Archives for July 2021

A Positive Effect of Image Sensor Noise

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There is one positive consequence of image sensor noise - it helps to prevent forgeries. Université Paris-Saclay, France, and Universidad de la República, Uruguay, publish a paper "Noisesniffer: a Fully Automatic Image Forgery Detector Based on Noise Analysis" by Marina Gardella, Pablo Musé, Jean-Michel Morel, and Miguel Colom.

"Images undergo a complex processing chain from the moment light reaches the camera’s sensor until the final digital image is delivered. Each of these operations leave traces on the noise model which enable forgery detection through noise analysis. In this article we define a background stochastic model which makes it possible to detect local noise anomalies characterized by their number of false alarms. The proposed method is both automatic and blind, allowing quantitative and subjectivity-free detections. Results show that the proposed method outperforms the state of the art."

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Quantum Dots Thesis

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Universidad de Sevilla, Spain, publishes a BSc Thesis "Quantum dots: concept and application for image sensors" by Adri´an Romero Campelo.

"In the first part of this work (Chapter 2), a general outline of what quantum dots are and how they are manufactured (materials, techniques employed) will be provided. Besides, a complete description of the band structure of quantum dots, with an emphasis on their optoelectronic features, will be given too. In the second part of the thesis (Chapter 3), photodetection technologies are covered. After an introduction to the state of art of image sensors, the latest advances in quantum dot photodetection will be presented, considering their figures of merit and possible adaptation to current available production methods."


Another interesting recent thesis is from CEA-Leti and devoted to the modern microlens fabrication techniques, in French: "Étude d’une méthode de microfabrication 3D pour des applications de microlentilles d’imageurs" by Pierre Chevalier.

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Samsung Paper on Under-Display Camera

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EI publishes Samsung paper "Under Display Camera Image Recovery through Diffraction Compensation" by Jeongguk Lee, Yunseok Choi, Han-Sol Lee, Eundoo Heo, Dongpan Lim, Geunyoung Lee, and Seongwook Song presented at EI conference in January 2021.

"Under Display Camera(UDC) technology is being developed to eliminate camera holes and place cameras behind display panels according to full display trend in mobile phone. However, these camera systems cause attenuation and diffraction as light passes through the panel, which is inevitable to deteriorate the camera image. In particular, the deterioration of image quality due to diffraction and flares is serious, in this regard, this paper discusses techniques for restoring it. The diffraction compensation algorithm in this paper is aimed at real-time processing through HW implementation in the sensor for preview and video mode, and we've been able to use effective techniques to reduce computation by about 40 percent."

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Samsung Paper on Under-Display Camera

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EI publishes Samsung paper "Under Display Camera Image Recovery through Diffraction Compensation" by Jeongguk Lee, Yunseok Choi, Han-Sol Lee, Eundoo Heo, Dongpan Lim, Geunyoung Lee, and Seongwook Song presented at EI conference in January 2021.

"Under Display Camera(UDC) technology is being developed to eliminate camera holes and place cameras behind display panels according to full display trend in mobile phone. However, these camera systems cause attenuation and diffraction as light passes through the panel, which is inevitable to deteriorate the camera image. In particular, the deterioration of image quality due to diffraction and flares is serious, in this regard, this paper discusses techniques for restoring it. The diffraction compensation algorithm in this paper is aimed at real-time processing through HW implementation in the sensor for preview and video mode, and we've been able to use effective techniques to reduce computation by about 40 percent."

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Canon to support news media at Tokyo 2020 Games, releases photos of on-location service center aiming for “Zero Downtime”

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IDTechEx Forecasts Event-Based Sensor Sales of $20M in 10 Years from Now

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PRNewswire: IDTechEx analyst Matt Dyson says: "IDTechEx forecast the market for the event-based vision sensor chips alone rising from its primarily pre-revenue status today to $20 million per year over the next 10 years. Furthermore, much of the value is likely to be captured by the software facilitated by event-based vision hardware, leading to a much greater total market."

