Kodak has announced the release of innovative new image sensors for mass-market products such as camera phones and digital still cameras plus several new alliances that will extend its reach in the image sensor market.

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July 13, 2005: Kodak has announced the release of innovative new image sensors for mass-market products such as camera phones and digital still cameras plus several new alliances that will extend its reach in the image sensor market.
The company has released the first CMOS image sensors (CIS) developed through a manufacturing alliance with IBM. Kodak’s new KAC-3100 is a 3-megapixel sensor measuring 5.27 x 3.95mm with 2048 x 1536 pixels, while the 5-megapixel KAC-5000 measures 7.18 x5.32 mm and produces 2592 x 1944 pixels. Both sensors have 2.7 x 2.7 µm photosites and incorporate Kodak Pixelux technology, a proprietary design that permits the manufacture of CIS pixels that approach the size of the smallest CCD pixels offered today, while providing lower noise and improved photosensitivity for use under low light conditions. The new products are manufactured at IBM’s Burlington, Vermont, plant as part of the manufacturing collaboration announced last year between Kodak and IBM. They will be are targeted to camera phone and consumer DSC and DVC applications.
Kodak has also unveiled a reference design that incorporates these new image sensors with multimedia processors from Texas Instruments (TI). The resulting chips will be used in the latest in mobile entertainment, productivity, and imaging applications on “All-in-One” mobile entertainment devices. Key CIS manufacturing technologies will also be licensed to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry. These announcements are expected to speed the growth of Kodak’s digitally oriented businesses, particularly with respect to high-volume consumer devices.