Image Sensor Glossary.ZIP

There is a semiconductor product that works as the eyes of various electronic devices, such as mobile phones, vehicles, and security systems. They are called image sensors. Samsung Electronics presented innovative image sensor products and technology in January and February of this year, establishing a foundation that allows mobile users to take high-quality, high-definition photos. ● Samsung Electronics releases premium image sensor “ISOCELL HM3” with 108 million pixels ● Samsung Electronics releases image sensory “ISOCELL GN2” that is closer to what the human eyes see

However, there are numbers that appear on the image sensor new technology presentation article. What do each of these numbers stand for? We’re going to learn the meaning of these numbers in #Semiconductors 101, a group where you learn about semiconductors. Megapixel (Mp) indicates the resolution First, megapixels (Mp) means “1 million pixels”. It is a combination of the word “pixel” and “mega” which means 1 million (10 to the 6th power). 108Mp means there are 108 million pixels and 50Mp means there are 50 million pixels. “Pixel” is the smallest unit in an image. The more pixels there are, the more precise and detailed the image will be. This is where the term “high-resolution” comes from. The more pixels there are, the higher resolution images you’ll be able to take. Micrometers (µm) Indicates the size of tiny pixels “Micro” means 1/10 to the 6th power, or 1/1,000,000 = 0.000001. These micro units are typically used to indicate the size of pixels. For instance, the ISOCELL HM3 product that was presented by Samsung Electronics in January had a pixel size of 0.8 micrometers. 0.8 micrometers is equal to 8/100,000 centimeters or 8/10,000,000 meters. It’s an extremely small size that is invisible to the naked eye. A strand of human hair is typically around 40-70 micrometers. Can you image how small a 0.8 micrometer pixel would be? Pixel size determines the resolution and light receiving area Now, let’s apply the concept of pixel size to image sensors. If we have an image sensor of the same size, the smaller the pixels, the more pixels it can contain and the higher the resolution it can produce. If we have an image sensor with the same pixel count, the sensor size will vary depending on the pixel size. Bigger pixels mean that the surface area that receives light (light receiving area) will become bigger. As the light receiving area gets bigger, you can take higher-definition images with less noise. Because of this, it is important to determine the pixel size that can optimize the resolution and light receiving area. 1/1.XX inches, the length for measuring image sensor size

When you’re talking about image sensors, you may see numbers that are shown as fractions such as 1/1.XX. This is the “optical format” concept rather than the length of the actual diagonal of the image sensor. In order to explain the optical format, which is frequently mentioned when talking about the specifications of a lens or image sensor, we first need to understand how cameras are made. When a camera is made, an image sensor is used to create the camera model and the lens is connected to the device. The diameter of the area that ensures that the lens fits the camera is called the optical format. Why does the optical format have to be longer than the image sensor’s diagonal?

The 6.4mm x 4.8mm image sensor that is third on the left has a diagonal length of 8mm, but it is still called a 1/2 inch sensor. 1/2 inches is actually 12.7mm (24.5mm/2), which is larger than 8mm. Then why is the optical format longer than the image sensor’s diagonal length? This is to prevent the vignetting phenomenon. If the lens does not completely cover the image sensor, there will be dark corners on the image and the surrounding area will be exposed to the light. This is called vignetting. There is a formula that is used to calculate the minimum length of the optical format, and this value is about 1.5 times the length of typical image sensor diagonal lengths. The 6.4mm x 4.8 mm sensor that was see in the image above was called 1/2 inch (12.7mm), but the value of the optical format that fits this sensor is close to 12mm, which is 1.5 times the image sensor’s diagonal length. We learned about the meaning of numbers related to image sensors. Try to remember these numbers so that you can understand news related to image sensors in more detail. We hope you’ll continue to take an interest in Samsung Electronics, who will lead the image sensor market going forward.