Quarter Inch Format, 2-Megapixel Image Sensor Enables Thin Mobile Phone Designs

The ADCC-4050 uses the company's enhanced-performance (EP) pixel and array architecture and eighth generation image-pipe processing technology to achieve low image lag.



The enhanced-performance (EP) architecture reduces dark current and noise, and removes the lens shading effect to offer breakthrough low-light CMOS sensor performance that rivals CCD sensors. Its 3D pixel e-field shaping makes each pixel ultra light sensitive. The ADCC-4050 extends pixel

sensitivity through powerful 8 x 8 pixel binning. By comparison, competitors' image sensors offer 1 x 2 binning.



The Avago 2-megapixel image sensor automatically adapts to a wide range of lighting conditions, from incandescent to fluorescent to sunlight and corrects overexposed or underexposed images. It adjusts white balance and color, and corrects anomalies such as bad pixels and clusters that contribute to a poorer, noisier picture. The image sensor produces striking colors, higher contrast, truer skin tones and picture rendering that is highly adaptive to varying light, shadows and movement.



With the increasing popularity of ultra-thin camera phones, manufacturers

are requiring smaller modules. The ADCC-4050 is one of the few 2-megapixel

sensors with 2.2 micron x 2.2 micron pixels that fits easily into the

industry's smallest (8 mm x 8 mm x 5 mm) low-profile camera modules. The

sensor's on-chip image processing and JPEG compression eliminates the need

for an additional space-consuming, power-hungry companion chip while

reducing system processing overhead, design complexity, and time to market.



"Avago Technologies' 2-megapixel sensor is timely in its introduction and

impressive in the images and videos it produces in such a small form

factor," said Tom Hausken, director of the Components Practice at Strategies

Unlimited. "We're forecasting strong growth for 2-megapixel CMOS image

sensors in 2006, with the market trending toward camera phones with digital

still-camera-like capabilities."



The ADCC-4050 sensor is capable of 15 frames per second at full 1600 x 1200

pixel UXGA (ultra extended graphics array) resolution, and 30 frames per

second in 800 x 600 pixel SVGA mode. The image sensor contains several

digital still-camera- and camcorder-like image-processing features,

including eighth-generation JPEG with adaptive compression, which delivers

better quality images, auto thumbnails and fast reload to avoid missing

shots. It also features fast auto focus, dual flash support, shutter lag

amelioration, and an advanced auto illuminant detector using

second-generation plausible illuminant. The sensor's dynamic range expander

enables outstanding contrast, and a new proprietary exposure control adjusts

picture brightness without increasing noise linearly or washing out colors,

as commonly occurs with existing cameras.