For all those who love to shoot anything that moves and don’t like still images and landscapes…those who want action and feel that they have the soul of a “paparazzi” (being chased by the security guards is part of the thrill they say) here is a new image sensor made by Panasonic, because we do not always have the time to “clean the mess” using photoshop…

Panasonic develops a next-generation robust image sensor
- The new sensor is extremely resistant to weather, heat and UV deterioration -

Osaka, Japan – Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
is known, today announced the development of a robust and lightfast image sensor for the next generation. Panasonic’s technological breakthrough allows a robust MOS image sensor for use under harsh sunlight for more than 20 years. Unlike traditional image sensors with polymer onchip microlenses and dyed color filters, the revolutionary MOS image sensor has digital-microlenses and photonic color filters, both made of inorganic materials that are inherently fade-resistant and quite robust.

“We can make a significant contribution to our customers by creating new applications with this new sensor. We can also propose various market solutions like automobile and outdoor usages by making the most of its outstanding robustness,” said Taku Gobara, Director of Corporate Application Specific Standard Products Division, Semiconductor Company, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Conventional MOS image sensors require polymer onchip microlenses and dyed RGB color
filters, which are fragile and extremely susceptible to sunlight exposure and a change in
temperature. As a result, color images captured by a camera used under direct sunlight,
including the ultra-violet (UV) portion, and higher temperature conditions will fade faster.
The cutting-edge semiconductor process technology can realize the pattering of an array of
digital-microlenses made of an inorganic material in subwavelength dimensions.

A digital-microlens can be formed by patterning digitally the inorganic material in concentric
rings, which works out as a conventional onchip microlens to gather more light onto the photo
diode area. The light path of each digital-microlens can therefore readily be designed
according to its relative position on the image area. As a result, a uniform sensitivity can be
achieved across the image area in any camera module in use.

Furthermore, photonic color filters made of inorganic materials have been implemented for the
first time by the photonic crystal technology, which allows the photonic color filters to select any
colors form UV to infrared spectral regions. The photonic color filters can also provide a variety
of camera modules with lightfastness that is essential for an increasing number of tough end
uses such as security cameras and automotive cameras.