Main | 1AF-95M65 | 1AF-SMIA95/85 | 1AF-125M80

1 Ltd designs cameras for mobile phone and other portable applications using its proprietary Helimorph® actuator technology. We licence these designs to camera manufacturers, who build and supply completed AF cameras to handset manufacturers. 1 Ltd also supplies the appropriate Helimorph® actuator and driver IC parts to companies wishing to develop and produce their own products. Camera designs can be easily customised to suit a licensee’s requirement for different lenses and sensors. A range of reference designs is available providing a fast track to market.

Helimorph® AF cameras overcome the design problems associated with applying AF to mobile handsets, such as small size, low power consumption and low weight, they are also silent in operation.

The Helimorph® is a piezoelectric actuator providing fast, silent movement whilst consuming minimum power. This actuator is the AF ‘motor’ and fits neatly around the lens without adding any height to the camera. The Helimorph® actuator is controlled by an AF algorithm embedded in the customer’s image processor and is driven via an I²C interface by a driver IC provided by 1 Ltd which operates at standard handset voltages. AF cycle times are a fraction of a second (depending on sensor frame rate).

Helimorph autofocus modules have a very simple and low cost construction, which eliminates gears and complicated mechanisms that are susceptible to shock loads. The module is made from simple injection moulded parts, which house the Helimorph actuator.

Unlike traditional voice coil and stepper motors, 1 Ltd’s Helimorph® actuator is a fully scaleable technology. This enables smaller modules to be produced that take advantage of the ongoing miniaturisation of lenses and image sensors. This has enabled the development of our smallest module to date, the 1AF-SMIA85, which has a 8.5mm X 8.5mm footprint.

This simple but efficient design provides significant advantages over competing technologies:

• Low power – as low as 5mW
• Compact
• Reliable - in normal operation the Helimorph exhibits no wear or fatigue
• Passes drop and environmental tests for mobile phones
• Low BOM count
• Silent operation