Samsung System LSI

World Largest Mobile Image Sensor

with All Directional Phase Detection
Auto Focus Function
Hot Chips 33
August 22-24, 2021

Sukki Yoon, Jungbin Yun, Yunhwan Jung, Ilyun Jeong,

Junghee Choi, Wooseok Choi, Jeongguk Lee, Hansoo Lee, Juhyun Ko

1/22 Proprietary and confidential

ISOCELL GN2 - Overview

1/1.12-inch 1.4um 50Mp CMOS Image Sensor

 Main features

1. 1/1.12-inch 1.4um 50Mp Dual Pixel Pro

2. Output modes
 50 MP @ 20 fps/8K @ 24 fps/12.5 MP @ 120 fps/FHD
@ 480 fps
3. Super Fast All-Directional AF with Dual Pixel Pro
4. HDR solutions
 Smart ISO Pro
 Staggered HDR
5. Low power ADC Top Chip : APS
 2.2V Analog power supply voltage
6. High speed interface
 MIPI Combo(CPHY/DPHY) with EMI immunity

Bottom Chip : Analog and Logic Chip

2/22 Proprietary and confidential

ISOCELL GN2 – The Largest Pixel

World Largest Mobile Sensor

 DSC-like Pixel area, Best shot even in the night scene
- Larger sensor gives the higher sensitivity and full well capacity
- Better resolution in the bright scene, Brighter image in the dimming scene

Sensitivity Full Well Capacity

7,000 8,000

5,100 7,500

2,200 6,000

1/2.0-inch 1/1.7-inch 1/1.33-inch 1/1.3-inch 1/1.12-inch

GM2 GN1 GN2
0.8um 48Mp 0.8um 64Mp 0.8um 108Mp 1.2um 48Mp 1.4um 50Mp
(0.8um) (1.2um) (1.4um)
A42/Mi9 A71/RMN8 GS20/CC9Pro NEX4/Mi10 Mi11 Ultra/Pro

3/22 Proprietary and confidential

ISOCELL GN2 - Stack Sensor

Stacked Image Sensor

 Separation of Pixels from analog and logic Parts
- To realize small area and various functions
- To enhance sensor performance by using pixel-only process
- To realize manufacturing flexibility and various functions through separation of logic process

2-ADC/1-Column
Y-
AF AF
Ext.

ADC

ADC

ADC

ADC

ADC

ADC
ISP MIPI CSI2 MIPI
Front CPHY Linker CPHY
ISP
Timing Post
Generator

Bottom Chip : Analog + Logic

4/22 Proprietary and confidential

ISOCELL GN2 – Tetra-Cell

Adaptive Sensitivity Control with Tetra-Cell

 Two Main Operation Modes
Tetra-Cell (50M Pixels)
Mode Sum Remosaic
Dimming Light Dimming Bright
Condition
Pixel-Level
Summation SNR Ref. +6dB Ref.
Effective Unit Pixel : 2.8um Resolution 12.5M Pixels 50M Pixels
Bayer Pattern 1/4 Full
(Effective, 12.5M Pixels)

Unit Pixel : 1.4um Bright

Tetra-Cell Pattern
(Total, 50M Pixels) Bayer
Remosaicing

Unit Pixel : 1.4um

Bayer Pattern
(Effective, 50M Pixels) Tetra-to-Bayer Remosaicing algorithm
5/22 Proprietary and confidential
ISOCELL GN2 – Tetra-Cell

Tetra-Cell for vivid photos at any time

Higher SNR with summing image Better resolution with remosaic image

Sum Remosaic

Remosaic (50M) 4 Sum (12.5M) Remosaic (50M) 4 Sum (12.5M)

6/22 Proprietary and confidential

 ISOCELL GN2 – Auto Focus

What is PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus) ?

