FUJIFILM and Panasonic have developed organic CMOS image sensor technology that uses an organic photoelectric conversion layer with a photoelectric conversion property at the light receiving section of an image sensor to achieve performance beyond that of conventional image sensors.
Applying this technology to the image sensors of digital cameras and other imaging devices expands its dynamic range (range of light that can be recorded) and enhances sensitivity (the conversion ratio of light into electric signals) further to prevent highlight clipping in bright scenes and capture a dark subject with vivid colors and rich textures.
The industry has put into continuous efforts to explore image sensor technologies for increasing their number of pixels. This has dramatically improved sensor resolutions, but, in order to further boost image quality, it is necessary to expand the dynamic range, enhance sensitivity and prevent cross-talk or color mixing between pixels. Panasonic took advantage of its semiconductor device technology to boost image quality for its high-performance image sensors.
Fujifilm has developed highly-reliable organic photoelectric conversion layer with high absorption coefficient to be used on a sensor's light receiving section instead of silicon photodiode in its effort to build a new image sensor technology.
The new organic CMOS image sensor offers a dynamic range of 88dB, advanced sensitivity 1.2 times more sensitive than conventional sensors and broader range of incident angle(range of incident light angles for efficient conversion into electric signals) to enable the production of more sensitive and compact cameras with better image quality.
The two companies will promote the application of this organic CMOS image sensor technology to a wide range of products including security cameras, in-vehicle cameras, mobile device and digital cameras.