50-MP image sensor extends dynamic range

Omnivision has released a new 50-MP image sensor, the OV50E, claiming the industry’s best low light image and high dynamic range (HDR) video capturing capabilities for rear-facing cameras in high-end and mainstream smartphones. The low-light performance is thanks to the combination of a large 1.0-micron pixel size, built-in advanced noise reduction technology, and high gain mode support.

Source: (Omnivision)

The OV50E, with a 1.0-micron pixel size in a 1/1.5-inch optical format, features staggered HDR and DCG technology for improved HDR and crop zoom and 100% quad phase detection (QPD) for enhanced autofocus. The company introduced its first image sensor, the 50-MP OV50A, with 100% phase detection in 2021 thanks to the QPD autofocus technology.

The staggered HDR and the DCG technology extend dynamic range and reduce motion artifacts in challenging lighting conditions, and together with a built-in dual conversion gain, provides single exposure HDR support, said Omnivision. The maximum dynamic range reaches more than 100 dB.

The image sensor’s second-generation QPD enables 2×2 phase detection autofocus (PDAF) across the sensor’s entire image array for 100% coverage. This delivers improved distance calculation, faster autofocus, and better low-light performance, said the company. In addition, the combination of on-chip remosaic for the QPD color filter array to full Bayer resolution is said to enable higher image quality.

The OV50E can achieve up to 64× analog gain for full resolution or 256× analog gain for four-cell binning resolution. The image sensor, built on the company’s PureCel Plus-S stacked die technology, can also use near-pixel binning to output a 12.5-MP image or 4K2K video with four times the sensitivity, resulting in a 2.0 micron-equivalent performance for preview and video, said Omnivision.

Output formats include 50 MP or 8K video with QPD autofocus at 30 frames per second (fps), 12.5 MP with QPD autofocus at 60 fps, 4K2K video with QPD autofocus at 60 fps, and 1080p at 240 fps. The OV50E supports the CPHY/DPHY MIPI interface and dual DOVDD 1.8/1.2 V.

OV50E samples will be available in the third quarter of 2022.