KIRCHEIM, Germany — Dialog Semiconductor plc, a leading European fabless chip company, has signed a collaborative deal with the camera lens division of Carl Zeiss AG and the two companies have jointly developed an imaging module including Zeiss optics and image sensor and integrated image processor from Dialog.
The unit is aimed at the camera-phone application. As a result of its three-element lens and extremely aspheric surfaces the lens can be constructed with dimensions smaller than the size of a pea, Dialog said.
"The battle for the next generation of camera phones will be decided by the combination of CMOS image sensors with innovative optics," said Roland Pudelko, chief executive officer and president of Dialog Semiconductor, in a statement. Pudelko said he considers 10 megapixel camera phones "to be well within reach".
"Camera phones have attained the quality of everyday photography. The various possibilities arising from combining the mobile telephone and the camera promise an exciting market," said Winfried Scherle, general manager of the camera lens division of Carl Zeiss.
