Santa Clara, CA, June 21, 2004
Foveon Inc., a technology leader
of award-winning high-quality
digital camera image sensors,
announced today the availability
of the Foveon F19 sensor
(FO18-50-F19), a
1/1.8-inch 4.5 Megapixel CMOS
direct image sensor that
incorporates Foveons
breakthrough X3 technology to
directly capture color in three
layers, just like film. The
company also announced that the
F19 image sensor has been designed
into the HanVision HVDUO-5M
digital camera for industrial,
scientific, medical, and
communications applications.
Advanced Design of Foveon X3
Direct Image Sensor
The F19 direct image sensor
employs Foveons unique X3
stacked-pixel design. Each stack
of pixels contains a red, green,
and blue pixel, eliminating the
need for color interpolation and
blur filters which are required
for conventional CCD and CMOS
image sensors. Color
interpolation is used by CCD and
CMOS image sensors to estimate the
missing color information inherent
in these image sensors, which only
have a single layer of pixels.
Blur filters are also used in CCD
and CMOS image sensors to
eliminate the color artifacts,
which are introduced as part of
the color interpolation. The
Foveon X3 F19 direct image sensor
avoids these image quality
compromises by utilizing the X3
stacked pixel design. As a result,
the Foveon X3 F19 sensor delivers
the highest degree of full
color, image sharpness, and
artifact-free color detail
possible with a 1/1.8-inch image
sensor.
Variable Pixel Size Technology
The new Foveon F19 sensor also
features Foveons powerful VPS
(Variable Pixel Size) technology.
VPS groups neighboring pixels
together to form larger pixels
that are optimal for high frame
rate, reduced noise, and dual mode
still/video applications.
Other advanced Foveon F19 features
include low fixed-pattern
noise, ultra low power
consumption, and integrated
digital control.
New Camera for Scientific and
Industrial Markets
Foveon also announced today that
the F19 direct image sensor has
been designed into the
HanVision HVDUO-5M, a digital
camera designed for industrial,
scientific, medical and
communications applications.
Boasting 30-bit digital color
output, real-time color
processing, support for still and
video sensor scan modes, and a
CameraLink interface, the
HanVision HVDUO-5M was made for
applications needing exact color
detail and flexible readout
options. The camera is compatible
with a wide range of C-mount
optics and frame grabbers. It
includes an automatic internal
dark-frame shutter mechanism and
controls for synchronized
illuminators for flexibility in
exposure control..
