HD video sensor for mobile entertainment devices

The 1/6in OV9726 is said to deliver 720p HD video at 30 frames per second (fps), making it ideal for high-performance HD cameras in notebooks, netbooks, webcams, mobile phones, portable media players and other mobile entertainment devices.

Implementing Omnivision's 1.75micron OmniBSI backside illumination pixel architecture, the OV9726 is said to achieve low-light sensitivity of 1,480mV/lux-sec in a 1/6.5in form factor.

With the OmniBSI architecture, the image sensor receives light through the back side of the chip.

As a result there is no metal wiring to block the image light, and the entire backside of the image sensor can be photo-sensitive.

According to the company, this enables a superior image and also permits the front of the chip surface area to be devoted entirely to processing and allows an increase in the number of metal layers, both of which result in greater functionality.

Capturing light on the back side of the image sensor also reduces the distance the light has to travel to the pixels, and therefore provides a wider angle of light acceptance.

Widening the angle of acceptance in turn makes it possible to reduce the height of the camera module, and therefore the height of the device that incorporates the camera.

This design is said to achieve a low stack height of 3.5mm in the OV9726, enabling ultra-compact camera modules for mobile devices.

Omnivision's native HD sensors do not suffer from degradation or image artifacts due to scaling or cropping, which is typically used to achieve HD resolution from larger array sensors.

The OV9726 CMOS image sensor supports multiple platform architectures and controllers with both parallel and MIPI interfaces.

These support features are said to reduce product development time by allowing system designers to leverage the same opto-electrical design across various products and multiple market segments.