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Re: The Inventor's Eye (binary pixel)Very informative article. Provides insight into the source of Binary Pixel Technology. The Inventor's Eye How Professor Eric Fossum invented the digital camera and is helping today’s students create their own technological innovations. Snips: Photobit eventually grew to a corporation with more than 125 employees and $20 million in annual revenues. With such success, it attracted the attention of other firms, and in 2001 the board decided to sell to semiconductor company Micron Technology. …… That is the principle behind the so-called quanta image sensor, which would use pixels on the order of 500 nanometers, so small that they could detect individual photons of light. “It would be like using a thimble instead of a bucket,” says Fossum. Each time a photon hits, theoretically, it would knock loose an individual electron that could be counted with high sensitivity. “It is harder to achieve, but it would also be faster because we are just detecting a 1 or 0 for the presence or absence of light. It becomes a binary decision.” Along the way, students are getting practical experience in the hard work of turning theory into practice. Last summer, Ma interned at Rambus, a design and development company that is partially funding Fossum’s research and working to commercialize his quanta imaging technology. So far, Rambus imaging division head Michael Ching says that the company has been able to produce a binary pixel architecture on several test chips. “It’s achieved many of the benefits that Eric hypothesized,” he says. “It’s an exciting first step.” Fossum’s experience running his own companies has made him uniquely qualified to collaborate with business in helping to make his latest ideas a success. “It’s very refreshing,” says Ching. “Oftentimes when you work with people in academia, concepts sounds good but only a small number of them are actually practical even in a 10-year timeframe,” he says. “Eric thinks about these advanced concepts but also understands the practical aspects of these technologies. His approach spans the entire range.” If that approach is successful, Fossum may within the next decade have another accolade to add to an already spectacular career of innovation— http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/magazine/the-inventors-eye#sthash.Fd6CTBzS.dpuf Note: Photobit became Aptina at Micron, which was subsequently sold to On Semicondutor |
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Msg # | Subject | Author | Recs | Date Posted |
748807 | Re: The Inventor's Eye (binary pixel) | unabletoplaytennis | 0 | 5/30/2015 12:50:44 PM |
748809 | Re: The Inventor's Eye (binary pixel) | mantrapfisherman | 1 | 5/30/2015 5:07:07 PM |