Omnivision highlights TheiaCel innovations
OV50K40 image sensor raises the bar for high dynamic range achievable with a single exposure.
OMNIVISION has launched its new OV50K40, the first smartphone image sensor with TheiaCel™ technology. The OV50K40 is reaching human eye-level high dynamic range (HDR) with single exposure. It sets a new high-performance bar in the industry for flagship rear-facing main cameras.
OMNIVISION’s new TheiaCel™ technology harnesses the capabilities of lateral overflow integration capacitors (LOFIC) to provide the best-in-class single-exposure HDR, regardless of lighting conditions. The TheiaCel™-based OV50K40 50-megapixel (MP) image sensor features a 1.2-micron (µm) pixel in a 1/1.3-inch optical format with high gain and correlated multiple sampling (CMS) for optimal performance in low-light conditions.
“Consumers have hit their limit with the quality of photos and video from mobile phones on the market today, especially for images taken during sunrise, sunset and at night with bright lights in the background. But today, OMNIVISION has disrupted the mobile phone industry with our new TheiaCel™ technology,” said Arun Jayaseelan, senior product marketing manager, OMNIVISION. “Our OV50K40 image sensor offers the highest single exposure HDR image capture in mobile phones.”
According to Gerrit Schneemann, founder and principal analyst, Ascendo Advisors, “With the launch of the OV50K40 image sensor, OMNIVISION is addressing a key challenge in smartphone photography today: images in challenging lighting conditions. Improvements in these situations are critical for smartphone OEMs to differentiate their handsets from the competition as overall camera quality has improved. The OV50K40 enables OEMs to integrate a sensor with enhanced HDR capabilities to deliver clear pictures in challenging lighting – all with a single exposure.”
The OV50K40 supports 4-cell binning for 12.5MP at 120 frames per second (fps) and 60fps with HDR, with 4x sensitivity for flagship-level low-light performance. Quad phase detection (QPD) enables 2x2 phase detection autofocus (PDAF) across the sensor’s entire image array for 100% coverage, resulting in ultra-fast autofocus performance. An on-chip QPD re-mosaic enables full 50MP Bayer output, premium-quality 8K video and 2x crop-zoom functionality. The OV50K40 is built on OMNIVISION’s PureCel®Plus-S stacked-die technology, enabling high resolution with 1.2µm pixels.
Jayaseelan added, “We initially launched the TheiaCel™ technology last year to the automotive market, and we are excited to bring this revolutionary technology to the consumer smartphone industry today. We look forward to applying the TheiaCel™ technology to additional mobile image sensors as well as new markets in the future. With TheiaCel™ technology, the possibilities are endless.”
Automotive Image Sensor with TheiaCel Technology
OMNIVISION says that its OX08D10 8-megapixel (MP) CMOS image sensor with TheiaCel™ technology is now pre-integrated and validated with color tuning on the Snapdragon Ride™ Platform, Snapdragon Ride™ Flex System-on-Chip (SoC) and Snapdragon® Cockpit Platform from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. for next-generation advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled connected digital cockpits.
“Customers utilizing Snapdragon Digital Chassis solutions will have the ability to pair our recently launched OX08D10 image sensor to their systems to enable industry-leading high dynamic range (HDR), LED flicker mitigation (LFM) and low-light sensitivity for high-resolution advanced driver assistance systems,” said Dr. Paul Wu, head of automotive product marketing, OMNIVISION. “This is particularly exciting because the OX08D10 is the first image sensor in the industry to feature our new TheiaCel™ technology, which brings a new era to LFM HDR in an easy-to-implement solution that yields dramatic improvements in image quality.”
OMNIVISION’s OX08D10 image sensor provides automotive OEMs with one device that combines the most important features for ADAS: 8-MP resolution, 2.1-micron (µm) TheiaCel™ technology that achieves a wider dynamic range, industry-leading low-light performance, LED flicker mitigation, compact size and low power consumption.
TheiaCel now compatible with NVIDIA Omniverse
OMNIVISION says that its OX08D10 8-megapixel CMOS image sensor with TheiaCel™ technology is now compatible with the NVIDIA Omniverse™ development platform. OMNIVISION is demonstrating the solution at booth 636 during NVIDIA GTC, taking place through March 21 at the San Jose Convention Center.
NVIDIA Omniverse is a platform of application programming interfaces (APIs), software development kits (SDKs) and services that enables developers to easily integrate Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD) and RTX rendering technologies into their 3D applications and services. Such applications include high-fidelity, physically based simulation for accelerated autonomous vehicle (AV) development.
The recently announced OX08D10 is the first image sensor that features OMNIVISION’s new 2.1-micron (µm) TheiaCel™ technology, which harnesses the capabilities of next-generation lateral overflow integration capacitors (LOFIC) and OMNIVISION’s DCG™ high dynamic range (HDR) technology to accurately capture LED lights without any flickering artifact for nearly all driving conditions. TheiaCel™ enables the OX08D10 to achieve HDR image capture at up to 200 meters. This range is the sweet spot for delivering the best balance between SNR1 and dynamic range and is optimal for automotive exterior camera applications. The OX08D10 features industry-leading low-light performance and low power consumption in a compact size that is 50% smaller than other exterior cabin sensors in its class.
“The OX08D10 is OMNIVISION’s flagship image sensor that features our TheiaCel™ technology, ushering in a new era to low-light sensitivity in an easy-to-implement solution that yields dramatic improvements in image quality,” said Dr. Paul Wu, head of automotive product marketing, OMNIVISION. “We are proud to be part of the ecosystem of NVIDIA partners who are working together to accelerate AV development. Today, we are excited to announce that the OX08D10 is now compatible with NVIDIA Omniverse, a powerful platform for high-fidelity sensor simulation capabilities, reducing automotive OEM development efforts and cost.”
The new OX08D10 features OMNIVISION’s a-CSP™ package technology for the smallest possible solution available today. Samples are available now, and the OX08D10 will be in mass production in the second half of 2024.
