Stepway and Acceleration Technology officially signed a cooperation agreement to jointly develop a high-speed image acquisition and test system!

Abstract: Recently, Stepway (Shanghai) Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Stepway") will further cooperate with Hangzhou Acceleration Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Acceleration Technology") to jointly develop a high-speed image acquisition and test system for ultra-high resolution and ultra-high frame rate image sensor high-speed interface testing. The high-speed image acquisition test system is expected to reach a data transmission rate of 3.5Gsps, which will help Stepwell accelerate the mass production process of high-end CMOS image sensors such as smartphone main cameras, drones, 8K smart security cameras and high-speed industrial cameras to better meet customer needs.

Recently, Stepway (Shanghai) Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Stepway") will carry out further in-depth cooperation with Hangzhou Acceleration Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Acceleration Technology") to jointly develop a high-speed image acquisition test system for the high-speed interface test of ultra-high resolution and ultra-high frame rate image sensors. The high-speed image acquisition test system is expected to reach a data transmission rate of 3.5Gsps, which will help Stepwell accelerate the mass production process of high-end CMOS image sensors such as smartphone main cameras, drones, 8K smart security cameras and high-speed industrial cameras to better meet customer needs.

C-PHY3.5Gsps

In recent years, as CMOS image sensors continue to develop towards the trend of high frame rate and high pixelation, the amount of data transmitted by cameras has continued to rise. For efficient signal transmission, mipi D-PHY and MIPI C-PHY transmission interfaces are commonly used. D-PHY adopts a separate clock synchronization line + data Lane transmission structure, each Lane is composed of 2 differential lines, anti-interference ability and driving ability is strong; while C-PHY is a complex transmission structure composed of 3 leads without independent clocks, anti-interference and driving ability is weak, so there are higher requirements for IC design capabilities. However, mipi C-PHY can provide higher throughput due to its 5-based transmission, which is better than the binary of D-PHY, with a transmission volume of 2.28 times, which is mostly used by high-end mobile phone platforms.

At present, Stepway has developed a deeply customized CIS test solution with Acceleration Technology, which can meet the needs of high-speed signal near and far scene layout testing, and support multi-site parallel measurement expansion and product testing upgrade iteration, which has been mass-produced to support D-PHY 2.5Gbps and C-PHY 2.5Gsps. In order to speed up the testing and mass production process of Steway's subsequent high-end CMOS image sensor products, the two sides will jointly develop the CIS high-speed image acquisition and test system (ST8016C) in the future, and plan to achieve the data test rate of C-PHY 3.5Gsps.

Excellent RX and TX port design

The eye diagram can intuitively reflect the impact of code-to-code crosstalk and noise on the transmission signal, and is an important indicator for evaluating the performance of a baseband transmission system. Due to the shortening of the unit time interval and the low-pass characteristics of the data path, it will become difficult to ensure sufficient eye width and eye height, and the design difficulty will be greatly improved. When the signal reaches the RX at the receiving end from the transmitter TX, if a large loss is generated, the RX cannot correctly restore and decode the signal, and even the eye diagram is completely closed.

At present, Steway has the ability to design high-speed data transmission interface of image sensors, and further optimizes the design of TX and RX ports to ensure the quality of the transmission signal, and can maximize the transmission data rate and ensure the stability of data transmission in the process of large data acquisition and transmission of ultra-high resolution and ultra-high frame rate image sensors.

Mr. Ouyang Jian, Deputy General Manager of Stepway, said: "At present, Stepway has the design capability compatible with D-PHY and C-PHY two high-speed data transmission interfaces, and it is a great honor to explore the possibility of deeper development with Acceleration Technology to jointly develop a high-speed image acquisition and test system. It is believed that under the strong combination, it can further accelerate the testing and mass production process of Stevie's high-end CMOS image sensor products, so as to achieve the effective sharing of resources and win-win development of both sides. ”

Mr. Ling Yun, General Manager of Acceleration Technology, said: "We are pleased to work with a high-end image sensor company like Stepway to develop a future-oriented CIS high-speed image acquisition test system. Acceleration Technology has always maintained a close working relationship with Stepway. At present, Steway's Kunshan test plant has been equipped with acceleration technology ATE Tester (ST2532) and achieved large-scale mass production, with a production capacity of 9kk/month. Acceleration technology will continue to help the development of outstanding Chinese image sensor companies represented by Stawell, and strive to stand shoulder to shoulder with the international CIS chip giant in the forest of the world, and help the vigorous development of China's semiconductor industry! ”

At present, the 3.5Gsps CIS high-speed image acquisition test system (ST8016C), developed by Stevie in collaboration with Acceleration Technology, is expected to be completed and mass production in Q3 2022.

About Stepway

SmartSens Technology co., Ltd. (Shanghai) is a high-tech enterprise engaged in the research and development, design and sales of CMOS image sensor chip products, headquartered in Shanghai, China, with R&D centers in many cities and countries.

Since its inception, Stepway has always focused on the innovation and research and development of high-end imaging technology, and has been recognized and favored by many customers with its own performance advantages. As a CMOS image sensor product company dedicated to providing multi-scenario applications and full-performance coverage, the company's products have covered the full performance requirements of multi-scenario application fields such as security monitoring, machine vision, intelligent in-vehicle electronics, and smart phones.

Stevie will uphold the vision of "using cutting-edge intelligent imaging technology to let people better see and recognize the world", take customer needs as the core driving force, continue to promote the upgrading of cutting-edge imaging technology, expand product application fields, and work with partners to promote the deepening development of future intelligent imaging technology.

About acceleration technology

Hangzhou Acceleration Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2015, based on FPGA design, high-speed communication technology, high-performance digital signal processing technology, high-precision analog technology, the relevant technology is applied to the field of semiconductor testing, is the industry's leading digital mixed-signal test equipment provider.

The company has a professional communications, instrumentation, semiconductor equipment research and development, technical support team, is committed to the development of independent intellectual property rights of high-performance ultra-large-scale digital mixed-signal test system. Using multidisciplinary interdisciplinary technology, the first self-developed high-performance digital mixed-signal test equipment of 250Mbps and above was launched in China. Focusing on the core values of innovation and enterprising and customer achievement, the company provides customers with a full range of ultra-cost-effective solutions. Domestic digital machine, testIng Chinese core, accelerating technology is breaking the international monopoly, realizing domestic substitution, and promoting domestic digital test systems to a new level.