Samsung releases new automotive image sensor

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday released a new automotive image sensor as the tech giant eyes to expand its presence beyond the mobile sector.

The ISOCELL Auto 4AC will be used for rear-view cameras and surround-view monitors of a vehicle and offer high-definition resolution images. Samsung's latest image sensor comes in an optical format of 1/3.7-inch with 1.2 million 3.0-micrometer pixels.

Samsung said it applied CornerPixel technology for the first time, which will help reduce blind areas even in extreme conditions.

Its pixel designing technology embeds two photodiodes in a single pixel area, with one 3.0-micrometer pixel for low light images and a 1.0-micrometer pixel for a brighter environment. It offers advanced 120-decibel high dynamic range with minimal motion blur, which will enable smoother transitions between dark and brighter areas, according to Samsung.

The new image sensor also features LED flicker mitigation solutions to deliver more accurate images. Samsung said the smaller photodiode's exposure time can be extended to minimize LED flickering that may come from LED headlamps of road signage, such as street lamps and traffic lights.

The ISOCELL Auto 4AC, which meets AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualifications, including an operating temperature range between minus 40 and 125 C, is currently in mass production, Samsung said.

"Starting with the ISOCELL Auto 4AC, we plan to expand our automotive sensor lineup to areas such as camera monitor systems, autonomous driving and in-cabin monitoring," Chang Duck-hyun, executive vice president of sensor business at Samsung, said. (Yonhap)