more light sensitive, but it can also offer a higher megapixel count in the same physical size.
Additional features of BSI sensors include better color reproduction than traditional front side illumination (FSI) sensors, due to increased quantum efficiency, and sharper edges due to a lessened amount of electrical crosstalk between pixel sites. A win all around, because we all know how important it is to get your quantum efficiency up!
In any event, OmniVision says that it will start shipping samples of the new 8 megapixel BSI sensor next month.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.