48-MP image sensor integrates dual conversion gain HDR for smartphones

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. launched at CES  2020 the OV48C  48-megapixel (MP) image sensor with a 1.2-micron pixel size that delivers high resolution and excellent low-light performance for flagship smartphone cameras. The company claims that the OV48C is the industry’s first image sensor for high-resolution mobile cameras  with on-chip dual-conversion-gain HDR, which eliminates motion artifacts and produces an excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

The OV48C sensor also offers a staggered HDR option with on-chip combination, which gives smartphone designers the capability to select the best HDR method for a given scene.

“The OV48C is the only flagship mobile image sensor in the industry to offer the combination of high 48-MP resolution, a large 1.2-micron pixel, high speed, and on-chip high dynamic range, which provides superior SNR, unparalleled low-light performance, and high-quality 4K video,” said Arun Jayaseelan, staff marketing manager at OmniVision, in a statement.

Built on OmniVision’s PureCel Plus stacked-die technology, the 1/1.3-in. optical format sensor integrates an on-chip, four-cell color filter array, and hardware remosaic, which provides a 48-MP Bayer output, or 8K video, in real time. In low-light conditions, this sensor can use near-pixel binning to output a 12-MP image for 4K2K video with four times the sensitivity, yielding a 2.4-micron-equivalent performance, said the company.

In either case, the OV48C can consistently capture the best-quality images without motion blur, as well as enable digital crop zoom with a 12-MP resolution and fast mode switch, said OmniVision.

Output formats include 48 MP at 15 frames per second (fps), 12 MP with four-cell binning at 60 fps, and 4K2K video at 60 fps with the extra pixels needed for electronic image stabilization. This sensor also offers 1080p video with slow motion support at 240 fps, as well as 720p at 360 fps.

OV48C samples are available now and will be demonstrated at OmniVision’s CES hotel suite .