CMOS Image Sensor Family Expands with Compact, SVGA Offering

Seeking to bring the global-shutter imaging performance of the company's PYTHON CMOS image sensor family to a cost-effective, small-footprint design, ON Semiconductor has announced the PYTHON 480, a 1/3.6-inch image sensor. The new sensor shares the same pixel design and SVGA (800 × 600 pixel) resolution as the existing PYTHON 500, but is optimized for both size (with a package 85% smaller than the existing device) and power. Large 4.8 µm global-shutter pixels with two available microlens offset options enable high light sensitivity in end-use cases ranging from inspection systems (where short exposure times enable the capture of moving objects without motion blur) to barcode scanning (where large depth of field and small scanning engines are needed).

ON Semiconductor's PYTHON 480 image sensor packs global-shutter imaging performance into a cost-effective, small-footprint package. Image credit: ON Semiconductor.] The new device preserves the imaging performance of the PYTHON family of CMOS image sensors while supporting readout speeds of up to 120 frames per second (FPS) through either a single-lane low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) or parallel output. Applications include industrial cameras and machine vision systems, robot vision systems, barcode scanners and collision-avoidance systems for drones. Consuming 248 mW at 120 FPS and 186 mW at 60 FPS, the PYTHON 480 draws significantly less power than the PYTHON 500, ON Semiconductor notes.

The PYTHON 480 is sampling today in Monochrome and Bayer Color configurations in an RoHS-compliant CSP-67 package, with production planned for the first quarter of 2017.