Nikon released a self-developed 1-inch CMOS image sensor

Nikon has recently released a self-developed 1-inch CMOS image sensor. The imaging part of this sensor is square, with a total of 17.84 million pixels, supports up to 4K resolution 1000fps video shooting, while providing a high dynamic range.

Nikon first declared this product at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference held in San Francisco, the USA on February 15. Officials stated that the company, as an optical equipment manufacturer, is also actively participating in the R&D and manufacturing of cutting-edge image sensors.

Nikon said that the reason for investing in this product field is that the market has a great demand for lightweight, compact, high frame rate, wide dynamic range, and high-resolution image sensors.

Nikon also stated, ‘The development of image sensor technology is indispensable for Nikon to become a leading company in the industry. Nikon will continue to develop image sensors based on market needs.

As can be seen from the schematic diagram, this Nikon sensor is divided into two layers. The top is the sensor unit, and the bottom is the related circuit. The central circuit at the bottom is responsible for reading the signal and performing ADC conversion and output and is surrounded by control and drive circuits, output circuits, etc.

Nikon announced that this CMOS supports 110dB signal-to-noise ratio HDR shooting. In this high dynamic range mode, it can still achieve a picture output of up to 1000 frames per second. This CMOS utilizes a small-pitch stacking design with a pixel size of 2.7 microns.

The innovation is that the image sensor can be directly controlled through the logic circuit of the bottom chip to reduce delay.

Nikon’s CMOS top-level chip is divided into 264×264 blocks, each with 16×16 pixels, totaling 17.84 million pixels. According to the description, the exposure level of each area can be individually controlled to achieve high dynamic range shooting. The following is the official diagram:

Nikon said that this CMOS can be applied to small cameras, smartphones, automotive sensors, and other products. Nikon’s CMOS is very different from the image sensors used in civilian cameras led by Sony, Canon, and Samsung. The distinction is obvious, and the dynamic range and frame rate are impressive.

(Via)