Applications The Key to Imager Choice

Elizabeth M. Lockyer, Photonics Spectra Staff

Unless you know the questions to ask, selecting the right imaging technology for your applications can seem more of a coin toss than an educated choice -- an outright nightmare for those uninitiated in the intracacies of solid-state imaging science.
Besides the multitudes of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) available today -- themselves difficult to compare without meaningful universal standards -- buyers must consider charge-injection devices (CIDs), complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and at least one hybrid device. Are the application strengths for each technology clear? Will one work just as well as another? Will the technologies eventually merge, eliminating the need to choose one?
Imaging experts -- even those who do not manufacture or sell CCDs -- agree that CCD image quality is a benchmark for other technologies; when high-resolution is the key to an application, the CCD is the premier choice. For years these detectors have dominated the imaging market, but now other technologies are making their way onto the scene...Unless you know the questions to ask, selecting the right imaging technology for your applications can seem more of a coin toss than an educated choice -- an outright nightmare for those uninitiated in the intracacies of solid-state imaging science.
Besides the multitudes of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) available today -- themselves difficult to compare without meaningful universal standards -- buyers must consider charge-injection devices (CIDs), complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and at least one hybrid device. Are the application strengths for each technology clear? Will one work just as well as another? Will the technologies eventually merge, eliminating the need to choose one?
Imaging experts -- even those who do not manufacture or sell CCDs -- agree that CCD image quality is a benchmark for other technologies; when high-resolution is the key to an application, the CCD is the premier choice. For years these detectors have dominated the imaging market, but now other technologies are making their way onto the scene...Unless you know the questions to ask, selecting the right imaging technology for your applications can seem more of a coin toss than an educated choice -- an outright nightmare for those uninitiated in the intracacies of solid-state imaging science.
Besides the multitudes of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) available today -- themselves difficult to compare without meaningful universal standards -- buyers must consider charge-injection devices (CIDs), complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and at least one hybrid device. Are the application strengths for each technology clear? Will one work just as well as another? Will the technologies eventually merge, eliminating the need to choose one?
Imaging experts -- even those who do not manufacture or sell CCDs -- agree that CCD image quality is a benchmark for other technologies; when high-resolution is the key to an application, the CCD is the premier choice. For years these detectors have dominated the imaging market, but now other technologies are making their way onto the scene...Unless you know the questions to ask, selecting the right imaging technology for your applications can seem more of a coin toss than an educated choice -- an outright nightmare for those uninitiated in the intracacies of solid-state imaging science.
Besides the multitudes of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) available today -- themselves difficult to compare without meaningful universal standards -- buyers must consider charge-injection devices (CIDs), complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and at least one hybrid device. Are the application strengths for each technology clear? Will one work just as well as another? Will the technologies eventually merge, eliminating the need to choose one?
Imaging experts -- even those who do not manufacture or sell CCDs -- agree that CCD image quality is a benchmark for other technologies; when high-resolution is the key to an application, the CCD is the premier choice. For years these detectors have dominated the imaging market, but now other technologies are making their way onto the scene...Unless you know the questions to ask, selecting the right imaging technology for your applications can seem more of a coin toss than an educated choice -- an outright nightmare for those uninitiated in the intracacies of solid-state imaging science.
Besides the multitudes of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) available today -- themselves difficult to compare without meaningful universal standards -- buyers must consider charge-injection devices (CIDs), complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and at least one hybrid device. Are the application strengths for each technology clear? Will one work just as well as another? Will the technologies eventually merge, eliminating the need to choose one?
Imaging experts -- even those who do not manufacture or sell CCDs -- agree that CCD image quality is a benchmark for other technologies; when high-resolution is the key to an application, the CCD is the premier choice. For years these detectors have dominated the imaging market, but now other technologies are making their way onto the scene… technology for your applications can seem more of a coin toss than an educated choice -- an outright nightmare for those uninitiated in the intracacies of solid-state imaging science.
Besides the multitudes of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) available today -- themselves difficult to compare without meaningful universal standards -- buyers must consider charge-injection devices (CIDs), complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and at least one hybrid device. Are the application strengths for each technology clear? Will one work just as well as another? Will the technologies eventually merge, eliminating the need to choose one?
Imaging experts -- even those who do not manufacture or sell CCDs -- agree that CCD image quality is a benchmark for other technologies; when high-resolution is the key to an application, the CCD is the premier choice. For years these detectors have dominated the imaging market, but now other technologies are making their way onto the scene... technology for your applications can seem more of a coin toss than an educated choice -- an outright nightmare for those uninitiated in the intracacies of solid-state imaging science.
Besides the multitudes of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) available today -- themselves difficult to compare without meaningful universal standards -- buyers must consider charge-injection devices (CIDs), complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and at least one hybrid device. Are the application strengths for each technology clear? Will one work just as well as another? Will the technologies eventually merge, eliminating the need to choose one?

Imaging experts -- even those who do not manufacture or sell CCDs -- agree that CCD image quality is a benchmark for other technologies; when high-resolution is the key to an application, the CCD is the premier choice. For years these detectors have dominated the imaging market, but now other technologies are making their way onto the scene.

The CMOS Saga
Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor sensors comprise three types of technology -- passive pixel sensors (a photodiode with a pass transistor) and two types of active-pixel sensors. The term "active pixel" originated in Japan and refers to any pixel that has an active element -- at least one amplifier.