What is an analog front end(AFE)?

[Lord metroid]

People talk about some cameras having an analog front end, what is an analog front end?

 

[gaussian blur]

People talk about some cameras having an analog front end, what is an analog front end?

All digital cameras have an analog front end.

All it means is that the first part of the signal processing chain is analog rather than digital.

The sensor is an analog device which produces an analog voltage for each pixel based on how much light it receives. There might also be an analog amplifier to boost that voltage for higher ISOs.

That voltage then goes to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which outputs a digital representation of it, which is then turned into a raw or jpeg image.

The analog-to-digital converter is where it changes (thus its name). Everything before the ADC is analog and everything past the ADC is digital.

And it's not just cameras. Cellphones and many other devices have an analog front end. The microphone turns your voice into a voltage, which is then converted to digital to be sent over the cellular network.

 

[mosswings]

People talk about some cameras having an analog front end, what is an analog front end?

All digital cameras have an analog front end.

All it means is that the first part of the signal processing chain is analog rather than digital.

The sensor is an analog device which produces an analog voltage for each pixel based on how much light it receives. There might also be an analog amplifier to boost that voltage for higher ISOs.

That voltage then goes to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which outputs a digital representation of it, which is then turned into a raw or jpeg image.

The analog-to-digital converter is where it changes (thus its name). Everything before the ADC is analog and everything past the ADC is digital.

And it's not just cameras. Cellphones and many other devices have an analog front end. The microphone turns your voice into a voltage, which is then converted to digital to be sent over the cellular network.

AFE sounds like poorly defined jargon...but it may be referring to what comes off the sensor. The first implementations of sensors delivered an analog signal to an off-sensor amplification and digital conversion chain. Some sensors still do, notably Canon's. Sony introduced a sensor architecture (EXMOR) that integrated the conversion chain on-chip, so there are nominally no analog image signals running around outside the sensor chip where they can be subject to noise and other corruptions. Many manufacturers now use this fully integrated architecture (Sony, Nikon, Olympus, likely others), but until IC processing feature size capability became small enough the benefits that this architecture provides were not possible.

 

[bobn2]

People talk about some cameras having an analog front end, what is an analog front end?

Mainly, 'Analog Front End' is the name the chip makers who make the data conversion chips used by camera manufacturers. the chips integrate signal conditioning, correlated double sampling, variable gain stage, timing control and analog to digital converter. Generally you connect the analog output from the sensor into the input of the chip and the digital output of the AFE chip to the image processor. It's not a term with a hard definition, just a name given to a type of chip so designers can find it in a catalog - the name applies to most integrated 'analog front ends' whether they be used for cameras or other applications, such as radar.

Analog Devices is a major sullpier of analog front end chips, here's a link to their selection guide:

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www.analog.com

 

[mosswings]

People talk about some cameras having an analog front end, what is an analog front end?

Mainly, 'Analog Front End' is the name the chip makers who make the data conversion chips used by camera manufacturers. the chips integrate signal conditioning, correlated double sampling, variable gain stage, timing control and analog to digital converter. Generally you connect the analog output from the sensor into the input of the chip and the digital output of the AFE chip to the image processor. It's not a term with a hard definition, just a name given to a type of chip so designers can find it in a catalog - the name applies to most integrated 'analog front ends' whether they be used for cameras or other applications, such as radar.

Analog Devices is a major sullpier of analog front end chips, here's a link to their selection guide:

http://www.analog.com/en/audiovideo-products/cameracamcorder-analog-front-ends/products/index.html