Gigajot Licenses Binary Pixel Technology from Rambus

BusinessWire: Rambus announces that Dartmouth College-based startup Gigajot Technology has licensed Rambus Binary Pixel technology and patents for use in Gigajot’s next-generation image capture solutions. Gigajot’s Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) enables high-speed counting of single photons of light at gigapixel resolution. The new features enabled by QIS and Binary Pixel Technologies can benefit imaging applications such as scientific, automotive, security, defense, encryption, AR/VR, 3D and consumer photography, among others. Rambus has supported the early work at Dartmouth on the technology.

Rambus Binary Pixel technology combines an imager and a processor architectures to enable high quality images and video from small form factor imagers for compact solutions. The technology senses the photons using discrete thresholds to avoid pixel saturation and enable better light sensitivity. Binary Pixel also employs special oversampling methods, which subdivide pixels, exposure and digitization to capture more data and extend the dynamic range of the imager.

“Traditionally, it has been difficult to achieve acceptable signal-to-noise ratio in low-light situations for quality images,” said Saleh Masoodian, CEO, Gigajot. “Combining the Rambus Binary Pixel technology with Gigajot’s QIS devices enables development of highly sensitive imaging technology via mainstream commercial CMOS fabrication processes for not only consumer devices such as smartphones, tablets and cameras, but also for more high-end commercial pursuits such as scientific, medical, security and surveillance sensors and cameras.”

“Rambus Binary Pixel technology enables improved performance for small, compact image sensors, allowing unprecedented image quality for consumer devices,” said Laura Stark, SVP and general manager, Emerging Solutions of Rambus. “Combining the Gigajot and Rambus cutting-edge imaging technologies will dramatically improve the image capture experience for the next generation of consumers and professionals.”

As a matter of fact, Rambus Emerging Solutions web page does not list imaging technologies anymore. Neither the company product page lists any of the imaging technologies that Rambus developed in the past: HDR sensors, binary pixels, lensless imagers.