Regarding the potential markets and applications, IDTechEx thinks: "Event-based vision is highly relevant to recording rapidly changing situations that require immediate data processing (since the volume of data produced is much less). Applications that require high temporal resolution or high dynamic range are especially relevant.

IDTechEx, therefore, perceives the most promising applications as collision avoidance and navigation for autonomous vehicles/ADAS and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). These markets have huge potential but will require substantial software development and data collection to fully interpret the event-based vision data. As such, IDTechEx believes that smaller markets with much more predictable input data, such as iris-tracking for AR/VR goggles and laser beam profiling, will see the earliest adoption of event-based vision."

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IDTechEx Forecasts Event-Based Sensor Sales of $20M in 10 Years from Now

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PRNewswire: IDTechEx analyst Matt Dyson says: "IDTechEx forecast the market for the event-based vision sensor chips alone rising from its primarily pre-revenue status today to $20 million per year over the next 10 years. Furthermore, much of the value is likely to be captured by the software facilitated by event-based vision hardware, leading to a much greater total market."

Regarding the potential markets and applications, IDTechEx thinks: "Event-based vision is highly relevant to recording rapidly changing situations that require immediate data processing (since the volume of data produced is much less). Applications that require high temporal resolution or high dynamic range are especially relevant.

IDTechEx, therefore, perceives the most promising applications as collision avoidance and navigation for autonomous vehicles/ADAS and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). These markets have huge potential but will require substantial software development and data collection to fully interpret the event-based vision data. As such, IDTechEx believes that smaller markets with much more predictable input data, such as iris-tracking for AR/VR goggles and laser beam profiling, will see the earliest adoption of event-based vision."

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Canon announces award winners for its New Cosmos of Photography 2021 (44th edition) photo competition

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Canon’s activities lead to the removal of 4,691 listings from Amazon in Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, The Netherlands and Turkey

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199 listings removed from Amazon in Canada and the United States of America after Canon files infringement reports

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Ams Releases NanEyeM Module

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ams OSRAM has first announced NanEyeM camera module for single-use medical endoscopy almost 3 years ago. Over the past time, the company "made a few packaging changes to the module for improved robustness." Now ams fully releases NanEyeM to production. The small dimensions of 1.0 mm x 1.0 mm x 2.7 mm allow the module to be used in the smallest of areas.

Thanks to its space-saving size, the NanEyeM is made for use in areas of severe size restrictions, which includes single-use applications in bronchoscopy, urological endoscopy or endoscopic procedures in the kidney,” says Dina Aguiar, Marketing Manager at ams OSRAM. “The combination with the requisite high image quality makes the camera module a unique and attractive solution for the fast growing disposable endoscope market.

The module uses a so-called "chip on tip" approach. Here, the image sensor and the optics are placed at the tip of the device (distal end). This results in significantly better image quality than when the camera module is located at the other, proximal end. The NanEyeM offers a fully integrated imaging module with a wafer level multi-element optics. It was specifically designed for optimal performance at close range distances. The lens combines a wide FoV with an extended depth of field (EDOF), reducing distortions and delivering a sharp and accurate image. The camera has LVDS interface to transmit over long lengths of cable without loss of signal integrity. NanEyeM boasts a frame rate of up to 49 fps, while maintaining low power consumption. 

NanEyeM is the second generation of the NanEye2D from ams OSRAM. The camera module has been released to production and is available for ordering.

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3D-Stacked SPAD Image Sensor

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University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, and Heriot-Watt University publish a SPIE paper "High-speed vision with a 3D-stacked SPAD image sensor" by Istvan Gyongy, Germán Mora Martín, Alex Turpin, Alice Ruget, Abderrahim Halimi, Robert Henderson, and Jonathan Leach.