 Provides better AF performance than “Contrast” AF

Object
Contrast
Peak search Slow
Direction → Wobbling
decision

Lens
movement
On Focus Lens location
(Defocus)
Contrast AF
Image
sensor

Phase
Focus
prediction Fast
Front-focus In-focus Back-focus
Positive disparity Zero disparity Negative disparity
Lens location
On Focus (Defocus)
PDAF can predict the focus location with the single scene !
Phase AF

7/22 Proprietary and confidential

ISOCELL GN2 – Dual Pixel Pro

Pixel characteristics of Dual Pixel Pro

 HV dual pixel can provide all directional AF with good pixel performance.

Conventional dual pixel HV dual pixel

Conventional
Item Unit HV dual pixel
dual pixel

Full well
e- 8,000 8,000
capacity In-Pixel DTI
Photodiode
G-sensitivity e-/lux.sec 7,000 7,200
PD 1 PD 2
Horizontal
Crosstalk % 16.3 16.1 AF signal
AF contrast
PRNU % 0.8 0.8

AF contrast @H - 4.5 3.6

Vertical
AF signal
AF contrast @V - - 2.3 No AF information

8/22 Proprietary and confidential

ISOCELL GN2 – Dual Pixel Pro

‘Dual Pixel Pro’ Gives Auto Focus of All Directions

 Innovative Diagonal Pixel Divide  Horizontal & Vertical Phase Difference Architecture
- Dual Pixel Pro adds Top/Bottom focusing capability to Dual
Pixel’s already fast left/Right Sum- Right PDAF
Left
Left Left Horizontal H-Phase
L* R* L R
LT*
L R Timing ISP MIPI
RB* Front
Gen.
L R
RT* ISP
L R L R LB* Sum* Bayer Bayer
Post
Dual Pixel Dual Pixel Pro *Sum= L+R
(Vertical Divide) (Vertical & Diagonal) Conventional Dual Pixel Phase Generation

Top RB/R/RT
Sum- Right
PDAF
LT + RT Left
Vertical V-Phase
LT/L/LB LT/L/LB
Left L R Right Right
Left LT+L+LB RB+R+RT Timing Left ISP Left Horizontal
Front
H-Phase MIPI
Gen.
RB + LB

Bottom
ISP
Sum* Bayer Bayer
Post
*L = Left pixel, R=Right pixel *LT = Left Top, RB = Right Bottom *Sum = LT+RB or L+R or LB+RT
LB = Left Bottom, RT = Right Top
Dual Pixel Pro Phase Generation
9/22 Proprietary and confidential
ISOCELL GN2 – Dual Pixel Pro

‘Dual Pixel Pro’ Gives Auto Focus of All Directions

 Horizontal & Vertical Phase Difference AF data  AF performance improvement
- H & V direction AF information can be extracted from the - It can make horizontal line focused
combination of diagonal phase differences

6
HV2PD H
4
HV2PD V
Disparity (pixel)

2PD V Fail Fail Fail Fail

0
0 5 10 15 20
Lens position (a.u.)
-2

Fail Fail
-4
2PD H
-6

The phase difference characteristic Auto focus with H only AF direction Auto focus with H/V AF direction

10/22 Proprietary and confidential

 ISOCELL GN2 – Smart ISO

‘Smart ISO’ HDR Technology

 Adaptive High or Low ISO Selection to Environment Luminance
- High ISO for Low Luminance Condition and Low ISO for High Luminance Condition by Controlling DCG Switch

Pixel Output [mV]

VDDA
Reset ADC
Gate Input Range
Transfer
Gate
High ISO Low ISO Cover Higher
Photo Source
*DCG Luminance
Diode Follower
Control Cover Dark
Single Pixel
Condition
Coverage Four Pixels
Floating Coverage
Diffusion Pixel
Output Noise
Row Floor
Selection
Luminance
Select
*DCG (Dual Conversion Gain)
High ISO Low ISO

Pros Better noise level in low code 100% FWC available

Cons 25% *FWC available Worse noise level in low code

*FWC (Full Well Capacity)

11/22 Proprietary and confidential

ISOCELL GN2 – Smart ISO Pro

‘Smart ISO Pro’ HDR Technology

 Double ADCs & Internal Merging with High and Low ISO images
- No motion artifact and no SNR Dip thanks to the single exposure
* Conversion Gain ratio 1:4
Single Exposure Time ADC Time Dual ConversionDCG
I ntrascene GainSensor
Sensor AP
Low ISO
LCG 10bit combine High/Low ISO 3A

