Japanese camera maker Canon has developed an image sensor that can take high-quality color photos even in the dark, a big step towards automated driving and augmented reality.
As the Nikkei has learned, Canon will begin mass production of the sensor in 2022.
The sensor can detect light at one-tenth the brightness required by conventional sensors. It is suitable for a variety of industrial applications such as driving and surveillance.
The increased sensor sensitivity is provided by another device developed by Canon, a single-photon avalanche diode or SPAD, which receives light. While conventional CMOS sensors used in digital cameras send signals based on photons received over a period of time, SPADs amplify a single photon that hits the sensor into a large number of electrons. This allows objects to be detected even in minimal lighting conditions.
The number of pixels in the sensor is key to image clarity, and the Canon SPAD sensor boasts 3.2 megapixels, making it the largest sensor in the world. This is more than three times the number of the company's conventional sensors. The sensor can recognize the reflection time of light with nanosecond precision, allowing for more accurate object recognition.
Until now, night vision cameras using infrared rays have been the mainstream for photography in the dark. But the images are black and white. Conventional high-sensitivity cameras can capture color images in plain moonlight, but the amount of noise increases when it gets too dark to be seen by the naked eye.
Canon's Kawasaki plant will begin mass production of the new sensor in the second half of 2022. The company plans to install the sensors in its own security cameras, which it will unveil by the end of next year. It will also sell the sensors to other companies.
In 2023, Canon is investing more than 21 billion yen ($ 185 million) in the construction of a new image sensor plant in Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, where it plans to gradually increase production. The sensor can be manufactured using the technology used for CMOS sensors and for about the same price.
The SPAD sensor measures the distance to an object based on the time it takes for reflected light from an object to return, and can capture space in three dimensions.
It is expected to be used in a variety of applications, including LIDAR, a sensor essential for automated driving and augmented reality.
Panasonic is also working to increase the pixel count, and Sony Semiconductor Solutions, a subsidiary of the Sony Group, plans to begin shipping SPAD sensors for LIDAR in March 2022.
Currently, the biggest demand for image sensors is for smartphone cameras. The demand for 3D sensors for use in automated driving and robots is expected to grow in the future. The market for 3D imaging sensors will triple to $ 15 billion in 2025, up from 2019 levels, according to French research firm Yole Developpement.
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