"We here consider an advanced direct ToF SPAD imager with a 3D-stacked structure, integrating significant photon processing. The device generates photon timing histograms in-pixel, resulting in a maximum throughput of 100's of giga photons per second. This advance enables 3D frames to be captured at rates in excess of 1000 frames per second, even under high ambient light levels. By exploiting the re-configurable nature of the sensor, higher resolution intensity (photon counting) data may be obtained in alternate frames, and depth upscaled accordingly. We present a compact SPAD camera based on the sensor, enabling high-speed object detection and classification in both indoor and outdoor environments. The results suggest a significant potential in applications requiring fast situational awareness."

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ON Semi Announces 16MP Global Shutter Sensor for Machine Vision Applications

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BusinessWire: ON Semiconductor expands its XGS series of CMOS sensors. The XGS 16000 is a 16MP global shutter sensor for factory automation applications including robotics and inspection systems. Consuming 1W at 65fps, the XGS 16000 is said to be one of the best in class for power consumption, among 29 x 29 mm sensors.

The XGS 16000 shares a common architecture and footprint with other XGS CMOS image sensors. This enables manufacturers to use a single camera design to develop products in different resolutions. 

The XGS 16000 is designed in a unique 1:1 square aspect ratio, which helps maximize the image capture area within the optical circle of the camera lens and ensure optimal light sensitivity. 

ON Semi offers color and mono versions of the XGS 16000 X-Cube and X-Celerator developer kits.

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Sharp Image Sensor Lineup

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2021 Sharp catalog reveals that its image sensor linup is still dominated by CCDs, although CMOS sensors section is expanding. Sharp CCDs are quite fast by CCD standards with 8MP one reaching 25fps frame rate:

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e2v iToF Sensor Demos

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Teledyne e2v publishes 3 video demos of its iToF Hydra3D sensor announced a year ago (1, 2, 3):

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Photomultiplication in NIR Organic Diodes

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Nature publishes a paper "Enhancing sub-bandgap external quantum efficiency by photomultiplication for narrowband organic near-infrared photodetectors" by Jonas Kublitski, Axel Fischer, Shen Xing, Lukasz Baisinger, Eva Bittrich, Donato Spoltore, Johannes Benduhn, Koen Vandewal, and Karl Leo from Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden (Germany) and Hasselt University (Belgium).

"Photomultiplication-type organic photodetectors have been shown to achieve high quantum efficiencies mainly in the visible range. Much less research has been focused on realizing near-infrared narrowband devices. Here, we demonstrate fully vacuum-processed narrow- and broadband photomultiplication-type organic photodetectors. Devices are based on enhanced hole injection leading to a maximum external quantum efficiency of almost 2000% at −10 V for the broadband device. The photomultiplicative effect is also observed in the charge-transfer state absorption region. By making use of an optical cavity device architecture, we enhance the charge-transfer response and demonstrate a wavelength tunable narrowband photomultiplication-type organic photodetector with external quantum efficiencies superior to those of pin-devices. The presented concept can further improve the performance of photodetectors based on the absorption of charge-transfer states, which were so far limited by the low external quantum efficiency provided by these devices."

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Canon announces conclusion of toner supply container-related patent infringement disputes in U.S. International Trade Commission and in U.S. District Court

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FBK on SPAD IR Sensitivity Enhancement

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FBK presents "NIR-sensitive single-photon devices (SiPM and SPADs in custom technologies), for industrial and automotive LIDAR applications" by Fabio Acerbi, G. Paternoster, A. Mazzi, A. Gola, and L. Ferrario:

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Elmos iToF Presentation

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Elmos publishes a slide deck "3D ToF sensor design and it‘s application in gesture and object recognition" by Sarah Blumenthal:

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Canon PowerShot G1 retro review

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In October 2000, Canon launched the PowerShot G1, the first in a series of hugely popular cameras aimed at enthusiasts that continues over two decades later. Find out the story behind it 21 years later!…

