Even if you're not a designer of digital cameras, you may be interested in new chips and technology that could make them more affordable. IC Media thinks its new ICM-107B 1.0 mega-pixel CMOS image sensor can do just that. The company says that its new sensor will offer camera makers the lowest total cost for camera design electronics (their words, not mine). The ICM-107B single-chip color imaging device uses a 1152x864 sensor array and includes a 1152-column-level ADC (analog-to-digital converter) and correlated double sampling circuitry that is said to eliminate point-wise fixed pattern noise (FPN). It features a pixel size of 6 microns by 6 microns and a sensor area of 6.9 mm by 5.18 mm. The ICM-107B can be used in digital still or digital video cameras, and is capable of operating at up to 30 frames per second with quarter and quarter-quarter mega-pixel resolutions. The output format is 10-bit raw data, together with horizontal and vertical synchronization signals, which can be used for off-chip color processing or compression. The chip is sampling and available in production quantities now in plastic 48-pin LCC packages. Oddly enough, though the company claims the sensor is low-priced, you have to contact IC Media to find out just how cheap it is.