IMAGE SENSOR

An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal. It is used mostly
in digital cameras and other imaging devices. Early sensors were video camera tubes but a
modern one is typically a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal–oxide–
semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 CCD vs CMOS
• 2 Performance
• 3 Color sensors
• 4 Sensors used in digital cameras
• 5 Specialty sensors
• 6 Companies
• 7 See also
• 8 References

• 9 External links

[edit] CCD vs CMOS

Today, most digital still cameras use either a CCD image sensor or a CMOS sensor. Both types
of sensor accomplish the same task of capturing light and converting it into electrical signals.

A CCD is an analog device. When light strikes the chip it is held as a small electrical charge in
each photo sensor. The charges are converted to voltage one pixel at a time as they are read from
the chip. Additional circuitry in the camera converts the voltage into digital information.

A CMOS chip is a type of active pixel sensor made using the CMOS semiconductor process.
Extra circuitry next to each photo sensor converts the light energy to a voltage. Additional
circuitry on the chip may be included to convert the voltage to digital data.

Neither technology has a clear advantage in image quality. On the other hand, CCD sensors are
more susceptible to vertical smear from bright light sources when the sensor is overloaded; high-
end frame transfer CCDs in turn do not suffer from this problem.

CMOS can potentially be implemented with fewer components, use less power and/or provide
faster readout than CCDs. CCD is a more mature technology and is in most respects the equal of
CMOS.[1][2] CMOS sensors are less expensive to manufacture than CCD sensors.
Another hybrid CCD/CMOS architecture, sold under the name "sCMOS", consists of CMOS
readout integrated circuits (ROICs) that are bump bonded to a CCD imaging substrate – a
technology that was developed for infrared staring arrays and now adapted to silicon-based
detector technology.[3] Another approach is to utilize the very fine dimensions available in
modern CMOS technology to implement a CCD like structure entirely in CMOS technology.
This can be achieved by separating individual poly-silcion gates by a very small gap. These
hybrid sensors are still in the research phase, and can potentially harness the benefits of both the
CCDs and the CMOS imagers.[4]

[edit] Performance

An infrared-blocking filter removed from a Canon EOS 350D DSLR.

There are many parameters that can be used to evaluate the performance of an image sensor,
including its dynamic range, its signal-to-noise ratio, its low-light sensitivity, etc. For sensors of
comparable types, the signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range improve as the size increases.

[edit] Color sensors

There are several main types of color image sensors, differing by the means of the color
separation mechanism:

• Bayer sensor, low-cost and most common, using a color filter array that passes red,
green, or blue light to selected pixel sensors, forming interlaced grids sensitive to red,
green, and blue – the missing color samples are interpolated using a demosaicing
algorithm. In order to avoid interpolated color information, techniques like color co-site
sampling use a piezo mechanism to shift the color sensor in pixel steps. The Bayer
sensors also include back-illuminated sensors, where the light enters the sensitive silicon
from the opposite side of where the transistors and metal wires are, such that the metal
connections on the devices side are not an obstacle for the light, and the efficiency is
higher.[3][4]
• Foveon X3 sensor, using an array of layered pixel sensors, separating light via the
inherent wavelength-dependent absorption property of silicon, such that every location
senses all three color channels.
 • 3CCD, using three discrete image sensors, with the color separation done by a dichroic
prism. Considered the best quality, and generally more expensive than single-CCD
sensors.

