Sony today announced the commercialization of the IMX487, a 2/3-type CMOS image sensor for industrial equipment, which is compatible with the UV (ultraviolet light) wavelength and comes with global shutter functionality and the industry’s highest effective pixel count of approximately 8.13 megapixels. In addition to employing material with a high level of UV transmittance for the glass of the image sensor upper section and the pixel on-chip lenses,
Sony IMX487 delivers a high level of UV sensitivity and high-quality imaging with minimal noise thanks to components specialized for the UV wavelength and a unique light receiving unit structure. Additionally, the pixels capture UV light with high efficiency, resulting in high UV sensitivity as well as a compact form factor and high resolution made possible by the industry’s smallest 1 2.74 µm square pixel size.
Sony expects the new sensor to be useful in a variety of applications, including semiconductor pattern defect inspection in the existing UV camera market, thereby contributing to improving productivity in manufacturing processes and helping to solve industrial issues. The compact form factor and high image quality not only makes this product suited to production line inspection applications, but also makes it useful for addressing other challenges in applications such as outdoor infrastructure inspections, where portability and high resolution are required.
