Capturing high-speed motion without losing detail has always been tricky. When objects move fast, traditional imaging sensors often struggle—motion blur, artifacts, and sensitivity issues get in the way. But sensor technology has come a long way, opening the door to new ways of handling extreme frame rates.
One such advancement is quad-pixel shutter control, a feature in the Sony IMX900 sensor. Instead of applying the same exposure across the entire frame, this method fine-tunes exposure at a pixel level, making it possible to capture ultra-fast motion with greater accuracy.
In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at how quad-pixel shutter control enables the 100K fps feature, along with some of the challenges that come with it.
How Quad-Pixel Shutter Control Works
The Sony IMX900 sensor operates on a 2×2 pixel block architecture, where each individual pixel can adjust its exposure independently. Unlike traditional imaging sensors that apply uniform exposure to all pixels in a frame, this method introduces a finer level of control, enabling adjustments to exposure start time and integration duration at a sub-pixel level.
The quad-pixel shutter control feature refines exposure by adjusting shutter timing at the sub-pixel level rather than uniformly across the entire frame. By allowing each 2×2 pixel group to be exposed independently, the sensor can more accurately balance highlights and shadows while mitigating motion artifacts. This localized control helps preserve clarity and detail, even when capturing rapid movement, by reducing the likelihood of streaking or blur.
Let’s look at how the quad-pixel shutter control feature works:
Figure 1: 100K fps Integration Cycle with Quad-Pixel Shutter Control (Each Pixel Integrates for 10µs)
As shown in Figure 1, the quad-pixel shutter control enables extremely fast integration cycles equivalent to 100,000 fps, with each pixel integrating light for just 10 microseconds.
Step-by-Step Breakdown of Quad-Pixel Shutter Control
Independent exposure control
Each pixel in the 2×2 block can begin exposure at a different time within the same frame cycle. This mechanism improves temporal resolution by breaking down a single frame into multiple exposure instances, which enhances motion capture.
For example, while one pixel starts exposure at the beginning of the frame, another may start halfway through. This flexibility ensures that objects moving at high speeds are recorded with reduced artifacts.
Ultra-short exposure durations
Exposure times must be incredibly short to maintain clarity at extreme frame rates. The Sony IMX900 sensor achieves this by reducing exposure windows to as low as 10 microseconds per pixel. Such brief durations ensure that motion is captured without excessive blur, even when tracking objects moving at thousands of meters per second.
Improved motion tracking
The Sony IMX900 sensor can effectively track motion by staggering exposures within the same frame. This feature minimizes the distortion commonly associated with rolling shutter artifacts and ensures that details are preserved in high-speed environments.
For instance, in industrial inspection systems analyzing components on a production line, staggered exposures improve the ability to detect micro-level defects in moving parts.
Limitations of Quad-Pixel Shutter Control
One of the key challenges is resolution reduction. Since each 2×2 pixel block operates as a unit, spatial resolution is reduced compared to full-frame readout. It means that while motion clarity improves, the overall image may have a lower native resolution than conventional high-speed sensors.
While the IMX900 can reach extraordinarily high speeds, capturing frames equivalent to 100K fps, it does so in short bursts. Specifically, it records a sequence of four frames in rapid succession, after which the sensor must wait for a defined interval (readout time) before it can begin capturing another set of four frames at the same rate.
See3CAM_37CUGM is e-con Systems’ Latest Sony IMX900-Based Camera
Since 2003, e-con Systems has been designing, developing, and manufacturing OEM cameras.
See3CAM_37CUGM, our new 3.2MP HDR monochrome global shutter camera, is based on the Sony® Pregius S™ IMX900 image sensor. In fact, it is the global shutter USB camera that features the Sony IMX900 sensor with integrated HDR!
It is equipped with advanced features like quad HDR, fast auto-exposure, self-trigger capabilities, global shutter mode, and more. This camera delivers exceptional HDR imaging for high-precision applications such as barcode scanners, pick and place robots, autonomous mobile robots, intelligent transportation systems, sports analytics, ocular measurement, life science and more.
Please visit our Camera Selector Page to check out our full portfolio.
If you need help selecting and integrating the best-fit camera into your embedded vision system, please write to camerasolutions@e-consystems.com.
Suresh Madhu is the product marketing manager with 16+ years of experience in embedded product design, technical architecture, SOM product design, camera solutions, and product development. He has played an integral part in helping many customers build their products by integrating the right vision technology into them.