DCG
12bit*
ISP-Front ISP
Merger
Shutter Transfer HCG
High ISO
10bit

Reset Sampling Signal Sampling

Sampling Single Single

Conventional
Conversion Gain High High

Sampling Double Double

Smart ISO Pro
Conversion Gain High Low Low High
High ISO SNR
Dynamic
Range
Low ISO SNR Extension
Low ISO Image

High ISO Image

12/22 Proprietary and confidential
ISOCELL GN2 – Smart ISO Pro

‘Smart ISO Pro’ Without Motion Artifact & SNR Dip

 In Sensor HDR Processing
- Embedded High ISO/Low ISO merger inside of the sensor
Low ISO image ③ Adaptive
① Image ② Conversion gain
Merging Weight
Normalization mismatch correction
High ISO image Control

Smart ISO Pro HDR Multi-frame HDR

① High ISO/Low ISO Signal Normalization
No motion artifact in Smart ISO Pro HDR

Δ0.15dB Δ4.81dB

② Conversion Gain Mismatch Correction

Ideal LCG
LCG
Ideal LCG Low
LCGISO High
HCG ISO Short Long
LCG
900 LSB 230 LSB
5% Smart ISO Pro HDR Multi-frame HDR
HCG Ratio = 900 LSB
LCG 900 LSB
3.91 HCG

4
HCG

1%
No SNR dip in Smart ISO Pro HDR
Ex) 𝐻𝐶𝐺 × = 920
3.91 Id l LCG
920:230 = 4:1 Ratio = 4

Low ISO
③ Adaptive Merging Weight Control

YSNR(dB)
High ISO
Merging weight : α HDR merge map
Output @Mingling Point (Red: High SO, Blue:
Low ISO)
= HighISO*(α) + LowISO*(1- α)
Merging Threshold
High ISO Low ISO Patch#
13/22 Proprietary and confidential
ISOCELL GN2 – Staggered HDR

‘Staggered HDR’ Technology

A time-multiplexed HDR technology that uses rolling shutters over the same pixel arrays to
capture multiple frames in short, middle, and long exposures

 Out of Sensor HDR Processing 1st Short 1st Readout

Short exposure time
 Cost-effective implementation
Mth Middle 1st Readout
 Less motion blur

Readout order
Middle exposure time
 High low-light image quality
Nth Long 1st Readout

HDR

ADC

ADC

ADC
ADC

ADC

ADC

ADC
Move

14/22 Proprietary and confidential

ISOCELL GN2 – Staggered HDR

Staggered HDR Key advantages

Low power & Cost effective Less motion blur High image quality
- Sensor 1.05V@28nm vs. AP 0.7V@AP - Reduce the time difference - Longer exposure time @ 30fps
between adjacent frames

100%
Power

45%
Temporal
gap luma condition
bright
1.05V 0.7V - The big pixels require shorter shorter motion
shutter time reducing motion blur lagging
- Cost-effective HDR solution Stg-HDR is
 Replace In-sensor HDR logic/SRAM better!!
with AP Merger and LPDDR memory
better low light
30fps noise
Conventional Staggered HDR dark
@12.5Mp

Area 100% <101% low high

scene dynamic range

15/22 Proprietary and confidential

ISOCELL GN2 – Staggered HDR

Staggered HDR output format

Each line is transferred to AP by using MIPI virtual channel or data type.
FS FS FS FS DT0 VC0 L L L L
VC0 VC1 VC2 VC3
DT1 VC1

DT3 VC2

DT3 VC3 AF AF AF AF
…… Long M S
Notes)
DT0 VC0 L L L L
① L/M/S, AF can be configured as
independent DT’s, VC’s, or their DT1 VC1 M M M M
combination
① ② ③ ④ ⑤
② AF can be outputted from one of L/M/S DT2 VC2
frame or all of them
DT3 VC3 AF AF AF AF
③ AF data can be selected among L/M/S
…… ① ② ③ ④ ⑤
frames without stream-on/off
L L L L
L only L&M L/ M/ S M&S S only
DT0 VC0

DT1 VC1 M M M M

DT2 VC2 S S S S
FE FE FE FE
DT3 VC3 AF AF AF AF
VC3 VC2 VC1 VC0
……

Presentation Title, Date

16/22 Proprietary and confidential

 ISOCELL GN2 – Low Power

Low Analog Supply Voltage Scheme

Sensor supply voltage
- The technology shrinkage has lowered the digital supply voltage by about 20 percent over the past decade, but the analog
supply voltage has remained at 2.8V.

