Products

Pregius and Pregius S are Sony’s technological trademarks for a group of CMOS sensor global shutters and their peripheral technologies. Image inspections for machine vision, smart industry, etc. require processing of a large volume of image data at high speeds, the task for which Sony CMOS image sensors with Pregius/Pregius S technology are ideal, as these enable to capture high-quality, undistorted images at high speeds. These products also expand the scope of their applications from factory automation to other industrial imaging and sensing contexts, such as traffic monitoring and infrastructure inspection.

Go to video content and technical descriptions about Pregius/Pregius S

The back-illuminated pixel structure adopted in Pregius S global shutter technology has made both higher definition and smaller size a reality, on top of its non-distortion imaging functionality.
This new structure has a superior light collection efficiency compared to the conventional front-illuminated structure and, while maintaining the levels of sensitivity and saturation capacity, achieved a reduction of the pixel size down to 2.74 µm square, about 63% of the conventional models.*1　 In addition, rearranging the circuit area from the edges to the back of the sensor area has helped to achieve a 1.7-fold increase in resolution for the same optical size and reduce the package size to about 91% of the existing products.*1

As a result, it can achieve a high-definition small-sized machine vision camera compatible with up to approx. 24.45 M effective pixels in a C-mount 1.2-type sensor, allowing more flexibility in its applications to systems and production lines.

*1. Compared to “IM253” and “IMX531,” Sony’s 1.1-type CMOS image sensors with 12.37 M effective pixels.

Data readout has significantly improved (2.4 times faster than previous products*1) in Pregius S by virtue of the highly-flexible wiring layout potential of the back-illuminated pixel structure, together with the adoption of SLVS-EC, a high-speed interface standard for adopting the embedded clock style. This potentially improves the takt time and throughput of the manufacturing systems or equipment.
As technologies such as USB 3.0 and 5 GigE become more prevalent, our standard 5 Gbps-compatible product range is enhanced by an extensive lineup of high-speed products for high-end cameras that use a high-speed band, improving the productivity significantly through reducing the time necessary for inspection, image recognition, identification, measurement, and other types of measurement and inspection.
Find out more about SLVS-EC

C-mount lens compatible image sensors are a standard option for industrial machines, but larger unit multi-pixel sensor will enable high-definition imaging of wider areas.

For example, a comparison between the images taken with 1/1.1” 12.37 M pixels sensor and one with 127.68 M pixels sensor clearly shows the difference. This will enable to lower capture frequency, which contributes to improved efficiency. It also enhances recognition accuracy by the high resolution imaging.

There are many products to choose from, with either a global shutter or a rolling shutter.
Image sensors with a global shutter can capture images without distortion, ideal for high-speed inspection processes or shortening machine takt time. Image sensors with a rolling shutter can realize high-definition, low-noise image inspection even in a low-contrast environment with long exposure.

Industries are accelerating the miniaturization of parts and components in recent years, and they need enhanced functionality with better recognition accuracy and fast imaging processes.
Improvement in accuracy and time is expected, for example, in the inspection of high-productivity products, such as electronic circuit boards and displays.
Its application extends beyond manufacturing, into wide-area monitoring, aerial photography, agriculture, infrastructure inspection, and other areas that require high resolution imaging.