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ST Presentation on Pixel-Level Stacking

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ST presentation "Challenges and capabilities of 3D integration in CMOS imaging sensors" by Dominique Thomas, Jean Michailos, Krysten Rochereau, Joris Jourdon, and Sandrine Lhostis presents the company's achievements up to September 2019:

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A (Wrong) Attempt to Improve Imaging

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University of Glasgow and University of Edinburgh publish a paper "Noise characteristics with CMOS sensor array scaling" by Claudio Accarino, Valerio F. Annese, Boon Chong Cheah, Mohammed A. Al-Rawhania, Yash D. Shaha, James Beeley, Christos Giagkoulovitis, Srinjoy Mitra, David R.S.Cumming. The paper compares SNR of a large single sensor with an array of smaller sensors having the same combined area. The conclusion looks fairly strange:

"In this paper we have compared the noise performance of a sensor system made using a single large sensor, versus the noise achieved when averaging the signal from an array of small independent sensors. Whilst the SNR of a smaller physical sensor is typically less than that of a single larger sensor, the properties of uncorrelated Gaussian noise are such that the overall performance of an array of small sensors is significantly better when the signal is averaged.

This elegant result suggests that there is merit in using sensor arrays, such as those that can be implemented in CMOS, even if the application only calls for a single measurement. Given the relatively low cost of CMOS and the wide availability of CMOS sensors, it is therefore beneficial to use arrays in any application where low noise or multiple parallel sensing are a priority."

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More about Sony-TSMC Fab in Japan

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NikkeiAsia, TaiwanNews: The planned TSMC fab in Kumamoto, on the island of Kyushu in western Japan, would go forward in two phases, according to Nikkei Asia. The board of TSMC is expected to decide on the investment in the current quarter. 

The plant is expected to start operation in 2023. Once both phases are complete, the new fab will produce about 40,000 wafers per month in 28nm process. The fab is expected to be mainly used to make image sensors for Sony, TSMC's largest Japanese customer. Nikkei has been told that TSMC is open to a collaboration that would give Sony more say in operating the plant and negotiating with the Japanese government.

ElectronicsWeekly presents another view on Sony-TSMC fab project: "Sony has a $7 billion+  revenue business in image sensors which makes the  $2.5 billion cost of such a fab a reasonable proposition."

Bloomberg reports that Japan intends to revive its domestic chip design and production industry and reverse the current downward R&D trend:

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Image Sensors at In-Person Autosens Brussels