Limitations of low supply voltage

- Lower supply voltage degrades the signal transfer capability of pixels and limits the input range of ADC, resulting in signal
loss and code clipping.

Pixel-side : signal loss ADC-side : limitation of ADC input range

※ Required VDS for saturation ∝ Vth

17/22 Proprietary and confidential

 ISOCELL GN2 – Low Power

Low Analog Supply Voltage Scheme

Solutions
Pixel : Potential level shift using negative substrate voltage ADC : Development of low Vth transistor
← 0V

2.2V
↓
2.8V

※ Required VDS for saturation ∝ Vth

Power Reduction 21.5%

310.8mW reduction
- Applying 2.2V analog power supply resulted in 21.5% power

Power
reduction 244.2mW

2.8V 2.2V
18/22 Proprietary and confidential
 ISOCELL GN2 – High Speed Interface

MIPI Combo (CPHY/DPHY) Structure

Sensor High Speed Interface Test result
- The GN2 sensor implemented CPHY + DPHY interface to support all - All the measurement results of CPHY/DPHY interface output
interfaces supported by the AP. signal meet the specification (with channel model)

PCB
Solutions of Combo PHY Channel
effect
- The two interface IPs are implemented with Combo & LEGO concept

BW
Equipment embedded Channel Model
CPHY/DPHY LEGO Design
Mode Select DPHY 6.5Gbps

FREF
FOUT
PFD CP VCO

Adaptive BW Combo Design

/M

Interface mode can be

simply selected according to LEGO Design
CPHY 3.5Gsps [1]
the user’s selection

Adaptive BW PLL Combo & LEGO structure Improvement of driver characteristics to satisfy the performance of
all MIPI’s standard channels

19/22 Proprietary and confidential

 ISOCELL GN2 – High Speed Interface

MIPI Special Functions for EMI Immunity

Proposal 2nd Frequency Hopping without PLL reset
EMI problems are getting serious in mobile products, and special
features have been added to GN2 products for this purpose. Frequency-hopping is a method of transmitting radio signals by
rapidly switching a carrier among many frequency, using a PLL
Divider sequence change with out IP’s Reset signal.
1st Spread Spectrum Clock Generation
SSCG is a method of suppression of EMI by PLL to shape its clock
spectrum itself and reducing its peak.

Fractional N – PLL Frequency

Amplitude
FREF
FOUT SSCG ON
SSCG OFF Dynamic Frequency change
PFD CP VCO
MRR
SSCG OFF
SSCG ON
(Modulation Rate)
MFR
/M (Modulation Frequency)

DSM time fC Frequency

( digital sigma delta
modulator )
Time-domain Clock FFT-domain Clock Frequency
Frequency scheme harmonic Example of the Frequency Hopping method

SSCG function can lower EMI peak tone by 10dB

EMI I ssue state Frequency Hopping !!

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ISOCELL GN2 – Summary

CONCLUSION REMARKS
The world largest mobile image sensor
The large Tetra-Cell pixel guarantees DSR-like image with higher SNR in the dark and better resolution in the bright

Dual Pixel Pro

All directional phase detection auto focus function can improve the AF performance

Smart ISO Pro

High dynamic range solution without no motion artifact and merging function in AP

Staggered HDR
Provide cost-effective high dynamic range image without the motion blue

The innovative low power scheme

Provide the lower analog power consumption on 2.2V supply voltage

Flexible high-speed interface

MIPI combo can provide the user flexibility with EMI immunity

21/22 Proprietary and confidential

Presentation Title, Date