MEMS Drive: Paving the Way for Super-High Image Resolution

TAIPEI, Dec. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fabless chip firm MEMS Drive Hong Kong Ltd manufactures cutting-edge MEMS actuators targeted at mobile imaging in portable electronics. The company uses its proprietary MEMS design and process to allow CMOS sensors to achieve swift and precise 'SensorShift' and is the first semiconductor company to implement 5-axis stabilization in mobile cameras.

"With edge computing capabilities steadily advancing, MEMS Drive utilizes precise movement matching algorithms and artificial intelligence [AI] to derive multiple image-enhancing features besides just stabilization, such as super-resolution and improving identification capabilities," says Colin Kwan, CEO and President of MEMS Drive during an interview with EE Times Asia. "MEMS SensorShift-driven image sensors overturn traditional voice coil motors [VCMs], and could be applied to mobile phones, sports cameras, wearable tech, surveillance, autonomous vehicles, robotic vision and other products, bringing unlimited possibilities to the future of imaging systems."

It is for these reasons that the company won an Innovation Award and Best Sensor of the Year award for its piezo technology-enabled autofocus actuator and optical image stabilizer (OIS) actuator at EE Awards Asia 2024. Now in its fourth year, EE Awards Asia honors some of the best products, companies, and leaders making a difference every day in Asia's electronics industry.

The MEMS autofocus (AF) actuator is a piezoelectric multi-morphic thin film actuator that can move at Z-axis and tip-tilt directions to achieve a 3-axis compensation. The MEMS devices are designed to be based on standard silicon fabrication processes, thereby enabling good scalability and ease of handling, testing, and packaging.

According to Colin, this sensor-based technology offers multiple advantages. "It provides 3-axis image adjustments as compared to 1-axis counterparts on lens-based AF systems; it also moves three times faster and 10 times more precise by detecting positions of less than a pixel, compared to 3-5µm on lens-based AF," he explains. "And finally, by not using a motor to move the lens around, it consumes up to 50 times less power and avoids heating problems that could affect the image's quality."

Meanwhile, its OIS, known as SensorShift, is said to be the world's smallest MEMS OIS actuator. It provides a 5-axis OIS solution to improve clarity and achieve stable and precise image.

"All vibrations in pitch, yaw, roll, translational X, and translational Y can be compensated with a single MEMS chip," says Colin. "Due to its high precision and fast response in active movement, we can achieve another application called super resolution. By shifting the imager 1 pixel or half a pixel in different directions, capturing the image at each position, and then merging and processing those images, we can get a 4X or even higher-resolution image."

Colin notes that compared to traditional lens-based OIS, MEMS Drive's MEMS OIS is a sensor shift solution that provides superior stabilization performance with multiple advantages, including a 10ms fast response, just 4mW of power consumption, sub-pixel precision, and high image resolution in low light and video without blur.

"Powered by our patented electrical conductive flexure [ECF] technology, the MEMS Drive actuator provides consistent, durable performance," says Colin. "With over 2.5 billion test cycles completed in continuous operation, these innovations are crucial for ensuring the highest standards in automotive applications and safety."

MEMS Drive's technology is suitable for smartphones, automotive, wearable technologies such as AR/VR camera systems, sports cameras, smart city applications, and robotic vision.

In this video interview, Colin also talks about his outlook for the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing industry over the next year, upcoming challenges amid the increasingly complex designs and architectures, and the new opportunities in the market.

For more information about MEMS Drive Hong Kong Limited and its innovative solutions, please visit: memsdrive.com
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