Samsung has announced the industry's first mobile image sensor

     Samsung Electronics Co., LTD., a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced the launch of the industry's first 1.0-micron pixel-based 160-megapixel (MP) CMOS image sensor for use in advanced mobile devices. "Starting with the 16 megapixel sensor, Samsung Electronics plans to further expand the product category of 1.0 micron pixels, and lead the image sensor market to ultra-thin mobile devices with high performance."

     Samsung's newly launched image sensor, the S5K3P3, utilizes the company's proprietary ISOCELL technology to enable high-performance 1.0 micron pixels. This market-leading small pixel reduces the overall size and height of image sensor modules, making it an ideal solution for today's increasingly thin mobile devices.

     "As a trend in the mobile image sensor business, we are excited to be the first to offer our customers a state-of-the-art 1.0 micron pixel imager that meets both high resolution and ultra-thin camera design requirements for smartphones," said Kyushik Hong, vice president and head of marketing at S.LSI, Samsung Electronics. "Starting with the 16 megapixel sensor, Samsung Electronics plans to further expand the product category of 1.0 micron pixels, and lead the image sensor market to ultra-thin mobile devices with high performance."

     Built with 1.0μm pixels, Samsung's new 16-megapixel image sensor reduces the overall height of the module by 20%, relative to the current 1.12μm pixel base 16MP sensor module. With the module Z-height less than 5mm enabled, the S5K3P3 provides designers with the ability to develop mobile devices with minimal camera protrudations while maintaining resolution.

     In addition, the S5K3P3 uses the technical advantages of Samsung ISOCELL to provide image quality that is on par with 1.12μm pixel image sensor-based image quality. The use of ISOCELL technology greatly reduces the color crosstalk of adjacent pixels by placing physical barriers between each pixel. This greatly improves the sensitivity of the light, effectively controlling the collection of photons, resulting in higher color fidelity, even in harsh lighting conditions.