Binocular range-sensor LSI with improved distance detection precision by coordinated pixel placement

Abstract

We developed a binocular three-dimensional range-sensor LSI with improved distance detection precision. The range-sensor LSI is fabricated by a 0.35 µm CMOS 1-poly 3-metal process, and the chip size is 4.10 × 3.90 mm². In stereovision, the detectable distance resolution is limited by the lateral number of pixels of the image sensors. However, improvement by increasing the number of pixels requires a large increase in the chip size. Therefore, we designed a method of improving the distance detection precision by slight slide coordination of pixel placement without increasing the lateral number of pixels. By an evaluation using the developed LSI, we confirmed that the distance detection precision of the range-sensor LSI was improved fourfold in comparison with that with normal pixel placement.