Samsung reveals its own 12MP Dual Pixel image sensor

Samsung Electronics has announced that it has started mass-producing its new 12MP image sensor equipped with Dual Pixel auto-focus technology, the same used in Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The 1.4μm-pixel-based image sensor enables rapid-auto focus for clicking photos faster, at the same time producing premium image, even in low light conditions, on mobile devices.

To speed up the auto-focus the new image sensors use 100 percent pixels, instead of five percent used in older smartphones. This is possible because the dual-pixel sensor splits each pixel into two photodiodes - phase and contrast. The light from the lens is sent to two image sensors individually to adjust the focus. Samsung says that this type of functionality is seen in the human eye.

To make the sensor much faster, every pixel of the Dual Pixel image sensor is capable of detecting differences of perceived light for faster auto-focus. As a result the image sensor offers clear and sharp images, especially for moving objects even in poor lighting conditions. 

The new image sensor also adopts Samsung's ISOCELL technology, which isolates the photodiodes in each pixel with a physical wall, to reduce color cross talk and maximize its performance. It is built with cutting-edge chip-stacking technology, that stacks a 65 nanometer (nm) sensor and 28mm logic chip together,  for top-of-the-line performance while keeping the size to a minimum. 

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