Toshiba offers 13-megapixel CMOS sensor to phone makers
updated 06:08 am EST, Thu November 29, 2012
Compact module has increased low-light performance
Toshiba is close to launching a new camera sensor aimed at mobile phones. The T4K37 CMOS sensor is capable of taking images at a resolution of 13 megapixels, and is claimed by the company to have a high low-light performance and noise reduction in colors (CNR), courtesy of its backside illumination (BSI) technology.
The 8.5mm by 8.5mm (0.3 inches by 0.3 inches) square module houses the 1.12-micrometer sensor, which is said to offer the equivalent image of a 1.4-micrometer sensor. With the BSI and CNR integrated onto the CMOS image sensor itself, the physical size has been shrunk without sacrificing image quality, and allows the sensor to provide a signal to noise ratio 50 percent higher than a similar sensor without CNR.
Test samples of sensor will be available for manufacturers by next month, and likely won't be included in final products until late spring or early summer 2013.
