Samsung’s Newest ISOCELL Image Sensor Enables Mobile Devices to ‘Slow Down’ Time
February 25 2018 - 6:00PM
Business Wire
The new 3-stack ISOCELL Fast 2L3 with
integrated DRAM supports super-slow motion, low-light shooting,
real-time HDR imaging, while minimizing picture distortion
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced
semiconductor technology, today introduced the newest addition to
its ISOCELL image sensor family, the 3-stack ISOCELL Fast 2L3. The
1.4-micrometer (μm) 12-megapixel (Mp) image sensor with integrated
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) delivers fast data readout
speeds to capture both rapid movements in super-slow motion and
sharper still photographs with less noise and distortion.
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Samsung's new 2L3 ISOCELL image sensor
(Graphic: Business Wire)
“Samsung’s ISOCELL image sensors have made great leaps over the
generations, with technologies such as ISOCELL for high color
fidelity and Dual Pixel for ultra-fast autofocusing, bringing the
smartphone camera ever closer to DSLR-grade photography,” said Ben
K. Hur, vice president of System LSI marketing at Samsung
Electronics. “With an added DRAM layer, Samsung’s new 3-stack
ISOCELL Fast 2L3 will enable users to create more unique and
mesmerizing content.”
Conventional image sensors are constructed with two silicon
layers; a pixel array layer that converts light information into an
electric signal, and an analog logic layer that processes the
electric signal into digital code. The digital code is then sent
via MIPI interface to the device’s mobile processor for further
image tuning before being saved to the device’s DRAM. While all
these steps are done instantaneously to implement features like
zero-shutter lag, capturing smooth super-slow-motion video requires
image readouts at a much higher rate.
Delivering an advanced solution, the Samsung ISOCELL Fast 2L3 is
a high speed 3-stack CMOS image sensor designed with the company’s
two-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR4 DRAM attached below the analog logic layer.
With the integration, the image sensor can temporarily store a
larger number of frames taken in high speed quickly onto the
sensor’s DRAM layer before sending frames out to the mobile
processor and then to the device’s DRAM. This not only allows the
sensor to capture a full-frame snapshot at 1/120 of a second but
also to record super-slow motion video at up to 960 frames per
second (fps). With 960fps recording, which is 32 times the typical
filming speed (30fps), recording moments such as a child hitting
his or her first game-winning homerun, a baby taking his or her
first step, or a friend doing a gazelle flip on a skateboard
becomes much more dramatic.
In addition to super slow motion video, fast readout can hugely
enhance the photography experience. Since the sensor captures an
image at very high speeds, it significantly reduces the
‘jello-effect,’ or image distortion, when taking a picture of
fast-moving objects, for example helicopter rotor blades. By
storing multiple frames in the split of a second, the sensor can
support 3-Dimensional Noise Reduction (3DNR) for clearer pictures
when shooting in low-light, as well as real time high-dynamic-range
(HDR) imaging, and detect even the slightest hint of movement for
automatic instant slow-motion recording.
The image sensor is also equipped with Dual Pixel technology,
which allows each and every one of the 12-million pixels of the
image sensor to employ two photodiodes that respectively work as a
phase detection auto-focus (PDAF) agent. With ultra-fast auto-focus
in any lighting condition, it will be harder to miss capturing
important moments before they pass by.
The Samsung ISOCELL Fast 2L3 is currently in mass
production.
About Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.
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Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.Lisa Warren-Plungy,
408-544-5377lwarrenplungy@ssi.samsung.com