Ultra High Resolution CMOS APS Camera

This work addresses the development of ultra high resolution CMOS APS imagers. The recent development of the CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) by the proposers during their former employment at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has, for the first time, permitted large scale integration of electronics on the same chip as a high performance image sensor. A major challenge facing any high resolution imager is the readout of vast amounts of data at reasonably high frame rates. The CMOS ABS is well positioned to address this issue since it is an X-Y readout sensor (charge transfer at high rates through many pixels is not required). Second, the APS permits on-chip analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) which enables high speed low power parallel readout of digital -data without concern about crosstalk, imbalance between amplifiers, and amplifier setting time. In Phase I, approaches to achieving ultra high resolution CMOS APS arrays will be explored. Low power high speed on-chip ADC and digital readout circuit techniques will be addressed. Foundries where such sensors could be fabricated will be identified. Key circuits will be designed, fabricated and tested on small scale sensors. In Phase II, an ultra high resolution sensor will be designed, fabricated and tested. The commercial appeal of high resolution, high speed camera is in its potential ability to replace film for many applications which move to the digital domain after developing. Cameras for special effects in motion pictures, X-ray imaging, and microscopy would benefit greatly. Defense applications include aerial photography in reconnaissance, and missile and other weapons testing applications.