Samsung currently holds the bragging rights for the world’s smallest 8.4-megapixel CMOS image sensor. Samsung says it has developed the tiny chip for use in camera phones, digital cameras and video camcorders. It boasts a 1.4μm (micrometer, a millionth of a meter) pixel design.
Of course, you know what they say about very tiny pixels in tight spaces; they invariably produce noisy pictures because they’re closely packed.
Not so, says Samsung. The new CIS chip provides a high signal to noise ratio (SNR), a key measure of overall image quality, and its high resolution is achieved by implementing advanced light sensing features and minimized noise levels.
One other good thing about the new sensor, Samsung says, is its low power consumption. The new CIS only uses one-tenth the power of a CCD image sensor, so it should quickly replace CCDs in all three key applications – mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders, according to Samsung.
[Site: Samsung.com]