Image sensors and image quality in mobile phones

This paper considers image sensors and image quality in camera phones. A method to estimate the image quality and performance of an image sensor using its key parameters is presented. Subjective image quality and mapping camera technical parameters to its subjective image quality are discussed. The developed performance metrics are used to optimize sensor performance for best possible image quality in camera phones. Finally, the future technology and technology trends are discussed. The main development trend for images sensors is gradually changing from pixel size reduction to performance improvement within the same pixel size. About 30 % performance improvement is observed between generations if the pixel size is kept the same. Image sensor is also the key component to offer new features to the user in the future. 1