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Austosens Brussels is to be held in in-person (!!!) on September 15-16. The agenda has been published and includes a lot of image sensor related stuff:
  • Sensor technology and safety features to address the challenging needs for reliable and robust sensing/viewing systems
    Yuichi Motohasi, Automotive Image Sensor Applications Engineer, Sony
    In this presentation, the key characteristics of the image sensors will be presented. Also, the state-of-the-art of functional safety and cybersecurity requirement to achieve reliable and robust sensing/viewing system will be discussed.
  • Beyond the Visible: SWIR Enhanced Gated Depth Imaging
    Ziv Livne, CBO, TriEye
    We will introduce a new and exciting SWIR-based sensor modality which provides HD imaging and ranging information in all conditions (“SEDAR”). How it works, its main benefits, and why it is the future. We will then show experimental evidence of SEDAR superiority over sensors of other wavelengths. These include recordings in difficult conditions such as nighttime, fog, glare, dust, and more. Also, show depth map field results.
  • Automotive 2.1 µm High Dynamic Range Image Sensors
    Sergey Velichko, Sr. Manager, ASD Technology and Product Strategy, ON Semiconductor
    This work describes a first generation 8.3 Mega-Pixel (MP) 2.1 µm dual conversion gain (DCG) pixel image sensor developed and released to the market. The sensor has high dynamic range (HDR) up to 140 dB and cinematographic image quality. Non-bayer color filter arrays improve low light performance significantly for front and surround Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) cameras. This enables transitioning from level 2 to level 3 autonomous driving (AD) and fulfilling challenging Euro NCAP requirements.
  • High Dynamic Range Backside Illuminated Voltage Mode Global Shutter CIS for in Cabin Monitoring
    Boyd Fowler, CTO, OmniVision Technologies
    Although global shutter operation is required to minimize motion artifacts in in-cabin monitoring, it forces large changes in the CIS architecture. Most global shutter CMOS image sensors available in the market today have larger pixels and lower dynamic range than rolling shutter image sensors. This adversely impacts their size/cost and performance under different lighting conditions. In this paper we describe the architecture and operation of backside illuminated voltage mode global shutter pixels. We also describe how the dynamic range of these pixels can be extended using either multiple integration times or LOFIC techniques. In addition, how backside illuminated voltage mode global shutter pixels can be scaled, enabling smaller more cost effective camera solutions and results from recent backside illuminated voltage mode global shutter CIS will be presented.
  • Chip-scale LiDAR for affordability and manufacturability
    Dongjae Shin, Principal researcher, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology
    In this presentation, we introduce a chip-scale solid-state LiDAR technology promising the cost and manufacturability advantages inherited from the silicon technology. The challenge of the light source integration has been overcome by the III/V-on-silicon technology that has just emerged in the silicon industry. With the III/V-on-silicon chip in the core, initial LiDAR module performance, performance scalability, and application status are presented for the first time. Cost-volume analysis and eco-system implications are also discussed.
  • A novel scoring methodology and tool for assessing LiDAR performance
    Dima Sosnovsky, Principal System Architect, Huawei
    This presentation presents a tool, which summarizes the most crucial characteristics and provides a common ground to compare each solution's pros and cons, by drawing a scoring envelope based on 8 major parameters of the LiDAR system, representing its performance, suitability to an automotive application, and business advantages.

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Assorted Videos: Omnivision, Aeye, Qualcomm, MIPI

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Omnivision continues its series of video interviews with its CTO Boyd Fowler. This part is about LED flicker mitigation:


Aeye tells a (marketing) story behind its inception:


Qualcomm publishes a panel with its customers adopting its AI camera technology:


MIPI Alliance publishes a couple of presentation about the future imaging needs needs and A-PHY standard (link1 and link2):

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Canon RF 400mm f2.8L RF 600mm f4L review

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The RF 400mm f2.8 and RF 600mm f4 are the two largest and most expensive lenses for Canon’s full-frame mirrorless system to date. Unashamedly aimed at pro sports and wildlife photographers, or very well-heeled enthusiasts, they represent Canon at the top of their game. Find out why Canon now believes EOS R is ready for anything in my review of both lenses.…

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Luminar Acquires InGaAs Sensor Manufacturer

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BusinessWire: LiDAR maker Luminar is acquiring its exclusive InGaAs chip design partner and manufacturer, OptoGration Inc., securing supply chain as Luminar scales Iris LiDAR into series production. The acquisition secures a key part of Luminar’s supply chain and enables deeper integration with its ROIC design subsidiary Black Forest Engineering (BFE), which Luminar acquired in 2017. Luminar is combining the latest technology from Optogration and BFE to power its new fifth-generation lidar chip in Iris as the company prepares for series production of its product and technology.

For the past five years, Luminar has been closely collaborating with OptoGration, developing, iterating, and perfecting the specialized InGaAs photodetector technology that is required for 1550nm lidar. OptoGration has capacity to produce approximately one million InGaAs chips with Luminar’s design each year at their specialized fabrication facility in Wilmington, Mass, with the opportunity to expand to up to ten million units per year capacity.

