Kodak working to extend bounds of mediocrity

From Dpreview.
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 4 -- Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) is enabling
a new level of performance in consumer imaging devices by redesigning
the basic building blocks used to collect light and is incorporating
that technology into a brand-new sensor.

The company has combined its recently announced Color Filter Pattern
technology with a new CMOS pixel to create the KODAK KAC-05020 Image
Sensor, the world's first 1.4 micron, 5 megapixel device. Designed for
mass-consumer camera applications such as mobile phones, Kodak's new
sensor enables a new level of resolution in small optical formats,
using significantly smaller pixels. But unlike other small-pixel
sensors which can produce poor images, especially under low light
conditions, the 1.4 micron pixel used in the KAC-05020 Image Sensor
changes this convention, providing image quality that can equal or
surpass what is available from current devices using larger, 1.75
micron pixel CMOS designs.

"Camera phones and other small-pixel consumer imaging devices often
suffer from poor performance, especially under low light conditions.
To manufacture sensors that utilize these very small pixels - only two
to three times the wavelength of visible light - we needed to
challenge everything we knew about pixel and sensor design," said
Chris McNiffe, General Manager of Kodak's Image Sensor Solutions
business. "By completely rethinking the design of the CMOS pixel and
leveraging our work with high sensitivity color filter patterns and
algorithms, Kodak was able to develop this remarkable new sensor that
will enable a level of imaging performance previously unavailable from
CMOS devices."

Key to the performance of this new sensor is the KODAK TRUESENSE CMOS
Pixel, a re-engineering of the fundamental design and architecture of
traditional CMOS pixels. In a standard CMOS pixel, signal is measured
by detecting electrons that are generated when light interacts with
the surface of the sensor. As more light strikes the sensor, more
electrons are generated, resulting in a higher signal at each pixel.
In the KODAK TRUESENSE CMOS Pixel, however, the underlying "polarity"
of the silicon is reversed, so that the absence of electrons is used
to detect a signal. This change enabled a series of improvements to
the design and structure of the pixel that ultimately results in CMOS
imaging performance that rivals that available from CCD image sensors.

Light sensitivity in the new sensor is enhanced through the use of the
recently announced KODAK TRUESENSE Color Filter Pattern, which adds
panchromatic, or "clear," pixels to the red, green and blue pixels
already on the sensor. Since these pixels are sensitive to all
wavelengths of visible light, they collect a significantly higher
proportion of the light striking the sensor. This provides a 2x to 4x
increase in sensitivity to light (from one to two photographic stops)
compared to current sensor designs, improving performance in low light
and reducing motion blur in action shots.

At 5 million pixels, the KAC-05020 provides the highest resolution
available in the popular 1/4" optical format, and enables imagery up to
ISO 3200 and support for full 720p video at 30 fps. The sensor is also
supported by the Texas Instruments' OMAPTM and OMAP-DM solutions,
enabling a host of KODAK Image Processing and Enhancement Features
(such as digital image stabilization, rapid auto-focus, red-eye
reduction, and facial recognition) that provide digital camera-like
performance in a camera phone.

"For consumers today, high resolution is required but no longer
sufficient," said Fas Mosleh, Worldwide Director of CIS Marketing and
Business Development for Kodak's Image Sensor Solutions business.
"Smaller and thinner camera phones, high performance under low light,
and superior video performance are the types of features that will
enable the next generation of consumer imaging devices. And with this
new Kodak sensor, camera designers can now put those features directly
into the hands of their customers."

The new sensor expands Kodak's portfolio of CMOS and CCD image sensors
for consumer and applied imaging applications, and positions the
company to take advantage of the growing demand for high-quality image
capture in a variety of devices, regardless of size.

The KAC-05020 will be demonstrated by Kodak at the GSMA Mobile World
Congress held Feb 11 - 14 in Barcelona, Spain. Samples of the
KAC-05020 are scheduled to be available in Q2 2008.
.

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