OPENING KEYNOTE – The Challenge of Moving to Smaller Pixels

The 8Mp 2.1um imaging sensor node has become popular for the current generation of autonomous vehicles. As the market further matures, there will likely be demand for increasing resolution in the luxury segment end of the market and, concurrently, cost-down measures applied to the existing feature set. Additionally, there is a persistent and permanent desire to reduce the size of camera modules.
One potential solution to address these pressures is to reduce pixel size. With this reduction, there is a decrease in pixel sensitivity along with a need to open the aperture of lenses to support the resolution and provide increased image luminance to the sensor. The change in aperture reduces the depth of focus of the lenses used, and in-turn narrows manufacturing tolerances needed to maintain module performance.
We examine the relationship between key performance parameters, such as modulation transfer function (MTF), effective resolution, sensitivity, SNR 1, data-rates and lens placement with respect to pixel size. We calculate an envelope to maintain current camera module performance as compared to the current 8MP 2.1um node and look at the effect on manufacturing tolerances.”