Following the ISOCELL HMX/HM1, Samsung has released the third generation of its 100-megapixel (108MP) image sensor, the HM2. Samsung announced four Samsung ISOCELL 0.7μm class pixel image sensors, namely the 108-megapixel ISOCELL HM2, 64-megapixel ISOCELL GW3, 48-megapixel ISOCELL GM5, and 32-megapixel ISOCELL GW3. With its new 0.7μm ISOCELL technology, Samsung says it plans to extend its ultra-high-resolution products to mainstream smartphones.
Samsung continues to pioneer innovations, such as ISOCELL Plus and Smart ISO, to deliver more pixels in a smaller package. Last year, Samsung introduced the industry’s first 0.7μm-pixel image sensor and the first 108Mp sensors. Now we are bringing more of the advanced pixel technologies to mobile cameras in a variety of options that will enable high-resolution images and sleeker designs in a wider selection of tomorrow’s mobile devices.
said Yongin Park, executive vice president of the sensor business at Samsung Electronics.
Samsung’s latest image sensor has 0.7μm pixels, 15 percent smaller than a 0.8μm sensor of the same resolution, and reduces the height of the camera module by 10 percent. The smaller form factor gives smartphone makers greater flexibility when developing next-generation devices. To gather enough light with very small pixels, Samsung has employed advanced ISOCELL Plus and Smart-ISO technologies, optimized specifically for 0.7μm.
Samsung ISOCELL 0.7μm-class Sensors
- ISOCELL HM2 is Samsung’s third 108Mp image sensor following the HMX and HM1. The new 108Mp-sensor is around 15-percent smaller than the 0.8μm-based predecessors and reduces the height of the camera module by 10 percent. The HM2 features Super PD, a faster and more effective phase detecting autofocus solution, and like the HM1, comes with a nine-pixel binning technology as well as 3x lossless zoom.
- ISOCELL GW3 is a 64Mp-image sensor optimized for mainstream devices. Thanks to the smaller pixel size, the GW3’s optical size is nearly identical to that of Samsung’s 0.8μm 48Mp image sensor. In addition to Tetra cell and Smart-ISO technologies that help the sensor take bright images with high color fidelity, the GW3 is ideal for active lifestyles, featuring gyro-based electronic image stabilization (EIS) for sharper still photos and steadier videos. The image sensor supports video recording at up to 4K resolution at 60 frames-per-second (fps).
- ISOCELL GM5 is a versatile 48Mp-image sensor designed for use in telescoping or ultra-wide-angle cameras. When used as a 5x optical telescoping sensor for folded-zoom, the GM5 takes full advantage of the compact 0.7μm pixel size that minimizes the camera bulge. For ultra-wide shots, the GM5 supports high-speed full-HD recording at 480fps. The sensor also offers a staggered-HDR feature, a faster and more power-efficient HDR technology that expedites image processing by sending a readout of a long, medium, and short exposures of each row of pixels respectively to the mobile processor. As the readout is performed based on Tetracell’s 1.4μm two-by-two pixels, rather than at the individual 0.7μm-pixel level, staggered-HDR can provide brighter and clearer images with less noise.
- ISOCELL JD1 is the industry’s smallest 32Mp-image sensor at 1/3.14-inches, making it an ideal solution for smartphones with bezel-less displays that incorporate a hole-in-active-area or motorized pop-up mechanism for the front-facing camera. Even with 32-million pixels to capture a highly detailed selfie, the camera sits comfortably under the display as the height of the sensor’s camera module is comparable to those of 0.9μm 20Mp or 1.0μm 16Mp sensors. Like the GM5, the JD1 is also the one the first ISOCELL image sensors to offer staggered-HDR.
Samsung ISOCELL HM2, GW3, and JD1 are currently in mass production and the GM5 is a sampling.
