Eric Fossum, ON Semi, and Kodak Receive Emmy Award for Inventing and Pioneering the Intra-Pixel Charge Transfer CMOS Sensor

Dartmouth, ON Semi, Yahoo: At the 72nd Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards today, Eric Fossum, ON Semi, and Kodak will be honored for inventing and pioneering the intra-pixel charge transfer CMOS image sensor.

Eric Fossum invented the CMOS active pixel sensor with intra-pixel charge transfer while working at the JPL at Caltech. The technology was further developed by spinoff Photobit and Photobit's partner, Eastman Kodak. Both Eastman Kodak and ON Semiconductor, which acquired yet another spinoff of the Photobit technology via Aptina, will also be honored.

"I am very happy to see the Emmy on my shelf because it reminds me of how new technology can take unexpected turns, and how much the CMOS image sensor technology has benefitted society," said Fossum, who already received his statuette in the mail. "I want to recognize my team members at JPL and at Photobit, and the efforts of thousands of engineers around the world that further improved the technology, although the early JPL inventions remain the basis of the six billion CMOS image sensors made each year."

"One other surprise was learning about the 70-plus year-old design of the statuette. The name 'Emmy' invokes the nickname 'Immy' for old image orthicon vacuum-tube cameras, while the figure represents the arts and its muse, and the atom she holds represents the electrons of television technology. What an exquisite way to express the creative symbiosis of the arts and technology," adds Eric Fossum.