Sharp Announces the Smallest 12.1MP CMOS for Smartphones

With today’s smartphones becoming thinner and thinner, it was only a matter of time before smaller components for them emerged, and one of them comes from Sharp in the form of a 12.1-megapixel photo snapper.

The company announced that the new product is aimed at being used inside new smartphones, and that it will start shipping samples of it tomorrow.

The new 12.1-Megapixel, 1/3.2-inch CMOS camera module (RJ63YC100) comes with industry’s thinnest profile (5.47 mm in height).

The thin profile is meant to address the increased demand for portable mobile devices that come with thinner designs, the company notes.

“The module also addresses the need for embedded cameras in these devices to deliver superior image quality and camera functionality, including connectivity to AV equipment and personal computers,” Says Sharp.

The camera module comes with an optical image stabilizer that uses a lens-shift system for controlling the lens that are inside the module.

“Sharp’s proprietary high-density packaging technology has made it possible to achieve the industry’s thinnest profile in this type of camera module, which is expected to help reduce the thickness of mobile devices such as smartphones,” the company notes.

The CMOS can offer support for capturing high-quality images in a variety of situations that would usually result in blurred photos due to camera shaking or light conditions. Moreover, the new module arrives with support for full HD (1080p) video capturing.

The main features of the new CMOS include:

- Industry’s thinnest profile (5.47 mm in height) for a CMOS camera module with optical image stabilization.
- Supports full HD (1080p) video capture

The RJ63YC100 1/3.2-inch back-illuminated CMOS image sensor also features auto focus capabilities, along with RAW (4-lane MIPI 2 serial output interface) and F 2.5; horizontal viewing angle: 61°. The CMOS measures 11.0 (W) x 11.0 (L) x 5.47 (H) mm.

Sharp notes that it plans on starting volume shipments of the module on January 10, 2012.