Do you know about the X-Class platform and XGS 8000/XGS 12000 image sensor?

What is the X-Class platform and the XGS 8000/XGS 12000 image sensor? What does it do? Faster, better, cheaper – this has been the driving force behind increased productivity in a variety of markets and applications for many years. Camera manufacturers are no exception, as being able to bring new camera models to market quickly and efficiently can provide a clear competitive advantage.

One of the simplest methods is to use a leveraged camera design - a single camera basic architecture can be used to support multiple end products. For years, ON Semiconductor has been working to leverage image sensor designs across its entire industrial product lineup, enabling this “family of products” approach to industrial cameras. For example, many of ON Semiconductor's Interline Transfer CCD image sensors share a common architecture that enables a single camera design to support a variety of different image sensors, while our PYTHON series of CMOS image sensors use only 2 PCBs to support the entire range of image sensors. All eight resolutions (from VGA to 25 Mp).

But what if this design flexibility could be extended to product size, not just resolution? This is the idea behind ON Semiconductor’s new X-Class platform of CMOS image sensors, allowing a single camera design to support different pixel characteristics. Today, single camera designs have the ability to expand not only the number of pixels in the image sensor, but also the type of pixels used—whether that's global shutter, rolling shutter, increased dynamic range, or other different features. By placing the pixels into the common high-speed, low-power frames used by the X-Class platform, it is possible to leverage a single camera design to provide the support needed, thereby accelerating time to market for new camera designs and simplifying supply chain logistics.

The first pixel deployed on this platform is a new 3.2 µm design that delivers outstanding global shutter imaging performance with low noise and high dynamic range. The XGS pixel ("X" stands for X-Class and "GS" stands for global shutter) enables the development of high-resolution, high-performance industrial image sensors in a compact size, such as the new XGS 12000 and XGS 8000 image sensors.

Both new devices offer the small footprint and low power consumption required for 29 x 29 mm2 camera designs, making them ideal for embedded vision deployments. Their main differences are resolution and frame rate: the 1" optical XGS 12000 offers 12 megapixel (MP) resolution and frame rates up to 90 fps; while the 1/1.1" optical XGS 8000 offers full 4k/Ultra HD (UHD) resolution (4096 x 2160 pixels) with frame rates up to 130 fps. And, because both are available not only in monochrome and color configurations, but also in different speed grades, the most suitable configuration can be matched to a given application – whether for general machine vision such as inspection and industrial automation ), or for broadcasting or monitoring.

The X-Class platform and its new XGS 8000 and XGS 12000 image sensors change how camera designs are leveraged to support multiple products, bringing a new dimension of design flexibility to camera manufacturers. As XGS resolution and other pixel options are added to the X-Class platform in the future, camera manufacturers will be able to quickly fully leverage a single camera design to support more product resolutions and features at a higher price/performance ratio. That is: faster, better, cheaper. The above is the analysis of the X-Class platform and XGS 8000/XGS 12000 image sensor. I hope it can be helpful to everyone.