Ultra High Resolution Digital Camera

Digital imaging has become more widespread with the advent of digital video and still cameras, Special effects using digital compositing techniques, and advanced optical processing applications. With this spread of digital imaging has come a requirement for higher-resolution systems capable of competing with standard halide film technologies. It has been estimated that a typical 35mm.modern color film has an equivalent resolution of approximately 4000 x 6000 pixels, or 24 Mpixels. Heretofore, the largest available CCD imager was on the order of 4000 x 4000 pixels, but recent announcements have heralded new imagers, some with overall resolutions rivaling and exceeding that of film. Large-format high-speed imaging systems pose several technical problems above and beyond the sheer size of the sensor, however; readout speed, defect correction, and data storage are all significant hurdles to overcome in any development effort. This proposal involves the design of a practical. imaging system based on very-large-area sensors and incorporating data compression which will result in usable imaging capabilities at high frame rates and reasonable data storage rates. A large-format high-frame-rate imaging IC incorporating on-chip compression would have commercial and industrial applications in many venues, most notably high-definition television, cinematography, special effects, machine vision and inspection, remote sensing, digital still photography, and X-ray medical imaging.