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OmniVision’s 2008 OmniBSI announcement marked a manufacturing milestone: the company and TSMC said they had adapted backside illumination (BSI) for high-volume CMOS image-sensor production. BSI changes the direction light enters a pixel, moving wiring out of the incoming-light path so a small pixel can use more of the light that reaches it.
What is backside illumination?
In a conventional front-side illuminated (FSI) sensor, light enters from the side of the silicon that also carries pixel wiring and circuitry. Those structures can obstruct some incoming light. A BSI sensor is arranged so light enters through the silicon substrate’s back surface instead, with the photosensitive array facing the incoming light and wiring beneath it.
OmniVision described its approach as turning the sensor upside down: color filters and microlenses are placed on the back-illuminated side, while the wiring is moved out of the direct optical path. The design does not create more light; it reduces the amount blocked before photons reach the light-sensitive region.
Why does BSI matter for small camera pixels?
As pixel pitch shrinks, wiring and other structures take up a larger share of the available area. By removing those obstructions from the incoming-light path, BSI is intended to improve the fraction of incident light a pixel can use. That can support better low-light sensitivity and quantum efficiency in a compact sensor.
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OmniVision also associated OmniBSI with reduced pixel crosstalk and photo-response non-uniformity. These are design goals and company-reported benefits, not results established here by an independent, controlled comparison with an FSI sensor. Sensor performance also depends on factors beyond illumination direction, including pixel design and image processing.
What did OmniVision and TSMC announce in 2008?
On May 27, 2008, OmniVision announced OmniBSI, developed with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC). The company said the process was suitable for high-volume CMOS image-sensor production. Backside illumination was not a new scientific concept: it had been used in areas such as scientific and space imaging. The claimed advance was making it manufacturable at consumer CMOS scale, despite the cost and process challenges.
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EE Times reported that OmniVision and TSMC had developed process changes intended to extend the pixel roadmap to 0.9 microns. An 8-megapixel BSI product was expected to begin sampling the following month; that was a planned sampling milestone, not a statement that the product was already broadly available. OmniVision product marketing manager Michael Hepp said, “But we are the first to turn the ‘science project’ into a process technology.” The underlying BSI concept was not exclusive to OmniVision; EE Times noted earlier patents held by other companies.
How did BSI affect camera-module design?
OmniVision presented BSI as a way to maintain image quality as pixels became smaller while enabling thinner camera modules and lower stack height. That packaging advantage matters in devices where space behind the lens is limited. It is a design opportunity rather than a guarantee: the final module’s thickness and image quality depend on the complete sensor, optics and assembly.
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OmniVision continued the approach with OmniBSI-2. On February 8, 2010, it announced a 1.1-micron second-generation pixel. The company described the technology as supporting higher-resolution sensors in a smaller form factor and lower-z-height products. Its vice president of worldwide marketing, Bruce Weyer, said OmniBSI-2 “drives the development of higher resolution image sensor solutions with an aggressive form factor and lower z-height for ultra-thin products.”
BSI and FSI compared
| Design consideration | Front-side illumination (FSI) | Backside illumination (BSI) |
|---|---|---|
| Incoming-light path | Light enters from the side with pixel wiring and circuitry, which can obstruct some light. | Light enters from the back of the silicon; wiring is beneath the photosensitive array. |
| Small-pixel light capture | Wiring and other structures can occupy part of the incoming-light path. | Moving wiring out of that path is intended to let the pixel use more incident light. |
| Low-light sensitivity and quantum efficiency | Can be affected by light blocked before it reaches the photosensitive region. | OmniVision positioned BSI to improve light absorption, quantum efficiency and low-light sensitivity; the cited material does not provide a controlled, independent FSI-versus-BSI test. |
| Crosstalk and uniformity | No comparative value stated. | OmniVision identified reduced crosstalk and photo-response non-uniformity as benefits; no independent comparative measurements are provided. |
| Pixel pitch and module height | No directly comparable measurements stated. | OmniVision linked the technology to smaller pixels and thinner modules, including a 0.9-micron roadmap target in 2008 and a 1.1-micron OmniBSI-2 pixel announced in 2010. |
| Manufacturing | No directly comparable cost or process-complexity figures stated. | The 2008 OmniVision-TSMC claim was that process work made BSI suitable for high-volume CMOS production; EE Times described cost and manufacturing difficulty as barriers. |
Where OmniVision applied BSI
OmniVision named mobile phones, notebooks, webcams, security and surveillance, automotive, medical and machine-vision imaging as application areas. Examples of its BSI-based sensors included the OV9726 (1.75-micron, 720p), OV5650 (5 megapixels) and OV2665 (2 megapixels). These are semiconductor image sensors for integration into products, not ordinary consumer cameras sold as finished devices.
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