ProFlux
® Nanowire
® Pixelated Polarizer Technology Overview
The need for simple, instantaneous, simultaneous, snapshot polarization recording imagers that are high performing, and produce real-time 3D imaging is evident in video production, hand-held camera devices, medical, and military applications. Moxtek has developed 3D enabling technology using a simple, powerful, 3D polarization method.
Polarization helps to image more information enabling clearer discernment of things that are “hiding” in the real world. 3D imaging is the best way to do this, but 3D is difficult. The traditional way is to obtain 3D imaging from parallax, using two cameras separated at a distance from each other. This requires an alignment process, and a recording in same source-detector geometry, illumination level, and scene content.
The best thing about using polarization is that it can obtain 3D information easily and instantly.
Low Light Imaging
Human eyes lose the coloring, shading, and distance information in low light making low light information difficult for the brain to interpret. On the other hand, polarization in low light, using multiple polarization angles, can gather the necessary Stokes information, overlaid real-time into an image, which is easily interpreted.
Pixelated Polarization
Polarization is great for this, but why pixelation? Pixelation allows you to gather multiple polarization angles in a single shot, with a single camera, enabling real-time 3D imaging. With the Moxtek pixelated polarizer mounted on a CCD array and proper image processing using 4 pixels, you don’t lose the original image, color, and resolution even in low light conditions. With a pixelated polarizer, you are not limited to only the visible light spectrum. UV and IR can create an enormous advantage when imaging for medical, or security and defense purposes.
In summary, polarization imaging can provide additional information – enhance contrast, see through haze, and image surface features, shape and roughness with the highest speed.