[edit] Sensors used in digital cameras

Height Aspect Actual pixel Megapixels
Width Camera examples
ratio count
Steven Sasson Prototype
320 240 76,800 0.07
(1975)
Apple QuickTake 100
640 480 307,200 0.3
(1994)
Canon Powershot 600
832 608 505,856 0.5
(1996)
1,024 768 786,432 0.8 Olympus D-300L (1996)
1,280 960 1,228,800 1.3 Fujifilm DS-300 (1997)
Fujifilm MX-700 / Leica
Digilux (1998), Fujifilm
1,280 1,024 5:4 1,310,720 1.3
MX-1700 (1999) / Leica
Digilux Zoom (2000)
1,600 1,200 1,920,000 2 Nikon Coolpix 950
1,600 1,200 1,920,000 2 Samsung GT-S3500
2,012 1,324 2,663,888 2.74 Nikon D1
Canon PowerShot A75,
2,048 1,536 3,145,728 3
Nikon Coolpix 995
Olympus Stylus 410, Contax
2,272 1,704 3,871,488 4 i4R (although CCD is
actually square 2,272x2,272)
2,464 1,648 4,060,672 4.1 Canon 1D
Olympus E-1, Sony Cyber-
2,560 1,920 4,915,200 5 shot DSC-F707, Sony
Cyber-shot DSC-F717
2,816 2,112 5,947,392 6 Olympus Stylus 600 Digital
Nikon D40, D50, D70,
3,008 2,000 6,016,000 6
D70s, Pentax K100D
3,072 2,048 6,291,456 6.3 Canon 300D, Canon 10D
Olympus FE-210, Canon
3,072 2,304 7,077,888 7
PowerShot A620
3,456 2,304 7,962,624 8 Canon 350D
Olympus E-500, Olympus
3,264 2,448 7,990,272 8 SP-350, Canon PowerShot
A720 IS
 Canon 30D, Canon 1D II,
3,504 2,336 8,185,344 8.2
Canon 1D II N
3,520 2,344 8,250,880 8.25 Canon 20D
Olympus E-410, Olympus
3,648 2,736 9,980,928 10 E-510, Panasonic FZ50,
Fujifilm FinePix HS10
Nikon D40x, Nikon D60,
Nikon D3000, Nikon D200,
3,872 2,592 10,036,224 10
Nikon D80, Pentax K10D,
Sony Alpha A100
3,888 2,592 10,077,696 10.1 Canon 400D, Canon 40D
4,064 2,704 10,989,056 11 Canon 1Ds
Canon Powershot G9,
4,000 3,000 12,000,000 12
Fujifilm FinePix S200EXR
Nikon D3, Nikon D3S,
4,256 2,832 12,052,992 12.1 Nikon D700, Fujifilm
FinePix S5 Pro
4,272 2,848 12,166,656 12.2 Canon 450D
4,032 3,024 12,192,768 12.2 Olympus PEN E-P1
Nikon D2Xs/D2X, Nikon
4,288 2,848 12,212,224 12.2 D300, Nikon D90, Nikon
D5000, Pentax K-x
4,900 2,580 16:9 12,642,000 12.6 RED ONE Mysterium
4,368 2,912 12,719,616 12.7 Canon 5D
7,920 Sigma SD14, Sigma DP1 (3
(2,640 × 1,760 13,939,200 13.9 layers of pixels, 4.7 MP per
3) layer, in Foveon X3 sensor)
4,672 3,104 14,501,888 14.5 Pentax K20D
Canon EOS 500D, Canon
4,752 3,168 15,054,336 15.1
EOS 50D
4,928 3,262 16,075,136 16.1 Nikon D7000
Canon 1Ds II, Canon 1D
4,992 3,328 16,613,376 16.6
Mark IV
Canon EOS 550D, Canon
5,184 3,456 17,915,904 17.9
EOS 60D, Canon EOS 7D
5,270 3,516 18,529,320 18.5 Leica M9
Canon 1Ds III, Canon 5D
5,616 3,744 21,026,304 21.0
Mark II
Sony α 850, Sony α 900,
6,048 4,032 24,385,536 24.4
Nikon D3X
7,500 5,000 37,500,000 37.5 Leica S2
7,212 5,142 39,031,344 39.0 Hasselblad H3DII-39
 7,216 5,412 39,052,992 39.1 Leica RCD100
8,176 6,132 50,135,232 50.1 Hasselblad H3DII-50
11,250 5,000 9:4 56,250,000 56.3 Better Light 4000E-HS
8,956 6,708 60,076,848 60.1 Hasselblad H4D-60
8,984 6,732 60,480,288 60.5 Phase One P65+
10,320 7,752 80,000,640 80 Leaf Aptus-II 12
9,372 9,372 1:1 87,834,384 87.8 Leica RC30
Phase One PowerPhase
12,600 10,500 6:5 132,300,000 132.3
FX/FX+
Better Light 6000-
18,000 8,000 9:4 144,000,000 144
HS/6000E-HS
21,250 7,500 17:6 159,375,000 159.4 Seitz 6x17 Digital
18,000 12,000 216,000,000 216 Better Light Super 6K-HS
24,000 15,990 2,400:1,599 383,760,000 383.8 Better Light Super 8K-HS
30,600 13,600 9:4 416,160,000 416.2 Better Light Super 10K-HS
Seitz Roundshot D3 (80 mm
62,830 7,500 6,283:750 471,225,000 471.2
lens)
Seitz Roundshot D3 (110
62,830 13,500 6,283:1,350 848,205,000 848.2
mm lens)
38,000 38,000 1:1 1,444,000,000 1,444 Pan-STARRS PS1
Better Light 300 mm lens
157,000 18,000 157:18 2,826,000,000 2,826
Digital

[edit] Specialty sensors

Special sensors are used in various applications such as thermography, creation of multi-spectral
images, video laryngoscopes, gamma cameras, sensor arrays for x-rays, and other highly
sensitive arrays for astronomy.

[edit] Companies
The largest companies that manufacture imaging sensors include the following:

• Canon
• Micron Technology
• OmniVision Technologies
• Samsung
• Sony

[edit] See also

 • Video camera tube
• Semiconductor detector
• Contact image sensor
• Image sensor format, the sizes and shapes of common image sensors
• Color filter array, mosaic of tiny color filters over color image sensors
• Sensitometry, the scientific study of light-sensitive materials

[edit] References
1. ^ CCD vs CMOS from Photonics Spectra 2001
2. ^ Sensors By Vincent Bockaert
3. ^ a b [1]
4. ^ a b CCD in CMOS Padmakumar R. Rao et al., "CCD structures implemented in standard
0.18 µm CMOS technology"

[edit] External links

• Digital Camera Sensor Performance Summary by Roger Clark.

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