Vision Spectra Article - 3D-Stacked CMOS: Sparking Imaging's Innovation Era

April 2024

The ascent of stacked CMOS image sensors is permeating the imaging sector, giving rise to a host of applications previously unsupported by conventional and 2D sensor performance.

CMOS manufacturing has undergone a significant transformation in the last 12 months. The manufacturing processes that even seasoned developers regarded as fundamentally experimental 20, or even 10, years ago have come within reach of enabling an entirely new set of commercial applications. These breakthroughs are emerging in addition to the applications that industry innovators have already demonstrated owing to advancements in CMOS manufacturing processes.

Among the multitude of manufacturing processes currently under development, 3D stacking is prompting system developers, manufacturers, and end users to reconsider the possibilities of CMOS image sensor technology. A camera on a chip, an optical network on a chip, and even a neural network on a chip are now a part of a conversation that, finally, is inviting questions concerning when and not if such technology will enter into commercial markets.

With these possibilities on the near horizon, 3D-stacked CMOS, as an enabling technology, is imparting distinct advantages to systems. Often, systems powered by stacked CMOS can provide multiple advantages in combination. These include system miniaturization; higher responsivity and higher imaging speed with low power consumption; and more efficient high dynamic range (HDR) techniques and reduction of motion artifact. For AI applications and embedded systems especially, the possibility to mix processes adds major value.

And, unlike many emerging technologies, 3D-stacked sensors will allow new solutions to be more cost-effective than the ones that they are poised to replace.

Click here to read the full Photonics Spectra article by Teledyne's Rafael Romay-Juárez.