Nov 3 2008
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. today announced the commercial sampling of a CMOS image sensor with industry-leading digital data throughput of 13.2 Gbps. The new 3.0-megapixel LUPA-3000 sensor offers a triggered and pipelined synchronous shutter with a high frame rate of 485 frames-per-second (fps) and windowing capability for undistorted images and fast readout. The sensor also features on-chip digital LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) outputs that simplify the transport of sensor data and overall camera design for machine vision and holographic data storage applications.
The LUPA-3000 sensor features a fully synchronous snapshot shutter, making it possible to read one image while the next is being acquired and to capture moving objects without distortion. The sensor has 32, 8-bit digital LVDS outputs that allow image data to be transferred over longer distances on the circuit board, thus simplifying layout. The windowing capability enables the user to read out only regions of interest in the image, increasing the effective frame rate. It also has a dual slope capability to maintain good contrast in shadowed regions without saturating bright areas in scenes with a high contrast ratio. Cypress will demonstrate its industry-leading custom and standard CMOS image sensor solutions at VISION 2008 in Stuttgart, Germany from November 4-6, 2008 in Hall 4, stand 4E16.
“The high-speed LUPA-3000 sensor opens up the holographic data storage market to our industry leading portfolio,” said Cliff Drowley, vice president of Cypress’s image sensor business unit. “Its unparalleled performance exemplifies Cypress’s drive to push the envelope of image sensor capabilities.”
The LUPA-3000 sensor has 1696 x 1710 pixels with 8 µm x 8 µm pixel size. The image sensor integrates a programmable offset and gain amplifier for each channel of the LVDS outputs. Each channel runs at a 206 MHz pixel rate, which results in 485 fps frame rate at full resolution. Higher frame rates can be achieved by windowed or sub-sampled readout modes, which are all programmable over the SPI interface. All internal exposure and read-out timings are generated by an on-board sequencer. The intra-scene dynamic range can be increased by using the flexible dual slope operation mode. The LUPA-3000 sensor also features an 8-bit on-chip analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for digital output and on-chip timing control for easy application development.