Sony Has Developed a Smartphone Camera Sensor Capable of Recording 1080p 1000 fps Slow Motion Videos

Sony has announced what it claims to be the first 3-layer stacked CMOS image sensor with DRAM for smartphones, which allows for fast data readout speeds making possible still images capture of fast moving objects with minimal focal plane distortion, and recording of Full HD (1920×1080) slow motion movies at 1000 fps, which compares to current solutions capable of only 720p @ 240 fps such as Google Pixel phones.

Sony CMOS camera key specifications as listed in the press release:

• Effective pixel count – 5520 (H) x 3840 (V) 21.2 megapixels
• Image size Diagonal – 7.73mm (Type 1/2.3)
• Unit cell size – 1.22μm (H) x 1.22μm (V)
• Frame rate
  • Still images – 30fps; 4:3 19.3 megapixels / 16:9 17.1 megapixels
  • Movies – 60fps @ 4K (3840 x 2160); 240fps @ Full HD / 720p
• Image format – Bayer RAW
• Reading speed – 8.478 ms (4:3 19.3 megapixels) / 6.962 ms (16:9 17.1 megapixels)
• Output – MIPI CSI2 D-PHY 2.2 Gbps/lane / C-PHY 2.0 Gsps/lane
• DRAM capacity – 1G bit
• Power supply – 2.5V / 1.8V / 1.1V

While the frame rate for movies is only listed up to 240 fps for full HD videos in the specs, the demo video included in the announcement clearly shows 1080p videos recording at 960p and played back at 15 fps, and the results are rather cool.

Sony did not say when we can expect smartphones based on the camera. The new solution was presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco, during a talk entitled “A 1/2.3inch 20Mpixel 3-Layer Stacked CMOS Image Sensor with DRAM”.

Via Liliputing

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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