Samsung Releases ISOCELL JN1: First 0.64µm 50-Megapixel Image Sensor

With the increasing importance of mobile shooting, OEM manufacturers are also working hard to pack higher specification image sensors into their own devices. Today, Samsung officially announced the ISOCELL JN1, the smallest pixel size in the industry. It can be seen that based on providing 50 Megapixels, the pixel size has also been reduced to the extreme 0.64 μm. Although many people worry that too small pixel size will affect the image quality, ISOCELL JN1 still manages to enhance the light sensitivity and phase-detection capabilities.

Duckhyun Chang, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics’ sensor business, said: “Samsung’s advanced pixel technology has once again broken the industry’s highest precision limit and has developed a mobile image sensor with the smallest pixel size yet compelling performance.”

With a pixel size of 0.64 μm, ISOCELL JN1 can bring an ultra-high-resolution mobile shooting experience to various fashionable smartphones in the future. Samsung will continue to devote itself to the innovation of pixel technology and bring more abundant product options to the market.

In terms of functions, ISOCELL JN1 supports enhanced ISOCELL 2.0, Smart-ISO (smart sensitivity), and Double Super PDAF (double super phase detection autofocus) technologies, which can capture more lifelike images on the industry’s smallest 50MP mobile sensor.

As the latest Samsung high-resolution image sensor product line, enhancement technologies such as ISOCELL 2.0 can increase light sensitivity by approximately 16%.

Even in a low light environment, ISOCELL JN1 can still use Tetrapixel four-in-one pixel aggregation technology to merge four adjacent 0.64 μm pixels into one large 1.28 μm pixel, thereby increasing the sensitivity by four times and obtaining more Bright 12.5 MP photos.

It is worth mentioning that ISOCELL JN1 embeds a variety of advanced technologies into a compact 1/2.76-inch body and is also Samsung’s most widely used mobile image sensor so far.

Through close cooperation with partners in the ecosystem, ISOCELL JN1 is also compatible with existing 1/2.8-inch products. In addition to the standard wide-angle options, the sensor can also be used for front, ultra-wide-angle, and even telephoto lenses.

This means that users can take extremely detailed selfies or group photos with an amazing 50MP resolution, as well as 4K ultra-high-definition resolution/high zoom ratio videos.

The smaller sensor size also helps to reduce the height of the camera module by about 10%, thereby minimizing the embarrassment of the lens assembly being too convex, allowing the next generation of smartphones to use a slimmer and streamlined design.

To enhance the dynamic range, the Smart-ISO technology of ISOCELL JN1 can convert the gain according to the change of the ambient lighting level. For example, use low ISO in bright situations to preserve more highlight details, and use high ISO in low-light environments to achieve excellent performance and suppress noise.

Interestingly, Smart-ISO also allows ISOCELL JN1 to provide a high dynamic range (inter-sence HDR) shooting experience based on a mixed light environment/scene to obtain the best exposure level. Two sets of separate readings, respectively from high and low ISO, can be combined to create the final image.

In addition, to achieve faster autofocus, ISOCELL JN1 integrates improved Double Super PD technology. The previous Super PD technology used specially designed elliptical microlens to detect the phase on two adjacent pixels side by side.

The phase-detection pixel density of Double Super PD (1/16) is twice that of the Super PD solution (1/32). Even in an environment where the lighting level is reduced by about 60%, it can achieve comparable autofocus performance.

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ISOCELL JN1 can also bring a crystal-clear and smooth experience in terms of video, supporting 4K @ 60fps Ultra HD recording and 1080p @ 240fps slow-motion photography. Finally, Samsung is currently mass-producing this sensor, and it is expected that new devices equipped with JN1 will be available soon.