Omnivision Stacked Sensors Feature 1.008um DTI BCFA CMG Pixel with zHDR

BusinessWire, BusinessWire: Omnivision announces 20MP OV20880 and OV20880-4C and 16MP OV16885 and OV16885-4C stacked sensors featuring 1.008um PureCel Plus-S pixels.

OmniVision’s second-generation PureCelPlus technology has a number of performance improvements, including:

• 20% increase in FWC, enabling higher DR.
• A newly introduced composite metal grid (CMG) structure, which increases QE and enhances sensor low-light performance, leading to a 12.5% improvement in sensitivity.
• Improved deep trench isolation (DTI) structure, which further reduces color crosstalk and improves the SNR10 figure by 10 lux.
• These structure improvements also enable small-pixel sensors to have better tolerance to incident light angles. This in turn allows imaging systems to use lower F-number lenses for better brightness, and to realize lower module heights that are essential for slimmer phone designs.

The OV20880 and OV16885, designed for main camera applications, offer zig-zag HDR (zHDR) and PDAF. zHDR uses a long and a short exposure in a single frame to extend the dynamic range capabilities of the sensors. Long and short exposure lines are diagonally interlaced across the entire pixel array in a zig-zag pattern. This enables live preview and video recording in HDR mode and single-shot full-resolution HDR images in capture mode without shutter lag.

The OV20880 is also optimized for mobile dual-camera zoom solutions, offering several dual-camera-friendly features such as context switching, scalar, and EIS. The on-chip EIS can synchronize with a gyro sensor on-board without latency, enabling advanced capabilities such as image deblur.

The OV20880-4C and OV16885-4C unique CFA pattern offers a variety of output modes depending on the use case. The on-chip in-pixel binning feature allows up to four times more light photons than a regular 1.0-micron pixel. The OV20880-4C also pairs well with OmniVision's complete software solution for resolution recovery that enables high-resolution 16MP and 20MP selfies when combined with the sensor's 4-cell mode.

The OV20880, OV20880-4C, OV16885 and the OV16885-4C are currently available for sampling and are expected to enter volume production in Q1 2017.