Samsung Electronics introduced the industry's smallest 200-megapixel image sensor 'ISOCELL HP3' on the 23rd. ISOCELL HP3 is implemented in 1/1.4 inch size with 200 million 0.56 micrometer (㎛) pixels. The number of mobile camera modules has been reduced by 20% while implementing 200 million pixels using pixels that are 12% smaller than the existing 0.64㎛. Samsung Electronics will mass-produce this product for mobile use within this year.
Samsung Electronics launched the world's first 100-megapixel image sensor in 2019. The product was installed in the Galaxy 20 Ultra, Xiaomi, Lenovo, and Motorola smartphones. Following the release of the first 200-megapixel smartphone image sensor in the second half of last year, the pixel size was minimized.
Samsung Electronics' image sensor is equipped with Super QPD technology. By using the entire 200 million pixels, it is possible to accurately focus regardless of left, right, top or bottom. It supports 8K super-resolution at 30 frames per second and 4K high-resolution video at 120 frames per second, demonstrating movie shooting-level performance. It supports ultra-high-resolution 8K video recording from the same angle of view as photography.
It also supports the staggered HDR function that provides clear images. In staggered HDR, you can get a vivid image by synthesizing three frames in a state of mixing bright and dark illuminance.
Samsung Electronics applied Smart-ISO Pro technology to support dark scenes in more detail, improving color expression by 64 times. According to the amount of light, tetra-square pixel technology is applied to the product by combining 4 to 16 adjacent pixels. Through an adequate combination of pixels, the light-receiving area is also enlarged to provide a clear image.
Jun-seo Lim, vice president of the sensor business team at Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Division, stated, “We will continue to innovate the user experience through this new product with the smallest pixel size in the industry.” According to market research firm TSR, it is expected that 120 million image sensors with 100 million pixels or more will be installed in the camera this year. It is expected to increase to 200 million units by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate of 44%.
By Staff Reporter Ji-woong Kim jw0316@etnews.com