Aptina's VP Imaging Technology, Gennadiy Agranov shares his thoughts on the next big opportunities
24 January 2012
Gennadiy Agranov, VP Imaging Technology at Aptina shares his thoughts on current and future opportunities for sensor manufacturers ahead of his presentation at IS2012
Q: Please briefly describe your background in digital imaging.
A: More than 25 years experience in image sensor development starting with work on large infrared focal plane arrays for space applications, and continuing with development and in-depth investigation of different types infrared focal plane arrays, CMOS readout circuits, and CCD Image sensors. Served as associated professor in St. Petersburg State Technical University, Russia from 1995-1997. After joining Photobit Corporation, Pasadena, CA in 1999, continued working on image sensors in the visual spectral range. My research interests include in-depth photoelectrical characterization and investigation of CMOS image sensors, optimization of optical and electrical performance of CMOS imaging devices, and pixel development for advanced image sensors. Currently working as VP of Imaging Technology at Aptina Imaging, San Jose, CA.
Q: As one of the leading image sensor manufacturers, Aptina's finger is on the pulse of the industry - what do you see as the biggest opportunities at present?
A: The Smartphone and tablet markets will continue their phenomenal growth in 2012 with more suppliers and lower price points pushing these into higher volume mainstream markets. New technologies and slick industrial design innovations are aligning to drive the take-off of the new categories of the established PC and TV markets with the introduction of Ultrabooks and Smart TV's. Of course all of these markets require advanced cameras and imaging solutions - which is where Aptina is well positioned. Some of these markets will also see the increased integration of technology to enable gesture recognition - which also is enabled by Aptina products.
In the digital camera and digital video markets there are two new segments emerging that will see significant growth in 2012. First, there is the market for sports cameras that consumers can attach to bicycles, helmets, surfboards, skis, cars, motorcycles etc. to capture exciting video and images of their personal sporting adventures. Aptina has a strong position in this market, with what we believe is well over 70% market share, and we expect to secure this position through advances in our high-speed HD video enabled sensor offerings. Second, there is the Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera (MILC) segment that is positioned between the compact digital still camera (DSC) and DSLR camera segments. MILC cameras are poised to grow in popularity due to their fast, high-performance image capture in a reasonable sized and priced camera. Aptina has products currently shipping into this segment, and new products planned for 2012 that will foster innovation in these segments and help to actually fuel segment growth.
In the automotive market we are seeing an increasing adoption of cameras, and thus image sensors for a variety of applications from backup cameras, to surround view cameras, to driver assistance, and others. Government safety mandates are one of the drivers in this market as is the car companies' desire to add new and differentiated features to cars - in essence enabling the car to leverage more innovations of the consumer electronics market. For the image sensor this means new features are required such as high dynamic range, dewarp, graphics overlay and other technologies that will become more important.
The surveillance market for IP cameras is now at an inflection point in growth and 2012 will see IP cameras take an increasingly greater share of the market from the incumbent analog CCTV cameras. Aptina is creating products with greater resolution and advanced new pixel technologies like wide dynamic range and global shutter to spur innovative camera design in the IP camera space.
Q: What, in your eyes, are the main challenges to improving current sensor performance and capabilities?
A: In the image sensor space there are many innovations coming to the market that will result in new features and performance advances hitting the market in 2012 - and Aptina is at the forefront of this innovation with its combination of BSI (backside illumination) technology, high speed imaging technology, and high dynamic range technology. These technologies are fundamental to improving the quality of the imaging experience.
BSI technology with its high sensitivity and the vibrant colors will allow camera phones and DSC's to create stunning images and video. High speed sensors will enable the spread of Full HD video, improved camera response times, and new high speed image capture functions in cameras. High dynamic range sensors will enable the capture of those often encountered difficult scenes with bright and dark portions.
Even with the benefits of these new technologies we still have to battle the age old trend of the shrinking pixel - and the performance challenges this presents.. This trend is driving pixel innovation and the development of novel image sensors for all markets. Manufactures of sensors for the mobile market are passing the gate of 1.4 micron pixel node and working on 1.1micron pixels and smaller. The automotive market is moving from 5-6 micron pixels to 3-4 micron pixels. Sensors for the high-end digital camera market are targeting smaller pixels in the 2um - 4um range.
For all these and other applications, pixel design and process capabilities are key to achieving quality pixel performance when shrinking pixel size. Sensitivity, pixel capacity, angular performance, global shutter efficiency, power consumption, are among the most challenging parameters for image sensor designer to improve upon as the pixel shrinks. Our customers, and ultimately consumers are demanding higher quality from their cameras so the pressure for improvement will not let up any time soon.
Q: You will cover 3D in your presentation, do you consider this a major area for the future?
A: Reports I received from the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas indicate that 3D is here to stay. 3D TV's were highlighted by major TV vendors - with some key vendors showing exclusively 3D TV's. At the same time gesture recognition - or natural user interfaces - are clearly on the path to becoming a common feature on a wide variety of consumer electronics devices. That being said, stereo Imaging still needs to improve and mature as it proves itself in the marketplace.
The quality bar for this area is very high. I believe success for stereo imaging will strongly depend on technological advances in image sensors for stereo and excellence in displaying stereo images. We need to create a painless stereo user experience both for taking images and reproducing them on the screen - most likely without glasses. When this is accomplished, people will easily adopt stereo for everyday life. For depth sensing 3D the situation is different in that it has already been well accepted based on the popularity of certain gaming and human interface systems, and is already growing to one of the major applications in imaging.
Q: What other emerging applications do you see growing to significant size in the next 5 years?
A: It is interesting while the world economy and the semiconductor industry are expected to grow in the low single digits of percentage in the coming years, we see the narrower semiconductor segment of image sensors as growing in excess of 15% year-over-year going forward. Aptina is supplying to a number of exciting applications that we expect will experience solid growth in these coming years. There are a number of factors driving this growth; these include the native growth of the consumer and industrial electronic markets that are using image sensors today, increased adoption rates of image sensors in those markets, and new devices incorporating image sensors that previously did not. In our market we are experiencing a world that is going visual with increasing use of images and video in our lives, and in order to do so naturally will require an increasing number of image sensors. The applications of image sensors in a world going visual is only limited by one's imagination.
One such application is imaging for information, not only for taking great images - where the image sensor collects and outputs information, not images. In some such applications image sensors and pixels in the array become photometric devices providing additional information for object recognition in the scene. Examples include ambient light sensing capabilities in addition to capturing images with sensor, or combining video capabilities with depth sensing on the same chip. There are many other examples of imagers for information.
Q: Finally, we are pleased to have you on board for the conference this year, what are you hoping to gain from the event?
A: Attending Imaging Forum is a tremendous opportunity for everyone to refresh their mind with new ideas, meet with colleagues in the imaging community, discuss new applications with customers, and share ideas and developments. The imaging field is a very dynamic area of activity with many challenging tasks. Without sharing our ideas and collaborating we will not be able to satisfy the challenging imaging requirements in front of us.
Gennadiy Agranov, will present in the opening session of IS2012 on the topic 'Overview of pixel development for mobile, automotive, industrial, and high-end DSC applications'
>> View the full programme here
>> View a full list of speakers here