Kodak’s Fas Mosleh knows what customers want, and he’s not afraid to lay down the law to his CMOS team: “high resolution is required but no longer sufficient” was his message, and the 5-megapixel KAC-05020 Image Sensor was their offering to keep him happy.  What makes it clever is the small pixel design - 1.4 microns instead of the usual 1.75 - meaning they can make it smaller (hence giving us more compact cameraphones) and yet still provide imagery up to ISO 3200 and support for full 720p video at 30fps.  Compatibility with Texas Instruments’ OMAP range of processing and enhancement chips adds image stabilisation, rapid auto-focus, red-eye reduction and facial recognition.

Now stand well back, because here’s the science bit:

“Key to the performance of this new sensor is the KODAK TRUESENSE CMOS Pixel, a re-engineering of the fundamental design and architecture of traditional CMOS pixels. In a standard CMOS pixel, signal is measured by detecting electrons that are generated when light interacts with the surface of the sensor. As more light strikes the sensor, more electrons are generated, resulting in a higher signal at each pixel. In the KODAK TRUESENSE CMOS Pixel, however, the underlying “polarity” of the silicon is reversed, so that the absence of electrons is used to detect a signal. This change enabled a series of improvements to the design and structure of the pixel that ultimately results in CMOS imaging performance that rivals that available from CCD image sensors.

Light sensitivity in the new sensor is enhanced through the use of the recently announced KODAK TRUESENSE Color Filter Pattern, which adds panchromatic, or “clear,” pixels to the red, green and blue pixels already on the sensor. Since these pixels are sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light, they collect a significantly higher proportion of the light striking the sensor. This provides a 2x to 4x increase in sensitivity to light (from one to two photographic stops) compared to current sensor designs, improving performance in low light and reducing motion blur in action shots” Kodak press release

They’re demonstrating the KAC-05020 at the Mobile World Congress, so expect PHONE Magazine coverage when Vincent stomps the show floor, and samples for manufacturers will be available from Q2 this year.