Sony Pregius S: All New, All Good!
With the 4th generation of its successful CMOS sensors, the new Pregius S line, Sony has once again raised the bar in terms of sensor technology. After the successful introduction of the 1st generation with the IMX174 sensor, the following generations brought continuous advances and improvements that benefit image quality and applicability for a wide range of machine vision tasks in various ways.
The latest edition of the Japanese sensor expert is no exception: the Pregius S series with the high-speed sensor models IMX530, IMX531, IMX532, IMX535, IMX536 and IMX537, and the standard models IMX540, IMX541, IMX542, IMX545, IMX546, IMX547 and IMX548 offers fundamental structural changes in pixel design and thus successfully accommodates the current trends towards miniaturization and higher resolutions.
What is new in Pregius S?
In short:
Small pixels + BSI sensor + Global Shutter => broad resolution spectrum, compact format, no motion blur
What is good in Pregius S?
Compared to their predecessors, the new Pregius S sensors offer a number of improvements, both in terms of resolution capacity, range of functions, quality of image processing and customer benefit:The most important innovations at a glance:
Currently unmatched low price per megapixel resolution: their small pixel size of only 2.74 µm allows a higher number of pixels on the available sensor surface.
Fewer cameras per vision system: thanks to top quality and top price-performance ratio, a 24 MP camera can replace two 12 MP cameras, for example.
Broad resolution spectrum: from 5 MP up to 24 MP, the right resolution for every application.
Global Shutter: new in combination with Backside-Illumination (BSI). Provides images without any motion blur even at high speeds. Until now, BSI sensors were only available with rolling shutter (Sony STARVIS).
Aspect ratios for versatile use, e.g.:
16:9 for many applications in Traffic & Transportation,
1:1 for Medical & Life Sciences applications, e.g. microscopy
4:3 for maximum resolution at the C-Mount limit
Powerful sensor functions, such as multiple ROI with up to 8x8 ROIs: reduces the amount of data and thus ensures faster frame rates.
The top 3 customer benefits of Pregius S at a glance: productivity, price, precision
In terms of user benefits, Sony solves two problems at once by reducing the pixel size:
1. More precise detection of errors:
Thanks to the modified pixel architecture of the new BSI sensors, the light absorption of each pixel can be increased in such a way that enough light can be absorbed and processed in a smaller space to maintain a remarkable sensor sensitivity despite the small pixel size. At the same time, the available sensor surface is used more efficiently by placing a larger number of pixels on it, which in turn significantly increases the resolution.
The result: a small and lightweight sensor solution with higher resolution for even more precision in demanding inspection tasks.
2. Higher productivity:
The high-speed interface standard SLVS-EC (Scalable Low Voltage Signaling with Embedded Clock) developed by Sony increases the readout frame rate, provided that the camera interface is able to produce the bandwidth (e.g. CoaXPress). Compared to lower resolution cameras, fewer frames are required in the same inspection area.
The result: shorter processing time during ongoing inspection operations and increased productivity of factory automation systems.
The Pregius S models: High-speed and Standard
Sony offers its new Sony Pregius S sensors in two speed levels with six resolutions each.
The high-speed series delivers frame rates of 106-259 frames per second and is therefore preferably suited for cameras with CoaXPress 2.0 or 10GigE interface:
IMX530 with 24 MP resolution (5328 x 4608 pixels)
IMX531 with 20 MP resolution (4512 x 4512 pixels)
IMX532 with 16 MP resolution (5328 x 3040 pixels)
IMX535 with 12 MP resolution (4096 x 3000 pixels)
IMX536 with 8 MP resolution (2840 x 2840 pixels)
IMX537 with 5 MP resolution (2448 x 2048 pixels)
The Standard series delivers frame rates of 35-122 frames per second. These price-optimized sensors are therefore the ideal fit for cameras with GigE or USB 3.0 interface:
IMX540 with 24 MP resolution (5328 x 4608 pixels)
IMX541 with 20 MP resolution (4512 x 4512 pixels)
IMX542 with 16 MP resolution (5328 x 3040 pixels)
IMX545 with 12 MP resolution (4096 x 3000 pixels)
IMX546 with 8 MP resolution (2840 x 2840 pixels)
IMX547 with 5 MP resolution (2448 x 2048 pixels)
IMX548 with 5 MP resolution (2448 x 2048 pixels)
High resolutions facilitate the detection of even the smallest defects in materials or on surfaces. Especially in combination with high image and data readout rates and distortion-free recording of moving objects thanks to global shutter, the new BSI sensors of the Pregius S series play their trump cards: maximum resolution in compact C-mount format. This is in line with the steadily growing trends towards more automation in the context of Industry 4.0 and miniaturization of components and systems.
Pregius S - Smaller pixel size drives resolution up and the price down
Discover the possibilities of the Sony Pregius S sensors!
Like all their predecessors, the new sensor models from Sony's 4th generation again bring a high degree of innovation and technical strengths with a clear focus on customer benefit. Changes such as the new BSI pixel structure in combination with high resolution, fast frame rates and global shutter make the Pregius S series without doubt an interesting option for many applications, not least from a cost perspective.
