IC Media Announces Volume Production of ICM130E, First Emerald Family CMOS Image Sensor With 3.45 um Pixel Size.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- New Pixel Technology Leads to Near CCD Image Quality in Smaller Form Factor CMOS Camera Modules

IC Media Corporation today introduced the first of its Emerald family of CMOS image sensors. These sensors utilize the Company's wide acceptance angle EmeraldPixel(TM) 3.45 um pixel technology. The ICM130E, a 1.3 mega pixel CMOS image sensor, is designed specifically for small form factor, high image quality cell phone camera modules.

IC Media's proprietary EmeraldPixel technology provides the ICM130E with an industry leading 25 degree acceptance angle to incoming light. The 3.45 um EmeraldPixel technology has enabled IC Media to reduce pixel size by 25 percent over prior generation products, while increasing low light performance and improving the overall signal to noise ratio. The wider acceptance angle and small pixel geometry allow module makers to design their 1.3 mega pixel products with a module height of less than 6.5mm.

"Handset manufacturers are looking for low-profile, high image quality camera modules for their 1.3 mega pixel and higher resolution camera phones. The camera portion of the cell phone has to provide quality and feature sets within the space restrictions of tomorrow's cell phone," said Richard Char, IC Media's President and CEO. "The image quality of our first product in the Emerald family is rapidly approaching that of charge coupled devices (CCD). The advantages of our CMOS solution in size, quality and adaptability are being noticed by both camera and phone manufacturers."

The ICM130E is a single chip digital color imaging device incorporating a 1280H X 1024V sensor array operating at up to 30 frames per second (fps) at full SXGA resolution and at progressively higher frame rates operating at sub-sampled VGA and QVGA resolutions. Power consumption is rated at 99mW (SXGA at 15 fps) and 50 uW in power down mode. The image sensor's registers are programmed using a two wire serial control interface to easily control the operating modes. Other programmable features include exposure time, frame rate, subsampling, window size, analog and digital gain, horizontal and vertical inversion and dead pixel removal.

The ICM130E device outputs industry-standard 10-bit RGB raw Bayer pattern as well as vertical and horizontal synchronization signals, compatible with leading third-party external image signal processing chips. Compatibility with multiple external image processors enables designers to optimally trade off system cost, performance and features for their camera subsystem solutions.

The ICM130E is available in both sample and volume production quantities.

About IC Media

IC Media is an established volume supplier of leading high resolution CMOS image sensors for cell phones, digital still cameras, PC cameras, and other mobile imaging applications. Today, IC Media ships CIF, VGA, 1Mp, 2Mp and 3Mp CMOS image sensors designed in 0.25 micron process technology with pixel sizes down to 3.45um. The privately-held Company was founded in 1998 with headquarters in Santa Clara, California, an R&D center in Mesa, Arizona, and offices in Chu-Pei and Taipei, Taiwan and Beijing, Shanghai and Shen Zhen, China. For more information on the company and its products, please visit the IC Media website at www.IC-Media.com.