Image Sensors, Camera

Image sensors are core components of digital imaging systems. Essentially, they are semiconductor devices that convert light signals into electrical signals. Based on their operating principles, they can be categorized into two major technology lines: CCD (charge-coupled device) and CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor). The CCD technology is renowned for its high sensitivity and low noise, while the CMOS technology has become mainstream due to its low power consumption and high integration.

Across a wide range of applications in smartphones, security surveillance, medical imaging, and other fields, image sensors not only fulfill the core function of capturing visual information but also directly determine key technical indicators such as image quality and dynamic range. With the rise of computational photography and AI vision technologies, modern image sensors have evolved from simple photoelectric converters to intelligent sensing nodes that integrate optics, microelectronics, and algorithms.

Modern image sensor technology is rapidly advancing along three core axes:

First, pixel miniaturization and stacked architecture designs have significantly increased sensor density. For example, Sony’s Exmor RS technology utilizes a back-illuminated structure for more efficient light capture.

Second, multispectral sensing technology has broken through the limitations of traditional RGB. The integration of near-infrared and ToF (time-of-flight) bands enables sensors to perceive the surrounding environment, enabling widespread applications in 3D modeling and biometrics.

Finally, the integration of on-chip computing capabilities has become a revolutionary trend. Solutions such as Huawei’s XD Fusion embed the image signal processor (ISP) directly into the sensor, enabling real-time processing such as RAW noise reduction and HDR synthesis.

These innovations have not only ushered in the “computational optics” era of smartphone photography but have also opened up new application scenarios in specialized fields such as autonomous driving LiDAR and industrial defect detection.