Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s leader in memory chip production, has made a significant stride in the realm of advanced content platforms by introducing two new image sensors under its ISOCELL Vizion range. The ISOCELL Vizion 63D, a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor, and the ISOCELL Vizion 931, a global shutter sensor, are tailored for applications in robotics and extended reality (XR), marking Samsung’s latest effort to expand its market presence.
Lee Haechang, executive vice president of Samsung’s next-generation sensor development team, emphasized that these sensors, equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, will be crucial in enabling machine vision for futuristic applications, including robotics and XR.
The ISOCELL Vizion 63D is designed for high-resolution depth measurement, making it ideal for service and industrial robots, XR devices, and facial authentication systems. It operates by measuring the phase shift between emitted and reflected light, thus sensing its surroundings in three dimensions. This indirect ToF (iToF) sensor is a first in the industry to integrate a depth-sensing hardware image signal processor (ISP), allowing it to capture precise 3D depth information efficiently.
Samsung touts the ISOCELL Vizion 63D as having the highest quantum efficiency in its class, thanks to backside scattering technology (BST) that enhances light absorption. It boasts a quantum efficiency of 38% at an infrared light wavelength of 940 nanometers (nm), resulting in enhanced light sensitivity and reduced noise for sharper image quality.
Meanwhile, the ISOCELL Vizion 931 is optimized for capturing dynamic movements without distortion, making it suitable for motion-tracking in XR devices, gaming systems, and drones. This global shutter sensor captures the entire scene at once, eliminating the ‘Jello effect’ common with rolling shutter sensors. It also features front deep trench isolation (FDTI) and BST, achieving an industry-leading 60% quantum efficiency at 850 nm infrared light wavelength.
Samsung has also engineered the ISOCELL Vizion 931 with a one-to-one ratio VGA resolution, packing more pixels into a smaller form factor. This makes it optimal for iris recognition, eye tracking, and facial and gesture detection in head-mounted display devices.
Both sensors offer innovative features like flood and spot lighting modes, high frame rate image processing, and energy-efficient designs. The multi-drop support in the ISOCELL Vizion 931, allowing up to four cameras to connect to a single wire, underscores Samsung’s commitment to providing design flexibility for device manufacturers.
As Samsung provides samples of these new sensors to global original equipment manufacturers, these developments represent a leap forward in the integration of advanced imaging technologies into a range of high-tech applications.