Acquiring OptoGration is the culmination of a deep, half-decade long technology partnership that has dramatically advanced the proprietary lidar chips that power the industry-leading performance of our newest Iris sensor,” said Jason Eichenholz, Co-founder and CTO at Luminar. “The OptoGration team is unique in their ability to deliver photodetectors with the performance and quality that achieve our increasingly demanding requirements. Chip-level innovation and integration has been key to unlocking our performance and driving the substantial cost reductions we’ve achieved.

Luminar combines its InGaAs photodetector chips from Optogration with silicon ASICs, produced by BFE, to create its lidar receiver and processing chip, which is said to be the most sensitive, highest DR InGaAs receiver of its kind in the world.

OptoGration’s founders are joining Luminar as part of this transaction and will continue to lead the business with support from Luminar.

Luminar is a great home for OptoGration because we share a vision for transforming automotive safety and autonomy with lidar,” said William Waters, President of OptoGration. “We also share a commitment to continuous innovation and have an incredible track record of combining our technologies to increase performance and lower cost. Together we can go even faster to scale and realize Luminar’s vision.

The OptoGration acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter. The transaction price was not disclosed but does not represent a material impact to Luminar’s cash position or share count.

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Optical Neural Processor Integrated onto Image Sensor

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Metasurface-based optical CNNs start to be a hot topic for papers and presentations, for example, here and here. Another metasurface CNN example by Aydogan Ozcan from UCLA is shown in the video below:



A recent Arxiv.org paper "Metasurface-Enabled On-Chip Multiplexed Diffractive Neural Networks in the Visible" by Xuhao Luo, Yueqiang Hu, Xin Li, Xiangnian Ou, Jiajie Lai, Na Liu, and Huigao Duan from Hunan University (China), University of Stuttgart (Germany), and Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (Germany) presents a fairly complete system integrated on an image sensor:

"Replacing electrons with photons is a compelling route towards light-speed, highly parallel, and low-power artificial intelligence computing. Recently, all-optical diffractive neural deep neural networks have been demonstrated. However, the existing architectures often comprise bulky components and, most critically, they cannot mimic the human brain for multitasking. Here, we demonstrate a multi-skilled diffractive neural network based on a metasurface device, which can perform on-chip multi-channel sensing and multitasking at the speed of light in the visible. The metasurface is integrated with a complementary metal oxide semiconductor imaging sensor. Polarization multiplexing scheme of the subwavelength nanostructures are applied to construct a multi-channel classifier framework for simultaneous recognition of digital and fashionable items. The areal density of the artificial neurons can reach up to 6.25x106/mm2 multiplied by the number of channels. Our platform provides an integrated solution with all-optical on-chip sensing and computing for applications in machine vision, autonomous driving, and precision medicine."

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Event-Based Camera Tutorial

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Tobi Delbruck delivers an excellent tutorial on event-based cameras prepared for the 2020 Telluride Neuromorphic workshop and ESSCIRC. The pdf file with slides is available here.

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Graphene and Other 2D Materials Sensors Review

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Nature publishes a review paper "Silicon/2D-material photodetectors: from near-infrared to mid-infrared" by Chaoyue Liu, Jingshu Guo, Laiwen Yu, Jiang Li, Ming Zhang, Huan Li, Yaocheng Shi & Daoxin Dai from Zhejiang University, China.

"Two-dimensional materials (2DMs) have been used widely in constructing photodetectors (PDs) because of their advantages in flexible integration and ultrabroad operation wavelength range. Specifically, 2DM PDs on silicon have attracted much attention because silicon microelectronics and silicon photonics have been developed successfully for many applications. 2DM PDs meet the imperious demand of silicon photonics on low-cost, high-performance, and broadband photodetection. In this work, a review is given for the recent progresses of Si/2DM PDs working in the wavelength band from near-infrared to mid-infrared, which are attractive for many applications. The operation mechanisms and the device configurations are summarized in the first part. The waveguide-integrated PDs and the surface-illuminated PDs are then reviewed in details, respectively. The discussion and outlook for 2DM PDs on silicon are finally given."

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