Cypress Introduces 2.3- and 5.3-Megapixel Image Sensors For Machine Vision, High-End Security and Traffic Monitoring Applications

The new sensors offer an array of sophisticated features, including pipelined and triggered global shutter modes and a conventional rolling shutter mode, speeds of up to 92 frames per second (FPS) for VITA 2000 and 75 FPS for VITA 5000, and 10-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), with either parallel outputs or serialized outputs up to 620 Mbps. They feature programmable registers to control different operating modes, configurable over a standard SPI interface.

The VITA 2000 can provide output in two standard formats: HD (1920 x 1080), which is typically used in the security market; and 4:3 (1600 x 1200), popular in the machine vision market. The sensor array has a standard 2/3” optical format lens. It offers four parallel LVDS channels.

The VITA 5000 has a standard 1” optical format with monochrome or color digital output. The pipelined global shutter capability enables exposure during read-out to reduce motion blur. The sensor also works in a rolling shutter mode with Correlated Double Sampling (CDS) to reduce noise and increase dynamic range. It offers eight parallel LVDS channels. More information is available at www.cypress.com/go/imagesensors/VITA.

The new sensors expand on the capabilities of the 1.3-megapixel VITA 1300 family, and the 25-megapixel VITA 25K. Cypress will demonstrate its entire portfolio of industry-leading custom and standard CMOS image sensor solutions, including these VITA family offerings, at the 2010 Vision Stuttgart Show in Stuttgart, Germany, November 9-11 in Stand 6C23. Interested parties can send an e-mail to vision2010@cypress.com to arrange a meeting at the show.

The new devices are manufactured by TowerJazz on its advanced 0.18-micron CMOS image sensor (CIS) technology, offering outstanding performance with low power consumption. Cypress currently manufactures all of its image sensors with TowerJazz.

“We have earned our leadership position in the industrial image sensor market with outstanding quality, performance and delivery,” said Georges Hiltrop, general manager of Cypress’s image sensor business unit. “We are excited to add to our portfolio and expand our served markets to include high-end security and other applications.”

“The new VITA 2000 and VITA 5000 showcase our state of the art image sensor technology, where our process and device features such as low dark current, low noise and high dynamic range enable the high performance required by the end users of Cypress’s imaging products,” said Jonathan Gendler, director of CIS marketing at TowerJazz. “We’re pleased to partner with Cypress, a leading innovator in the CMOS image sensor market, on these new products.”

Availability and Photo
Samples of the new devices are currently available, with production devices expected in the first half of 2011. Photos of the image sensors are available at www.cypress.com/go/pr/VITAphotos.

Cypress Image Sensors
Cypress offers standard and customized CMOS image sensors for consumer as well as industrial and professional applications. Consumer applications include solutions for fast growing high-speed machine vision, motion monitoring, medical imaging, intelligent traffic systems, security, and barcode applications. Cypress's customized CMOS image sensors are characterized by very high pixel counts, large area, very high frame rates, large dynamic range, and high sensitivity.

CMOS image sensors complement Cypress's technology and market strengths and expand Cypress's existing presence in numerous complementary markets where it sells a broad array of timing and USB solutions, configurable microcontrollers and memories.

About TowerJazz
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ: TSEM, TASE: TSEM), the global specialty
foundry leader and its fully owned U.S. subsidiary Jazz Semiconductor, operate collectively under the brand name TowerJazz, manufacturing integrated circuits with geometries ranging from 1.0 to 0.13-micron. TowerJazz provides industry leading design enablement tools to allow complex designs to be achieved quickly and more accurately and offers a broad range of customizable process technologies including SiGe, BiCMOS, Mixed-Signal and RFCMOS, CMOS Image Sensor, Power Management (BCD), and Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) as well as MEMS capabilities. To provide world-class customer service, TowerJazz maintains two manufacturing facilities in Israel and one in the U.S. with additional capacity available in China through manufacturing partnerships.