MAY 6--Micron Technology Inc. (Boise, ID; www.micron.com) has announced ultralow-power, low-cost CMOS image sensors designed specifically to meet the demands of low-power mobile devices such as cell phones, smart phones, and PDAs. They incorporate sophisticated camera functions on-chip and are programmable through a simple two-wire serial host interface.
Both products offer CIF resolution (352 x 288), 1/7-in. optical format, up to 30-frames/s progressive scan for high-quality video, and an on-chip, 8-bit analog-to-digital converter. The sensor can be programmed to output progressive-scan images up to 30 frames/s and typically consumes less than 17 mW at maximum data rate. The camera-on-a-chip device typically consumes less than 45 mW at 30 frames/s and less than 30 mW at 15 frames/s. The on-chip ADC provides 8 bits per pixel. Frame- and line-valid signals are output on dedicated pins, along with a pixel clock that is synchronized with valid data.
The camera-on-a-chip device combines the CMOS image sensor core with Micron's second-generation digital image flow processor (IFP) technology. This on-chip IFP gives the system the ability to capture high-quality color images and perform a number of sophisticated processing functions. Micron is focusing on providing CMOS image-sensor solutions to the handset camera, digital still camera, and PC video camera markets as well as automotive, diagnostic, biometric, security, and high-speed applications.
