Seen is Samsung Electronics' ISOCELL HP3 200-megapixel image sensor chip. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Baek Byung-yeul
Samsung Electronics is solidifying its technological prowess in image sensor chips for mobile devices, as the tech giant unveiled a new 200-megapixels image sensor chip, the industry's highest pixel density, the company said Thursday.
The company unveiled the ISOCELL HP3 image sensor chips, adding it will begin mass-producing them within this year.
The ISOCELL HP3 decreased pixel size by 12 percent to 0.56 micrometers compared to the previous chips, which means it can help reduce the size of mobile device camera modules by up to 20 percent.
Samsung said the new image sensor chip employs what it calls Super Quad Phase Detection (QPD) auto-focusing technology, which means that "all of the sensor's pixels are equipped with auto-focusing capabilities."
"In addition, Super QPD uses a single lens over four adjacent pixels to detect the phase differences in both horizontal and vertical direction. This paves the way for more accurate and quicker autofocusing for smartphone camera users," the company said.
"Samsung has continuously led the image sensor market trend through its technology leadership in high-resolution sensors with the smallest pixels," said Yim Joon-seo, executive vice president of the sensor business team at Samsung.
"With our latest and upgraded 0.56-micrometer 200 megapixel ISOCELL HP3, Samsung will push on to deliver epic resolutions beyond professional levels for smartphone camera users."
With the release of the new image sensor, Samsung expects it can expand its presence in the image sensor chips market with more than 100 million pixels.
According to data by market tracker TSR, the market presence of image sensor chips with more than 50 million pixels will continue to increase with more smartphones adopting high-quality camera modules.
TSR said that ultra-high-pixel image sensors with more than 100 million pixels will grow to 11 percent of the image sensor market in 2025 from about 1 percent in 2020.
