High-Integration Single-Chip Cameras

IC Mediahips have been developed that provide the industry's highest level of camera integration. The ICM-205D is a VGA-resolution (640x480 pixels) single-chip camera ideal for digital camcorders or digital still cameras as well as cameras integrated into cellular phones and PDAs. It outputs RGB or YUV color data in 8- or 16-bit digital format.

The ICM-512D is a CIF-resolution (360x244 pixels) single-chip camera that is ideal for security cameras, toys, wireless cameras and other monitoring systems that use TVs for image display. It is the first single-chip camera that provides both analog and digital output for maximum flexibility. While displaying analog signals on the TV, the chip can output digital images for encoding and transferring across the Internet or a modem. Other single-chip cameras either provide digital or analog output, but not both.

Both chips integrate a full suite of color image processing capabilities normally found on a separate chip, including color interpolation, white balancing and color correction, gain control, Gamma correction, exposure control, color space conversion, and output formatting.

The ICM-205D VGA-resolution single-chip camera is a high-integration CMOS camera that can operate at 30, 15 or 10 frames per second for digital camcorders. Produced in 0.5-micron CMOS technology, the ICM205D uses a 1/3in optical system. Pixel size is 8.0-micron x 8.0-micron, giving a sensor area of 5.1 mm x 3.8 mm. The chip includes a 9-bit ADC (analog-to-digital converter) that performs correlated double sampling to improve image quality.

The ICM-512D CIF resolution single-chip camera adds a NTSC encoder module to an already high-integration design, providing the industry's highest available integration. Produced in 0.5-micron CMOS technology, the ICM-512D operates at 30 frames (60 fields) per second. With a pixel size of 8.9-micron x 9.8-micron, the ICM-512D has a sensor area of 3.2 mm x 2.4 mm for a 4:3 aspect ratio. The chip includes a 9-bit ADC that performs correlated double sampling to improve image quality.

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