Newsight Imaging's first CMOS image Sensor NSI3000 and circuit board specifically designed for close-range LiDAR applications are now in mass production.
According to reports, LiDAR (lidar) and advanced CMOS image sensor developers for spectral analysis applications-Israel's Newsight Imaging, introduced at the AutoSens exhibition in Detroit in the middle of this month why the company's CMOS image sensor solution can become an autonomous vehicle LiDAR Ideal for sensors. The company has just announced that through TowerJazz's foundry in Israel, using TowerJazz's advanced 180nm technology, it has achieved mass production of its CMOS image sensor.
At present, the technical challenges faced by automotive LiDAR systems mainly include: detection of long-distance, small-size and transparent objects; resolution of long-distance detection; high-precision detection of short-distance and long-distance; avoiding blindness of sunlight or other light sources; And precise timing control. Of course, the market also hopes that LiDAR systems can have low power consumption, no moving parts and low cost.
Therefore, mechanical rotating LiDAR and MEMS technology solutions containing moving parts are striving to meet the strict requirements of vehicle regulations, especially in the face of advanced automatic driving in the future. The sensors currently used in LiDAR systems (such as SPAD single-photon avalanche diodes) can achieve long-range detection. However, their resolution is limited, and it is difficult to meet the requirements of automotive applications to identify pedestrians with a resolution of at least 20 pixels at a distance of 200 meters.
Newsight Imaging's enhanced time-of-flight (eToF, enhanced TIme-oF-Flight) technology is a complete CMOS solution designed to solve all the above problems. eToF is a 3D solid-state device without any moving parts. It has a built-in all-in-one CMOS chip, which integrates detection, logic chip, processing and digital output on a single chip with high sensitivity, small size and low cost.
Its eToF technology enhances the pulsed indirect time-of-flight distance sensing scheme. In pulse indirect time-of-flight measurement, the distance of an object is sensed and detected by the distance gating method. The distance information of the return signal pulse is divided into two parts.
As shown in the above figure, the return signal is captured by the first window (1st Window) aligned with the transmitted signal, and the integral of a part of the returned signal is obtained, labeled "A"; immediately afterwards, the returned signal is aligned again with the end of the transmitted signal The second window (2nd Window) captures and obtains the integral of another part of the return signal, marked as "B". Then the distance information is calculated by calculating the ratio of the A and B values. The calculation formula is d = 0.5 * c * t * [B / (A + B)], where c is the speed of light and t is the width of the transmitted signal.
Very importantly, the A and B values ​​measure the intensity of the reflected light, so each capture of the reflected light forms a complete image.
The eToF enhanced pulsed indirect time-of-flight measurement method mainly relies on the following:
-Enhanced dynamic range;
-High-precision detection at close range and long range;
-Avoid blindness caused by external light sources;
-And digital pulse timing control.
The enhanced dynamic range is designed to meet the challenge of detecting weak signals at a long distance without saturation due to high-reflection objects at close range, while also capturing the necessary information to obtain sufficient resolution. In Newsight Imaging's solution, the signal processing is done in the analog domain. This means that the data is compressed and quantized without losing any accumulated information, and standard processing tools are used. The result is a significantly amplified weak signal, and the resulting high signal-to-noise ratio, thereby obtaining the high resolution required for long-distance detection.
By switching between various pulse widths and supporting algorithms, high-precision detection at close and long distances is obtained, and it is possible to cover the operating modes of short- and long-range detection with appropriate performance and good resolution.
Apply unique optical solutions to reduce blindness caused by ambient light and other vehicle lights. Moreover, the mitigation of blindness is achieved under the premise of the minimum attenuation of the original laser, which is crucial for the LiDAR system to obtain sufficient performance.
Digital timing control is essential for the precise transmission and reception of pulses. Newsight Imaging has developed an ultra-compact, ultra-fast current source pulsed laser driver. Its symmetrical output pulse can be fully controlled in amplitude and duration. With this technology, its rise time and fall time are only limited by the laser turn-on delay.
About Newsight Imaging
Newsight Imaging develops advanced CMOS image sensor chips for the lidar field. The chip sensor is manufactured using CMOS technology and has ultra-high sensitivity pixels. It can replace more expensive CCD sensors or other camera modules in many applications. It is suitable for robots, toys, automobiles (ADAS and car safety), and remote control aircraft. The company has received investment from Chinese investors (America's affiliate Yingfeng Investment Holding Group). The company's first product, NSI3000, has begun mass production and has been successfully shipped. The NSI3000 is specifically designed for short-range lidar applications, deploying multiple columns of pixels of different sizes.
In addition, Newsight Imaging's second innovative product, NSI5000, was also co-developed at TowerJazz's foundry in Israel. NSI5000 is a comprehensive lidar solution for long-range applications, including a top-level DSP (Digital Signal Processor) controller that can perform complex calculations involving depth and machine vision. NSI5000 is a 3D pulsed lidar specifically launched for autonomous driving applications, and uses Newsight Imaging's eToF technology, which is expected to be released in mid-2018.
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