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mage capture of real-world
scenes and blending this
with virtual in-formation represented
as visual patterns is a vital tool in a
growing number of industrial, medical
and consumer applications. This new
CMOS image sensor is used in a
new imaging device for non-invasive
cancer assessment. It forms the heart
of a custom developed camera, which
is used by FFOCT (Full Field Optical
Coherence tomography) en-doscopes
for in-vivo optical probing as well as
fast ex-vivo microscopy. The new
CSI2100 sensor features an extremely
high full-well capacity of 1.6 million
electrons in its 1440x1400 pixels and
a frame rate up to 700fps.
Advanced image-capture applications
are opening up in a broad variety of
products and systems. Yet there is
no one specific image sensor to serve
all those different conditions. Every
system is best served with a specific
imager optimized and designed to
match the prevailing applica-tion and
user requirements. (Figure 2) This
is especially true for indus-trial and
medical vision applications.
Thus, such digital camera applications
require carefully laid-out image
sensors adapted to deliver the best
possible results in terms of resolu-
tion, noise, speed, spectral sensitivity,
robustness, life cycle and price point.
A comparison with natural vision
capabilities in animals is helpful in
this regard: birds of prey, snakes
and cats all depend on very differ-
ent kinds of visual input in terms of
spectral sensitivity, field of view and
resolution. As a consequence their
“image sensors” have evolved to
match the specific circumstances and
necessities of their lives.
High Full-Well Capacity
A good example of sensor
specialization is the new high-speed
CMOS image sensor CSI2100 made
by CMOSIS targeting demanding
scientific and medical applications.
With its global-shutter layout of 1440
x 1440 pixels at a pixel pitch of 12µm,
the CSI2100 achieves the extremely
high full-well charge of 1.6 Me per
pixel – delivering unprecedented
I
Pieter Willems
,
CMOSIS
CMOS Sensors Boost High-End Medical,
Industrial and Consumer Imaging
38 l New-Tech Magazine Europe