High quality, accurate imaging is becoming a vital aspect of a growing and increasingly diverse range of applications. The capture of dynamic scenes in light conditions ranging from poor to very bright represents the most challenging end of this expanding market. Typical of the latest applications are drones and augmented or virtual reality.
Global shutter technology in CMOS imaging sensors allows imagers to capture a still render of a fast-moving scene without any smearing or bending of the image. Traditional rolling shutter sensors read out an image line-by-line, so if an object is moving in the frame, each line will read it in a different location making the image appear bent, smeared or distorted. Global shutter sensors integrate and copy the entire image to a storage area before being readout to be processed. This ensures a clear and clean image.
ON Semiconductor’s AR0144 image sensor family is an example of the latest global shutter CMOS imaging technology. This ¼” optical format, 1MP sensor is based on a 3µm pixel and designed to deliver exceptional performance in all light conditions. The paradigm shift is that AR0144 delivers its performance with a smaller pixel than previous generations which allows for smaller die size, lower cost and easier incorporation of the sensor within the final customer design.
More and more applications are beginning to use global shutter technology. Established products such as 2D barcode scanners, industrial inspection equipment and specialized high-end security cameras are all examples of designs where the performance of global shutter technology, as featured on the AR0144, can yield major in-use benefits.
The companies working on these applications are often looking to evolve their designs into smaller, more portable and more cost-efficient formats in order to meet stringent customer demands. In addition, a whole new set of applications are emerging that require the performance offered by global shutter technology. Drones need global shutter to ensure collision avoidance, AR/VR headsets meanwhile use global shutter to recognize human movement and map real-world surroundings in 3D space, and 360-degree capture cameras can use global shutter technology to ensure proper frame alignment from multiple cameras.
The AR0144 has been developed using ON Semiconductor’s significant experience in this specialist area and is suited for evolving existing applications as well as completely new designs. As well as ensuring the storage area stays clear of unwanted light so the captured image is clean and clear, the AR0144 has high quantum efficiency to capture more light, a high linear full well to improve dynamic range and high Signal to Noise ratio (SNR) to ensure low image noise.
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