DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

The inventor of the CMOS sensor is working on a revolutionary 1-billion pixel sensor

Oct 12, 2015 by Liron Samuels 7 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

A Sony CMOS sensor. On its way out?

A Sony CMOS sensor. On its way out?

Quanta Image Sensor. Remember that name; it could be the new sensor type that will replace the CMOS in your current camera.

No need to worry though that the inventor of the CMOS will be forgotten, as professor Eric Fossum who invented it is also behind the development of the QIS.

Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering’s professor, along with Thayer PhD candidate Jiaju Ma, have been working on a new pixel for over three years and eventually would like to“have 1 billion pixels on the sensor and we’ll still keep the sensor the same size,” says the co-inventor.

The ‘revolutionary-breakthrough’ could be achieved thanks to a design where each pixel senses only one photon, making each pixel much smaller thus allowing many more pixels in the same space.

The new sensor is said to be able to significantly enhance low-light sensitivity, and according to PHYS.org, Fossum says this will be most useful for “security cameras, astronomy, or life science imaging (like seeing how cells react under a microscope), where there’s only just a few photons”.

Being a veteran engineer, Fossum is fully aware of the importance of making new technology as compatible as possible with current technology and processes.

“We deliberately wanted to invent it in way that is almost completely compatible with today’s CMOS image sensor technology so it’s easy for industry to adopt it,” said the professor, adding that “The question was how to build this in a current, commercially accessible, not-too-expensive CMOS process.”

“You use all the tricks you can think of,” Fossum answers his own question. “Being able to measure one electron is fundamental from a scientific point of view and we were able to do it without a ‘Manhattan Project’.”

While the team has created a proof of concept, proving that the invention is feasible, PHYS.org says they are still trying to figure our certain challenges such as preventing excess heat while reading out the mind-blowing amount of pixels (a billion pixels hundreds or thousands of times each second) and then actually created an image from the endless amount of data collected.

“Engineers in industry are continuously improving the state of the art,” Fossum concludes. “They have to worry about the next product or the product after the next product. They don’t have the luxury of thinking like what are we going to do ten years from now. That’s where I’m happier thinking, in that timescale.”

You heard it from the man himself; this sensor might be ten years out, but just imagine what an incredible sensor it could be if the technology does mature and it replace CMOS sensors.

[PHYS.org via Fstoppers]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Sony Rumored To Be Working On A Revolutionary High-End Secret Camera Canon is working on a new global shutter CMOS sensor with dual memory pixels MagMod launches “revolutionary” new MagBox – a magnetic softbox for speedlights You can now explore Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” in this stunning 10-billion-pixel panorama

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: CMOS, Dartmouth, Eric Fossum, image sensor, Jiaju Ma, Pixel, QIS, Quanta Image Sensor, technology

Liron Samuels: from diyphotography.net

About Liron Samuels

Liron Samuels is a wildlife and commercial photographer based in Israel.

When he isn't waking up at 4am to take photos of nature, he stays awake until 4am taking photos of the night skies or time lapses.

You can see more of his work on his website or follow him on Facebook.

« Girl to Man: time lapse shows teenager’s three-year transgender transformation
How To Create and Use Color Lookup Tables in Photoshop »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy