Friday, April 25, 2025

3D effects in time-delay integration sensor pixels

Guo et al. from Changchun Institute of Optics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Gpixel Inc. published a paper titled "Study on 3D Effects on Small Time Delay Integration Image Sensor Pixels" in Sensors.

Abstract: This paper demonstrates the impact of 3D effects on performance parameters in small-sized Time Delay Integration (TDI) image sensor pixels. In this paper, 2D and 3D simulation models of 3.5 μm × 3.5 μm small-sized TDI pixels were constructed, utilizing a three-phase pixel structure integrated with a lateral anti-blooming structure. The simulation experiments reveal the limitations of traditional 2D pixel simulation models by comparing the 2D and 3D structure simulation results. This research validates the influence of the 3D effects on the barrier height of the anti-blooming structure and the full well potential and proposes methods to optimize the full well potential and the operating voltage of the anti-blooming structure. To verify the simulation results, test chips with pixel sizes of 3.5 μm × 3.5 μm and 7.0 μm × 7.0 μm were designed and manufactured based on a 90 nm CCD-in-CMOS process. The measurement results of the test chips matched the simulation data closely and demonstrated excellent performance: the 3.5 μm × 3.5 μm pixel achieved a full well capacity of 9 ke- while maintaining a charge transfer efficiency of over 0.99998.

Paper link [open access]: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/7/1953

Hamamatsu SPAD tutorial

 SPAD and SPAD Arrays: Theory, Practice, and Applications

 

The video is a comprehensive webinar on Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) and SPAD arrays, addressing their theory, applications, and recent advancements. It is led by experts from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Hamamatsu, discussing technical fundamentals, challenges, and innovative solutions to improve the performance of SPAD devices. Key applications highlighted include fluorescence lifetime imaging, remote gas sensing, quantum key distribution, and 3D radiation detection, showcasing SPAD's unique ability to timestamp events and enhance photon detection efficiency.

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Speculation about Samsung exiting CIS business?

Recent speculative news article suggest that Samsung is weighing exiting CIS business after recent exit by SK Hynix.

News source: https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20250312PD213/cis-samsung-sk-hynix-business-lsi.html

SK Hynix is shutting down its CMOS image sensor (CIS) business, fueling industry speculation over whether Samsung Electronics will follow suit. Samsung's system LSI division, which oversees its CIS operations, is undergoing an operational diagnosis...

Monday, April 21, 2025

ICCP 2024 Keynote on Event Cameras

 

In this keynote held at the 2024 International Conference on Computational Photography, Prof. Davide Scaramuzza from the University of Zurich presents a visionary keynote on event cameras, which are bio-inspired vision sensors that outperform conventional cameras with ultra-low latency, high dynamic range, and minimal power consumption. He dives into the motivation behind event-based cameras, explains how these sensors work, and explores their mathematical modeling and processing frameworks. He highlights cutting-edge applications across computer vision, robotics, autonomous vehicles, virtual reality, and mobile devices while also addressing the open challenges and future directions shaping this exciting field.
00:00 - Why event cameras matter to robotics and computer vision

07:24 - Bandwidth-latency tradeoff
08:24 - Working principle of the event camera
10:50 - Who sells event cameras
12:27 - Relation between event cameras and the biological eye
13:19 - Mathematical model of the event camera
15:35 - Image reconstruction from events
18:32 - A simple optical-flow algorithm
20:20 - How to process events in general
21:28 - 1st order approximation of the event generation model
23:56 - Application 1: Event-based feature tracking
25:03 - Application 2: Ultimate SLAM
26:30 - Application 3: Autonomous navigation in low light
27:38 - Application 4: Keeping drones fly when a rotor fails
31:06 - Contrast maximization for event cameras
34:14 - Application 1: Video stabilization
35:16 - Application 2: Motion segmentation
36:32 - Application 3: Dodging dynamic objects
38:57 - Application 4: Catching dynamic objects
39:41 - Application 5: High-speed inspection at Boeing and Strata
41:33 - Combining events and RGB cameras and how to apply deep learning
45:18 - Application 1: Slow-motion video
48:34 - Application 2: Video deblurring
49:45 - Application 3: Advanced Driving Assistant Systems
56:34 - History and future of event cameras
58:42 - Reading material and Q&A

Friday, April 18, 2025

Sony releases SPAD-based depth sensor

From PetaPixel: https://petapixel.com/2025/04/15/sony-unveils-the-worlds-smallest-and-lightest-lidar-depth-sensor/

Sony announced the AS-DT1, the world’s smallest and lightest miniature precision LiDAR depth sensor.

Measuring a mere 29 by 29 by 31 millimeters (1.14 by 1.14 by 1.22 inches) excluding protrusions, the Sony AS-DT1 LiDAR Depth Sensor relies upon sophisticated miniaturization and optical lens technologies from Sony’s machine vision industrial cameras to accurately measure distance and range. The device utilizes “Direct Time of Flight” (dToF) LiDAR technology and features a Sony Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) image sensor. 

From the official Sony webpage: https://pro.sony/ue_US/products/lidar/as-dt1

  • 1.14 (W) x 1.14 (H) x 1.22 in (D)
  • 50 g (1.1 oz)
  • Utilizes dToF LiDAR technology
  • Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) sensor
  • Range distance of 40 m (131 ft) indoor, 20 m (65.6 ft) outdoor
  • Lightweight aluminum alloy housing structure
  • 2 USB-C ports
  • Connector for external power, UART interface and trigger
  • HFoV 30° or more
  • Maximum measurement range at 15 fps, 50 percent reflectivity, center: Indoor: 131.23 ft and Outdoor: 65.62 ft
  • Measurement accuracy at 10 m: Indoor/Outdoor: ±0.2 in
  • Distance resolution: 0.98 in
  • Frame rate: 30 fps
  • 15 fps @ Maximum ranging distance mode
  • Number of ranging points 576(24 x 24)
  • Laser wavelength 940 nm
  • Dimensions 1.14 (W) x 1.14 (H) x 1.22 in (D) (excluding protrusions)
  • Weight 1.1 oz or less


 

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Conference List - October 2025

ASNT Annual Conference - 6-9 October 2025 - Orlando, Florida, USA - Website

Scientific Detector Workshop 6-10 October 2025 - Canberra, Australia - Website

AutoSens Europe - 7-9 October 2025 - Barcelona, Spain - Website

SPIE/COS Photonics Asia - 12-14 October 2025 - Beijing, China - Website

BioPhotonics Conference - 14-16 October 2025 - Online - Website 

IEEE Sensors Conference - 19-22 October 2025 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Website 

Optica Laser Congress and Exhibition - 19-23 October 2025 - Prague, Czech Republic - Website

OPTO Taiwan - 22-24 October 2025 - Taipei, Taiwan - Website

Image Sensors Asia - 30-31 October 2025 - Seoul, South Korea - Website


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Thursday, March 20, 2025

Paper on RGBC-IR color filter array

Tripurari Singh, Image Algorithmics (US); Mritunjay Singh, Image Algorithmics presented a paper titled "RGBC-IR: A CFA for single exposure dark flash" at Electronic Imaging 2025.

Abstract: Modern RGB-IR cameras have evolved to capture accurate colors and NIR from a single sensor. While these cameras can employ their RGB images to effectively denoise IR, they contain too few IR pixels to do the reverse: denoise RGB with IR.Improving low light RGB with an IR illuminator is an important feature for upcoming automotive applications where cabins have to be kept dark at night so as not to distract the driver. Current solutions to this problem either discard the IR cut filter and take separate RGB and IR exposures and suffer from poor colors. Or employ a bulky beam splitter architecture with separate RGB and IR sensors.We propose a camera with a novel RGBC-IR color filter array containing clear pixels that are sensitive to both visible light and IR. Its RGB pixels feature an IR attenuating coating while its IR pixels contain a black filter that blocks visible light.Mulitspectral demosaicking techniques are used to reconstruct RGB and IR images, as well as a high SNR luminance image containing the Clear, RGB and IR signals. Fusion techniques developed for beam splitter RGB-IR cameras are used to denoise RGB and IR using the luminance.

 

 












Conference List - September 2025

IEEE 2025 International Conference on Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems - 2-4 September 2025 - College Station, Texas, USA - Website

IEEE European Solid-State Electronics Research Conference - 8-11 September 2025 - Munich, Germany - Website

IEEE International Conference on Sensors and Nanotechnology (SENNANO) - 10-11 September 2025 - Selangor, Malaysia - Website

Sensor Expo Japan - 10-12 September 2025 - Tokyo, Japan - Website

IEEE International Conference on Image Processing - 14-17 September 2025 - Anchorage, Alaska, USA - Website

Sensor China Expo & Conference - 24-26 September 2025 - Shanghai, China - Website

SPIE Sensors + Imaging 2025 - 15-18 September 2025 - Madrid, Spain - Website

17th Topical Seminar on Innovative Particle and Radiation Detectors (IPRD25) - 15-19 September 2025 - Siena, Italy - Website

11th International Conference on Sensors and Electronic Instrumentation Advances - 24-26 September 2025 - Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal - Website

RADiation and its Effects on Components and Systems (RADECS) - 29 September-3 October 2025 - Antwerp, Belgium - Website

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Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Conference List - August 2025

Low Temperature Quantum Detectors - 3-6 August 2025 - Helsinki, Finland - Website

SPIE Optics & Photonics - 3-7 Aug 2025 - San Diego, California, USA - Website

VERTEX 2025: 33rd International Workshop on Vertex Detectors - 25-29 August 2025 - Knoxville, Tennessee, USA - Website

BNL Physics and Detector Simulation Meeting - 26 August 2025 - Zoom online - Website


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Thursday, March 13, 2025

Conference List - July 2025

10th International Smart Sensor Technology Exhibition - 2-4 July 2025 - Goyang, South Korea - Website

26th International Workshop on Radiation Detectors - 6-10 July 2025 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Website

IEEE Sensors Applications Symposium - 8-10 July 2025 - Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom - Website

Ninth International Conference on Imaging, Signal Processing and Communications - 11-13 July 2025 - Osaka, Japan - Website

IEEE Nuclear & Space Radiation Effects Conference (NSREC) 14-18 July 2025 - Nashville, Tennessee, USA - Website

Optica Sensing Congress - 20-24 July 2025 - Long Beach, California, USA - Website

American Association of Physicists in Medicine 67th Annual Meeting and Exhibition - 27-30 July 2025 - Washington, D.C., USA - Website

The 2nd International Conference on AI Sensors and Transducers - 29 July–3 August 2025 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Website


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