Low Cost CMOS Sensor with 16.8 Million Pixels
Foveon's 16.8-megapixel sensor uses National's 0.18-micron process
Semiconductor Business News
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9/12/00, 02:57:06 PM EDT)
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Foveon Inc. here today announced the world's highest resolution image sensor based on a 0.18-micron CMOS process developed by National Semiconductor Corp. The startup company and National also claimed that the new 16.8 million-pixel sensor was the industry's largest mixed-signal IC, with nearly 70 million transistors on a chip.
"We are changing digital photography forever," declared Brian L. Halla, president and CEO of National Semiconductor. "This is one of the most innovative projects I have been involved with since joining National four years ago," added Halla, who is on the board of directors at Foveon. "Eventually, this technology will replace film and change the way we use cameras for both professional and amateur photographers."
The sensor is on a CMOS die, measuring 2.2 centimeters on a side. The device is being fabricated in National's 0.18-micron CMOS technology at its 8-inch wafer fab in South Portland, Maine. Three-year-old Foveon said it will disclose more details and product information on the 16.8-megapixel sensor during next week's Photokina trade show in Cologne, Germany. A black-and-white sensor product will be offered as well as a color device.
Foveon claimed that the resolution of its device is three times sharper than the best of previously announced photographic CMOS image sensors and more than 50 times sharper than the resolution of commonly used CMOS image sensors in consumer digital cameras. Compared to charged-coupled device sensors, Foveon said its 16.8-megapixel sensor captures nearly three times the data of 6-megapixel CCDs found in the highest resolution, professional digital cameras.
"Without question, high-resolution image sensors are what will accelerate the adoption rate of digital cameras and digital photography," said Carver Mead, the founder of Foveon. "Our sensor is the first viable 16.8-megapixel image sensor of any kind--CCD or CMOS--that can be produced in commercial volumes," said Mead, adding that "Foveon has shattered the quality and resolution ceiling that CCDs have held since their inception over 30 years ago." |
