Exmor is a technology developed by

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

and implemented on some of their

CMOS Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss ", , ) is a type of MOSFET, metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) semiconductor device fabrication, fabrication process that uses complementary an ...

image sensor An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to form an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they refraction, pass through or reflection (physics), reflect off objects) into s ...

s. It performs on-chip analog/digital signal conversion and two-step

noise reduction Noise reduction is the process of removing noise from a signal. Noise reduction techniques exist for audio and images. Noise reduction algorithms may distort the signal to some degree. Noise rejection is the ability of a circuit to isolate an u ...

in parallel on each column of the CMOS sensor. Sensors from the Exmor family have become widely available in consumer technology.

History

In October 2015, Sony Semiconductor Solutions was established as a wholly owned group company to reinforce the CMOS image sensor business and integrate the semiconductor-related business operations of Sony Group. Following the incorporation, all the Exmor sensors are designed and manufactured by the company. On 14 May 2020, the Intelligent Vision Sensor was announced with an introduction that reads: "the first image sensor in the world to be equipped with AI processing functionality". The new sensor distinguishes itself from the previous Exmor RS sensors by an AI processor and a memory storing the AI models, included in a stacked logic layer for the real-time image analysis and instant extraction of

metadata Metadata (or metainformation) is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data itself, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive ...

from a raw image. In the release, only model numbers were identified and it was not confirmed whether the sensor bears a different name. On 29 June 2022,

Xiaomi Xiaomi (; ) is a Chinese multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Beijing, China. It is best known for consumer electronics software electric vehicles. It is the second-largest manufacturer of smartphones in the worl ...

announced that it was using the IMX989, Sony's first 1-inch smartphone camera sensor, in the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. However, it later emerged that it was earlier used by Sharp Aquos R7 in May 2022, albeit slightly cropped in.

Versions

Exmor R

Exmor R is a back-illuminated version of Sony's CMOS image sensor. Exmor R was announced by Sony on 11 June 2008 and was the world's first mass-produced implementation of the back-illuminated sensor technology. Sony claims that Exmor R is approximately twice as sensitive as a normal front illuminated sensor. This

active pixel sensor An active-pixel sensor (APS) is an image sensor, which was invented by Peter J.W. Noble in 1968, where each pixel sensor unit cell has a photodetector (typically a pinned photodiode) and one or more active transistors. In a metal–oxide–semico ...

is found in several Sony mobile phones and cameras as well as Apple's

iPhone 4s The is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iPhone models, fifth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 4 and preceding the iPhone 5. It was announced on October 4, 2011, at Apple's Cupertino ...

and 5. Originally, Exmor R was limited to smaller sensors for

camcorder A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-sw ...

compact camera A point-and-shoot camera, also known as a compact camera and sometimes abbreviated to P&S, is a still camera (either film or digital) designed primarily for simple operation. Most use focus free lenses or autofocus for focusing, automatic syste ...

s and

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

s, but the Sony ILCE-7RM2 full-frame camera introduced on the 10 June 2015 features an Exmor R sensor as well.

Exmor RS

Exmor RS was announced on 20 August 2012 and is the world's first stacked CMOS image sensor. Subsequently, Sony announced the first 3-layer stacked CMOS sensor, which added

DRAM Dram, DRAM, or drams may refer to: Technology and engineering * Dram (unit), a unit of mass and volume, and an informal name for a small amount of liquor, especially whisky or whiskey * Dynamic random-access memory, a type of electronic semicondu ...

cell array in the middle. From the Exmor RS line, IMX582 or IMX586 sensors are widely implemented as 48 megapixel smartphone cameras (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S20), with the sensors having almost identical specifications, but for the IMX586 supporting faster frame rates at 4K. In early 2020, the IMX586 was followed by the IMX686, enlarging the format to 1/1.72" (increasing resolution to 64 megapixels), but keeping the same pixel size. Pixel binning is used to reduce the high sensor resolution to standard photographic resolutions such as 4K, overcoming some of the traditional limitations of

Bayer filter A Bayer filter mosaic is a color filter array (CFA) for arranging RGB color model, RGB color filters on a square grid of photosensors. Its particular arrangement of color filters is used in most single-chip digital image sensors used in digit ...

ing.

STARVIS

STARVIS is a series of sensors with the Exmor RS family. It features high pixel sensitivity, making it suitable for low light applications. Industrial versions are finding applications in ambient-light surveillance systems. Commercial versions are finding applications in prosumer

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in Videotelephony, video telephony, live streaming and social media, and Closed-circuit television, security. Webcams can b ...

s with 4K HDR support, based on single exposure.

STARVIS 2

From the second-generation STARVIS line (STARVIS 2), the IMX585 was announced on 29 June 2021, featuring a large

image sensor format In digital photography, the image sensor format is the shape and size of the image sensor. The image sensor format of a digital camera determines the angle of view of a particular lens when used with a particular sensor. Because the image se ...

of 1/1.2", making it suitable for low light photography. Sony designed the STARVIS 2 sensor family for AI face recognition in surveillance applications with difficult lighting conditions. The sensor's high dynamic range assists with this task. It became available in a Razer Inc. prosumer

in January 2023. Larger sensor form factors decrease

depth of field The depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and the farthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus (optics), focus in an image captured with a camera. See also the closely related depth of focus. Factors affecting depth ...

, which is often desired for teleconferencing webcams. Sony claims near

DSLR A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a solid-state image sensor and digitally records the images from the sensor. The reflex des ...

quality for some applications.

Exmor T

Sony introduced the Exmor T with the Xperia 1 V smartphone on 10 May 2023.

LYTIA

On 7 November 2022, Sony announced their LYTIA brand of CMOS image sensors for mobile devices.

References

{{Sony Corp Sony image sensors