Sony today announced the commercialization of "IMX021", an APS-C size (diagonal: 28.40mm/Type 1.8) 12.47 effective megapixel ultra-high speed, high image quality CMOS image sensor designed for digital SLR cameras. One of the main strengths of CMOS image sensors is their potential for system integration, enabling both analog and digital circuits to be combined on the same chip. "IMX021" maximizes these advantages, while also incorporating Sony's newly developed "Column-Parallel A/D Conversion Technique", providing each column within the sensor with its own A/D converter.



This system enables analog signals transferred from the Sensor's vertical signal lines to be A/D converted directly, over the shortest possible distance. It also minimizes image degradation caused by the noise that arises during analog processing, while at the same time delivering a high signal conversion speed (in all-pixel scan mode) of 10.39 frame/s (12 bit).

Furthermore, since processing is performed in parallel for each column, even if the number of pixels or the frame rate increases, A/D conversion can be performed at significantly lower frequencies than with conventional non-parallel circuit structures.

"IMX021" production will be carried out at Sony Semiconductor Kyushu Corporation's Kumamoto Technology Center.