Exmor is the name of a technology

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

implemented on some of their

CMOS Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss", ) is a type of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) fabrication process that uses complementary and symmetrical pairs of p-type and n-type MOSFE ...

image sensor An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of curr ...

s. It performs on-chip analog/digital signal conversion and two-step

noise reduction Noise reduction is the process of removing noise from a signal. Noise reduction techniques exist for audio and images. Noise reduction algorithms may distort the signal to some degree. Noise rejection is the ability of a circuit to isolate an und ...

in parallel on each column of the CMOS sensor. Exmor RS is the world's first stacked CMOS image sensor and was announced by Sony on 20 August 2012. Subsequently, Sony announced the first 3-layer stacked CMOS sensor, which added a

DRAM Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM or DRAM) is a type of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each bit of data in a memory cell, usually consisting of a tiny capacitor and a transistor, both typically based on metal-oxid ...

cell array in the middle.

History

In October 2015, Sony Semiconductor Solutions was established as a wholly owned group company to reinforce the CMOS image sensor business and integrate the semiconductor-related business operations of

Sony Group , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

. Following the incorporation, all the Exmor sensors are designed and manufactured by the company. On May 14, 2020, the Intelligent Vision Sensor was announced with an introduction that reads: "the first image sensor in the world to be equipped with AI processing functionality". The new sensor distinguishes itself from the previous Exmor RS sensors by an AI processor and a memory storing the AI models, included in a stacked logic layer for the real-time image analysis and instant extraction of

metadata Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...

from a raw image. In the release, only model numbers were identified and it was not confirmed whether the sensor bears a different name.

Versions

Exmor R is a back-illuminated version of Sony's CMOS image sensor. Exmor R was announced by Sony on 11 June 2008 and was the world's first mass-produced implementation of the back-illuminated sensor technology. Sony claims that Exmor R is approximately twice as sensitive as a normal front illuminated sensor. This

active pixel sensor An active-pixel sensor (APS) is an image sensor where each pixel sensor unit cell has a photodetector (typically a pinned photodiode) and one or more active transistors. In a metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) active-pixel sensor, MOS field-effec ...

is found in several Sony mobile phones and cameras as well as Apple's

iPhone 4s The iPhone 4S (originally styled as iPhone 4 S, retroactively stylized with a lowercase 's' as iPhone 4s as of September 2013) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iOS devices, fifth generation o ...

and 5. Originally, Exmor R was limited to smaller sensors for

camcorder A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swa ...

compact camera A point-and-shoot camera, also known as a compact camera and sometimes abbreviated to P&S, is a still camera designed primarily for simple operation. Most use focus free lenses or autofocus for focusing, automatic systems for setting the exposu ...

s and

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

s, but the

Sony ILCE-7RM2 , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

full-frame camera introduced on the 10 June 2015 features an Exmor R sensor as well. Exmor RS is the world's first stacked CMOS image sensor and was announced by Sony on 20 August 2012. Subsequently, Sony announced the first 3-layer stacked CMOS sensor, which added

cell array in the middle.

References

{{Sony Corp Sony image sensors

History

Versions

See also

References