Avago Technologies’ One-Quarter Inch Format

Avago Technologies announced a one-quarter inch optical format, 1.3 megapixel CMOS image sensor featuring the company’s enhanced-performance (EP) pixel architecture and image-pipe processing technology. The sensor is one of the few 1.3 megapixel sensors that fits easily into the industry’s smallest (8 mm x 8 mm x 5 mm) low-profile camera modules. With the increasing popularity of thin-profile camera phones, manufacturers are requiring smaller modules with no decrease in performance and image quality. The Avago ADCC-3000 achieves these size requirements while enhancing the picture quality beyond existing megapixel sensors.

The Avago ADCC-3000 enables handset manufacturers to upgrade their one-quarter inch VGA (video graphics array) resolution cameras to the new one-quarter inch, 1.3 megapixel camera with a 4x increase in resolution and the ability to take sharper, truer color photos under all lighting conditions. With 1280 by 1024, 2.8 micron by 2.8 micron pixels, the ADCC-3000 is ideal for today’s ultra-thin megapixel mobile phones.

“We’ve raised the bar for megapixel price and performance with our industry-best, one-quarter inch CMOS camera-on-a-chip,” said James Stewart, vice president and general manager of Avago Technologies’ Imaging Solutions Division. “This is the only one-quarter inch megapixel image sensor capable of producing high-quality, digital still-camera-like images and camcorder-like video, while accommodating today’s ultra-slim camera phones. With its EP architecture and image pipe, this 1.3 megapixel sensor outperforms the competition’s 1-, 2- and 3-megapixel sensors at all light levels to produce sharper, clearer photos.”

“Avago Technologies’ one-quarter inch megapixel sensor meets and exceeds our needs for high image quality, small form factor, and strong technical support,” said Mike Burger, senior vice president of Flextronics’ Components Division. “We are thrilled by the overall performance of the ADCC-3000 and are committed to integrating it into modules for our OEM customers.”

“Our relationship and strong partnership with Flextronics, the leading camera module provider, has enabled both of us to maximize our success in this market by jointly targeting OEM design wins,” said Stewart.

The ADCC-3000’s EP pixel 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 new 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.

The ADCC-3000 is built for superior video and action shots, enabling high image data velocity and reduced image lag. The image-pipe processor is specifically tuned to Avago’s EP pixel architecture and uniquely accommodates a wide range of lighting conditions, from indoor to sunlight to fluorescent, and enhances overexposed or underexposed images. The ADCC-3000’s image pipe adjusts white balance and color, and corrects anomalies, including lens shadows, geometric distortion, reduced picture focus at the edge of the lens, and digital sensor noise. Unlike many third-party graphics processors, Avago’s image pipe is tightly coupled with the CMOS sensor, resulting in better colors, higher contrast, truer skin tones and picture rendering that is highly adaptive to varying light, shadows and movement.

ADDC-3000 One-Quarter Inch, 1.3 Megapixel Image Sensor

The ADCC-3000 sensor is capable of 15 frames per second at full 1280 by 1024 pixel SXGA (super extended graphics) resolution, and 30 frames per second in 640 by 480 pixel VGA mode. The ADCC-3000 contains several digital still-camera- and camcorder-like image-processing features:

oPlausible illuminant (adapts to the ambient light), an automatic illuminant detector that improves auto white balance for true color accuracy (1).

oAdaptive tone mapping that provides dynamic range expansion to deliver better contrast and richer, more vivid colors (1).

oAdvanced exposure control for brighter non-flash images(1).

oEnhanced automatic pixel correction that is five times better than conventional bad pixel amelioration(1).

oTrue color image processing that is better than advanced auto white balance(1).

oProgrammable, dual-LED and Xenon flash strobe synchronization(1).

oLocally adaptive color noise suppression(1).

oSmooth 4X digital zoom to emulate an optical zoom movement(1).

oSpecial-effects generator with “blue people,” black and white, sepia, solarization and 20 other special effects.

oAnti-vignetting that provides automatic correction for lens shading effects.

oPicture sharpening and adaptive tone mapping.

oAuto-flicker correction.