Spy satellite technology in a mobile phone camera
JAN 13, 2010
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.023999
NYTimes.com : OmniVision has announced a new image sensor chip that uses a technique called BSI, or backside illumination , that basically turns the camera chip upside down so that the light is collected through the back of the chip. In a more typical image sensor, light has to pass through a series of layers on the image chip before reaching the sensor. BSI provides better performance, particularly in low-light conditions.Both NASA and the National Security Agency have been using BSI image technology in satellites for years, but this OmniVision chip is one of the first made available to consumers.The chip, which will most likely appear in a mobile phone, is capable of recording 14.6 megapixel single images, or full 60-frames-per-second 1080p high-definition video. Related Link OmniVision adopts backside illumination technology for CMOS imager (description of an earlier BSI chip)
© 2010 American Institute of Physics
