Samsung has started manufacturing their latest 12MP image sensor for smartphones which applies dual pixel technology, the logic chip and contract making division System LSI is producing the sensors. The most amazing feature of the sensor is the inclusion of Dual pixel sensor, which is seen in DSLRs earlier and the first time being introduced in smartphones with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.
To give you a brief idea of what the dual pixel technology does, it speeds up the autofocus by using 100 percent pixels instead of the use of 5 percent pixels as seen in traditional smartphones. This amount of improvement is possible because the dual pixel sensor splits each pixel into two photodiodes for phase and contrast. The light from the lens is sent to two image sensors independently to adjust the focus, this type of functionality is seen in the human eye and introducing it into a sensor this small is quite impressive. The company has equipped the sensor with Samsung’s ISOCELL technology, which isolates the photodiodes in each pixel with a physical wall to further reduce color cross talk, maximizing the image sensor’s performance.
Commenting on the launch, Ben K Hur, Samsung’s senior vice president of marketing at System LSI, said, “We’ve applied dual pixel technology previously used in the niche professional camera market to mobile, and the sensor will become the best solution to take clear photos in low light”.
With the increase in size of the pixels (1.44 microns) by up to 56 percent compared to the one in Galaxy S6 and an aperture of 1/1.7, the Galaxy S7 is capable of capturing 95 percent more light than the Galaxy S6. The sensor is made with a 65 nanometer process, and the logic chip has a 28 nanometer process to make it as small as possible for smartphones. To make the sensor a lot faster than before, every pixel of the Dual Pixel image sensor is capable of detecting phase differences of perceived light for significantly faster Autofocus.
All the improvement in technology introduced into the sensor, improves the low light photography tremendously and focusing is a lot faster than before thanks to the advanced PDAF technology used. With the production of the sensor already in full swing, the sensor is being used in Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge at the moment and they might use it their other premium smartphones shortly, whether the sensor will make its way into smartphones from other manufacturers is not known.
