News Release from: STMicroelectronics
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 10 November 2004
Market adoption of megapixel imaging boosted
STMicroelectronics' megapixel mobile-camera chipset is compliant with the Standard Mobile Imaging Architecture (SMIA), released by ST and Nokia in July 2004.
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STMicroelectronics, a leader in CMOS image-sensor technology, has introduced the first megapixel mobile-camera chipset, compliant with the Standard Mobile Imaging Architecture (SMIA), released by ST and Nokia in July 2004. The new state-of-the-art mobile-camera kit consists of the VS6650 camera module and the STV0976 mobile imaging processor, the first members of STīs family of SMIA-compliant sensors and processors to be rolled out in the coming months. The VS6650 is a high-performance, low-power 1Mpixel (1152 x 864) camera module, capable of streaming full-resolution images at 30 frames per second (fps).
The physical layer specification of SMIA facilitates its straightforward integration into a mobile device: a high-speed serial video interface at up to 650Mbit/s, engineered to minimise electromagnetic interference, enables camera placement even close to radio areas, while low pin count and embedded power and clock management comply with mobile-phone design constraints.
The STV0976 processor with built-in in-real-time JPEG compression can handle full-resolution images up to 15fps at 1Mpixel.
Using STīs proven world-class image reconstruction techniques, the processor provides power-efficient defect correction, lens-distortion compensation and sharpness enhancement, specifically tailored for perfect picture results with small-sized lens modules.
"Bringing megapixel capability to the mainstream of mobile phones is a major challenge for our customers today as the lack of standards and narrow choice of architecture keep bill-of-material costs high", said Marc Vasseur, General Manager of ST's Imaging Division.
"With our first SMIA-based products, we are proud to bring ST's unique know-how in imaging and the Company's renowned image quality to this market".
As a cost-effective resolution upgrade to current VGA systems, STMicroelectronics has also released the VS6590, a 480Kpixel SuperVGA (800 x 600) camera module, which provides a smooth transition path towards megapixel solutions and beyond; ST's upcoming SMIA sensors and processors will cover up to 3.2Mpixel.
Together with the STV0976, the VS6590 delivers 30fps SuperVGA JPEG streams to the phone host processor.
Without the companion processor, the module is also ideally suited for entry-level multimedia phones able to handle 480Kpixel software processing.
Aimed at lowering the overall cost of the imaging function in mobile devices, SMIA specifications enable a wide range of partitioning choices in the phone.
In particular, they allow for either module to be used without the companion processor, a setup best suited for cost-driven high-volume designs.
In line with the SMIA profile 1, the embedded horizontal scaler enables power-efficient realization of the viewfinder function with host software processing.
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