Sharp preps 20-megapixel CCD for compact cameras
updated 08:25 pm EDT, Tue April 17, 2012
New sensor has industry's highest pixel count
Sharp has announced the development of a new, 20.2 million-pixel CCD image sensor for compact digital cameras. The 1/2.3-inch sensor will have the highest pixel count of all the 1/2.3-inch CCD image sensors that use an interline transfer method and are designed for the small size.
The new image sensor manages to pack in more pixels, with a pixel cell size of 1.20x1.20μm. That makes it about 20 percent smaller than Sharp's previous 1/2.3-inch CCD, which had a pixel count of 16 million.
Sharp used its own light collection technique to increase the amount of light going into the cell even as cell size was reduced. The resulting sensor has a sensitivity of 105mV and smear and saturation powers of -86dB (standard) and 400mV (minimum), respectively. The new image sensor is capable of 720p video output with a frame rate of 30FPS.
Sharp will begin shipping samples later this month, with volume shipment of 200,000 units per month expected to begin in August. [via Tech-On]
