Samsung Models New Imaging Sensors to Achieve a Global Shutter Effect
Samsung Electronics is creating entirely new mobile image sensors to be used in its future flagship smartphones. Samsung intends to produce a global shutter effect, such as taking a picture of a fast-moving subject without distortion.
The Problem Rolling Shutter vs Global Shutter
Rolling shutter is typical in most current smartphone cameras. Rolling shutters are great for extracting very high resolutions in the images but can cause some distortion or even the "jello effect" if a moving object is photographed. The main advantage of the global shutter is the fact that it can freeze motion entirely, as the entire image frame is captured at once. However, because its structure has to be quite complicated, it does not allow for using larger pixels, which makes it problematic to apply for high-resolution main cameras in phones.
- Rolling Shutter: Scanning sequentially through pixel lines, high resolution, low power-on, but deformation of moving subjects occurs.
- Global Shutter: Simultaneous exposure of all pixels, great in capturing motion accurately, but has historically been lacking in high resolution.
Samsung's Hybrid Solution New Pixels with Intelligent Algorithms
Samsung did not develop a classical global shutter. Instead, he interacted and created a brand new system on the existing rolling shutter technology. It is precisely the unique structure of his pixel and the sophisticated algorithm for generating global shutter performance.
A '2x2' Pixel Structure with an Embedded ADC
Samsung's design puts an ADC straight into the pixel structure. This innovation has made four 1.5µm pixels to be grouped in a '2x2' bundle with one ADC. This helps the smaller physical pixels remain sufficiently tiny for mobile but function more like a larger digital unit.
According to a Samsung official, this 2 by 2 structure operates sequentially on a micro-level: therefore there must be some rolling shutter motion, resulting in having a small image distortion.
Motion Correction with an 'Optical Flow' Algorithm
In order to get rid of the residual distortion, Samsung designed its principal innovation-algorithm. The system extracts "optical flow"=data of brightness change of each pixel while any subject moves, and thus compensates for the motion computationally. What comes out of this is a high-resolution image sensor which has key elements of a global shutter even with very fine pixel pitch.
Industry Impact and Future Plans
The global effect that the technology is going to have is increasing since major smartphone manufacturers such as Apple are venturing into global shutters for their cameras. Apple has a number of applications in this aspect. Reports have suggested that System LSI Division of Samsung is working with Apple on the development of next-generation CMOS image sensors (CIS) lying ahead for the iPhones to come.
Samsung has penned this piece of technology for the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 2026, and at the conference, specific details will be unveiled formally.
A clear indication is that industry interest is growing, as “Clients rely more on newer and more attractive smartphone features to make competition relevant; Global Shutter is seen as very promising in its value.”
The emerging market for CMOS image sensors is projected to more than double its worth to over $28.5 billion by 2030, and the public 'loudspeaker-snapping' is therefore likely to react positively at the announcement.
