Samsung reduces camera sensor thickness by 20% in quest for slimmer smartphones

Samsung has begun mass-production of a new 16MP camera sensor a full 20% thinner than existing modules, allowing slimmer devices without “bumps” and without compromising on quality, says the company.

Built with 1.0μm pixels, Samsung’s new 16Mp image sensor reduces the module’s overall height by 20 percent, compared to current 1.12μm-pixel based 16Mp sensor modules. Enabling a module z-height that is less than 5mm, the S5K3P3 offers designers the ability to develop a mobile device with minimal camera protrusion without compromising on resolution.

Smaller pixels usually means more ‘noise’ in photos, especially in low-light conditions, but the company says that the inclusion of physical barriers between pixels – something Samsung calls ISOCELL technology – dramatically reduces noise. It claims that ISOCELL allows it to deliver image quality on a par with 1.12μm-pixel sensors.

Samsung says that the new S5K3P3 sensor is available to mobile device manufacturers from today; bets on it appearing in the forthcoming Galaxy S6 edge+ and possible the Galaxy Note 5 – it gets its current flagship phone cameras from Sony.