High-Speed CMOS Image Sensor with LVDS Outputs and Snapshot Shutter Capability - Cypress LUPA-1300-2

Cypress introduced the new LUPA-1300-2, a high-sensitivity, high-speed, 1.3 Mega pixel CMOS image sensor. The new image sensor chip is developed for machine vision and motion analysis applications. The chip offers a high frame rate of 500 fps (frames-per-second) and windowing capability to generate fast readout and undistorted images. LUPA-1300-2 image sensor also features a triggered and pipelined synchronous shutter and on-chip digital LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) outputs.

Cypress LUPA-1300-2 CMOS Image Sensor

The LUPA-1300-2  image sensor has 1280 x 1024 pixels with 14-micron x 14-micron pixel size. The image sensor integrates a programmable offset and gain amplifier for each channel of the LVDS outputs. Each channel runs at a 61 MHz pixel rate, which results in 500 fps frame rate at full resolution. Higher frame rates can be achieved by windowed or sub-sampled readout modes, which are all programmable over the SPI interface. All internal exposure and read-out timings are generated by an on-board sequencer.

Cliff Drowley, Cypress, said:

The combination of exceptionally high sensitivity, fast frame rate, snapshot shutter mode, and digital LVDS outputs offered by the LUPA-1300-2 is unmatched by other SXGA CMOS image sensors…

…Cypress is committed to meeting market demand for innovative high-speed image acquisition solutions with higher frame rates and more integrated features for a wide range of applications, including motion analysis, robotics, tracking, industrial inspection and metrology.

The new CMOS image sensor features a fully synchronous snapshot shutter, making it possible to read one image while the next is being acquired and to capture moving objects without distortion. The sensor has 12, 10-bit digital LVDS outputs that allow image data to be transferred over longer distances on the circuit board, thus simplifying layout. The windowing capability enables the user to read out only regions of interest in the image, increasing the effective frame rate. It also has a multiple slope capability to maintain good contrast in shadowed regions without saturating bright areas in scenes with a high contrast ratio.

The new image sensor chip also features a 10-bit on-chip analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for digital output and on-chip timing control for easy application development.

Prototype samples of the LUPA-1300-2 CMOS image sensor are available now with production devices expected in the third quarter of 2008.

The image sensor, developed at Cypress’s Mechelen, Belgium facility, is currently available in monochrome with an RGB version in development.

More info: Cypress CMOS Image Sensor