Image Processors/SOC

Visual aesthetics and the image signal processor

There are times when a beautiful image is exactly what your eye sees, but more often a beautiful image is what your mind’s eye sees. To put it bluntly, life–real life–has warts, blotches, and stains. The sky really isn’t the color blue you remember, and the camera can add 10 pounds.

But fear not, we have a solution. We employ advanced, precedent-setting algorithms to manage everything from color saturation and white balance to noise reduction and dark current. We stabilize images and blast the blurry. We help ensure beautiful pictures in virtually any scenario, and we do it with flexible image signal processors and all-in-one system-on-chip (SOC) solutions.

Read on to learn more about image signal processors and SOCs.

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SOCs and ISPs improve the picture you see

Digital image signal processors (ISPs) and SOCs use algorithms, or well-defined step-by-step instructions, to adjust the raw data an image sensor collects so that the processed image or video is more visually pleasing than the original. Put another way, SOCs and ISPs make the image look more like what the mind’s eye sees, eliminating image blemishes, compensating for poor lighting conditions, or even correcting for a shaky hand or for bad focus.

The process is the kind of magic that can’t be left to an acolyte or imaging neophyte. Good image correction is the result of years of experience and innovation. It requires a precise understanding of how light energy is converted into digital signals, and it requires an intuitive aesthetic. We’ve been doing and experimenting with image processing for more than a decade. We have the experience and the artfulness to process great images and video. And our experience helped us offer one of the industry’s first SOCs and lead the way with companion chip digital image signal processors.

This image-improving magic can take place either in an SOC or in an ISP.

SOCs — powerful processing on a single chip

SOCs, which are built right on to the image sensor at the silicon level, have several key advantages. They’re designed to work perfectly with the sensor they are attached to, so the SOC’s signal processing is at its best when the sensor is the most challenged. They’re a compact, one-chip solution, making them easy to integrate, which can potentially lower overall system cost.



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Anti-shake technology—the MT9T111 SOC compensates for an unsteady hand or 
fast motion within the image.

More SOCs and ISPs to come

Digital images and video have sparked a revolution in both consumer electronics and social interaction. Virtually everywhere on Earth people are taking photos with their camera phones, digital still cameras, or web cams and sharing the resulting images on YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, or MySpace. They are emailing images, printing images, and sharing those images every moment of every day.

Analysts expect consumers to purchase more than one billion camera phones each year by 2010. More than half of those mobile handsets will have two cameras each, essentially requiring a companion chip or SOC solution.

Bar chart of worldwide camera phone shipments

Source IDC, 2007

 

SOC

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Part Number Part Status Res. Optical Format Pixel Size Frame Rate Chroma Package Part Type
Descending Ascending DecendingAscending DecendingAscending DecendingAscending DecendingAscending DecendingAscending DecendingAscending DecendingAscending DecendingAscending
MT9D111D00STC Production  2Mp  1/3 inch  2.8µm  15-30 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9D112D00STC Production  2Mp  1/4 inch  2.2µm  15-30 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9D113D00STC K25AC1 Sampling  2Mp  1/5 inch  1.75µm  30 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9D131C12STC Production  2Mp  1/3 inch  2.8µm  15 fps  RGB  CLCC  SOC 
MT9M111D00STC Production  1.3Mp  1/3 inch  3.6µm  15-30 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9M111D62STC Production  1.3Mp  1/3 inch  3.6µm  15-30 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9M111I29STC Production  1.3Mp  1/3 inch  3.6µm  15-30 fps  RGB  ICSP  SOC 
MT9M111I99STC Sampling  1.3Mp  1/3 inch  3.6µm  15-30 fps  RGB  ICSP  SOC 
MT9M112D00STC Production  1.3Mp  1/4 inch  2.8µm  15-30 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9M113D00STC Production  1.3Mp  1/6 inch  1.7µm  15-30 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9M131C12STC Production  1.3Mp  1/3 inch  3.6µm  15-30 fps  RGB  CLCC  SOC 
MT9M131I99STC Production  1.3Mp  1/3 inch  3.6µm  15-30 fps  RGB  ICSP  SOC 
MT9V111D00STC Production  VGA  1/4 inch  5.6µm  15-90 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9V111DOOATC K82AC1 Production  VGA  1/4 inch  5.6µm  15-90 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9V111I29STC Production  VGA  1/4 inch  5.6µm  15-90 fps  RGB  ICSP  SOC 
MT9V111I99STC Production  VGA  1/4 inch  5.6µm  15-30 fps  RGB  ICSP  SOC 
MT9V111IA7ATC Production  VGA  1/4 inch  5.6µm  15-90 fps  RGB  IBGA  SOC 
MT9V112D00STC Production  VGA  1/6 inch  3.6µm  30 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9V113D00STC Sampling  VGA  1/11 inch  2.2µm  30 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9V125C00XTC K12BC1 Production  VGA  1/4 inch  5.6µm  30 fps  RGB  Die  SOC 
MT9V125IA7XTC Production  VGA  1/4 inch  5.6µm  30 fps  RGB  IBGA  SOC 
MT9V131C12STC Production  VGA  1/4 inch  5.6µm  30 fps  RGB  CLCC  SOC 
MT9V131I29STC Advanced  VGA  1/4 inch  5.6µm  30 fps  RGB  ICSP  SOC 
MT9V135C12STC Production  VGA  1/4 inch  5.6µm  30 fps  RGB  CLCC  SOC 
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Features

High dynamic range
High dynamic range sensors capture complete scene information, enabling sophisticated processing applications.
Low-light and near-IR sensitivity
Acutely sensitive or near-IR sensors perform in very low-light, capturing seemingly obscured details.
High speed
Speedy sensors running at fast frame rates open up a new world of advanced features like burst modes and improve standard features like auto focus.
Industrial temp
Industrial temperature sensors function in extreme conditions ranging from –40°C to +125°C.