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Many have been wondering what Junichi Nakamura's startup Brillnics is working on, especially after TSMC pixel group head S.G. Wuu has joined them. Two PCT patent applications might shed some light on it:

WO2016009942: SOLID STATE IMAGING DEVICE, METHOD FOR PRODUCING SOLID STATE IMAGING DEVICE, AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS by TAKAYANAGI, Isao; TANAKA, Shunsuke; MORI, Kazuya; ARIYOSHI, Katsuhiko; MATSUO, Shinichiro.

WO2016009943: SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE, METHOD FOR PRODUCING SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE, AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS by AKAYANAGI, Isao; TANAKA, Shunsuke; MORI, Kazuya; ARIYOSHI, Katsuhiko; MATSUO, Shinichiro.

While the detailed description is in Japanese, just from the abstract and figures, it appears to be a stacked sensor built on CMOS pixel with CCD-like charge transfer and storage:

"This solid-state imaging device 100 has: a light sensitive unit that includes pixel units 211, which are disposed in a matrix, and charge forwarding units 212 for forwarding, by the column, the signal charge of the pixel units; a plurality of charge accumulation units 220 that accumulate the signal charges forwarded by the plurality of charge forwarding units of the light sensitive unit; a relay unit 240 that relays the forwarding of the signal charges forwarded by the plurality of charge accumulation units to each charge accumulation unit; an output unit 230 that outputs the signal charges of the plurality of charge accumulation units as electric signals; a first substrate 110 at which the light sensitive unit 210 is formed; and a second substrate 120 at which the charge accumulation unit 220 and output unit 230 are formed. The first substrate and second substrate are laminated together, and the relay unit 240 electrically couples the charge forwarding unit of the first substrate to the charge accumulation unit of the second substrate by means of a connection section traversing the substrates outside the light sensitive region of the light sensitive unit."


The most interesting part is a charge transfer between the stacked dies through TSV:

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CNET publishes a video demoing the latest Corephotonics camera modules:

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Chipworks reverse engineering of Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone confirms the rumors that its 12MP, 1.4um dual pixel AF sensor is Sony IMX260:

"Our lab staff have removed the imaging chip from the 12 MP camera module and have found a Sony back-illuminated (Exmor R) CMOS image sensor. We were expecting to find TSV arrays around the periphery of the active pixel array, corresponding to Sony’s stacked chip (Exmor RS) technology platform. Sony hasn’t publicly announced the IMX260, but based on what we’ve been reading, we assume that is the part number. It’s a bit of a surprise that the IMX260 isn’t an Exmor RS sensor, as we’ve been documenting a lot of Sony design wins based on its 1st and 2nd generation Exmor RS technology. It seems the full chip PDAF functionality, which requires dual readout from each pixel, was implemented with a multi-chip solution rather than a stacked (CIS + ISP) solution.

The Sony IMX260 die size, as measured from the die seals, is 6.69 mm x 5.55 mm (37.1 mm2). There are no conventional die identification markings in use on the die, consistent with back-illuminated (stacked/non-stacked) Sony CIS chips. We confirmed a pixel pitch of 1.4 µm and a Bayer-patterned color filter array."

X-Ray image

The 5MP front camera is based on 1.34um BSI pixel Samsung S5K4E6XP sensor:


Cnet's Youtube video shows Samsung Galaxy S7 camera presentation at MWC 2016:

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Chipworks says that scanning microwave impedance microscopy (sMIM), a new scanning probe microscopy (SPM) technique, might replace traditional scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM). Like SCM, the new sMIM technique reveals information on the implanted dopant structures of a semiconductor device.

sMIM Hardware Simplified Schematic Diagram

Chipworks publishes cross-sectional and plan-view images of the pixels of the OmniVision OV2D7AG, which is a 175 kilo-pixel, FSI global shutter, infrared CMOS sensor from the Amazon Fire Phone:

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PRNewswire: Deep Optics has raised $4M in a Series A financing round to fund the development of its image sensor-equipped glasses. The round includes strategic investor Essilor, the world leader in ophthalmic optics, Taiwan-based Atomics 14 Ventures and several private investors.

"The human eye has a natural focusing ability that degrades with age. Current multifocal glasses compensate for this degradation, but they cannot offer adaptable correction power management. The dynamic solution we're developing is actually similar to the human focusing mechanism, and so in addition to its superior lens function, should be even easier to get used to with minimal, if any, adjustment required," explained Yariv Haddad, co-founder and CEO of Deep Optics.

Deep Optics is also exploring additional applications for its adaptive electronic lens technology. Two notable applications are AR and VR systems, which are likely to benefit from the addition of adaptive optics to future models. According to Haddad, Deep Optics has already started discussions with companies in this field.



PRNewswire, GlobeNewsWire: Meanwhile, the stealth AR startup Magic Leap raises $793.5M in what might be the largest C round in Internet history. The new funding will give Magic Leap a post-money value of $4.5 billion. (Wired)

"Here at Magic Leap we are creating a new world where digital and physical realities seamlessly blend together to enable amazing new experiences. This investment will accelerate bringing our new Mixed Reality Lightfield™ experience to everyone," said Rony Abovitz, Founder, President, and CEO of Magic Leap, Inc. "We are excited to welcome Alibaba as a strategic partner to help introduce Magic Leap's breakthrough products to the over 400 million people on Alibaba's platforms."

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Sony introduces SNR1s [lx] as an index used to quantitatively evaluate picture quality at low illumination. SNR1s [lx] is a proprietary index advocated by Sony, and is limited to CMOS image sensors for security camera applications. A smaller value indicates better picture quality at low illumination. SNR1s [lx] is an acronym consisting of "SNR" (Signal-to-Noise Ratio), "1" (represents that the signal level when noise = 1 is 1), and "s" (for Security).


SNR1s measurement:

Two 3200 [K] light sources illuminate an 18% gray chart from different directions, and dimming is performed to 100 [lx]. A camera is placed so that the distance from the gray chart to the imaging surface of the image sensor is 1 m, the sensitivity [e-] and dark noise [e-] are measured, and SNR1s [lx] is calculated using the relational equation (1). The luminance when equation (1) equals 1 is SNR1s [lx].


SNR1s Values of Sony CMOS Sensors for Security Applications:

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PRNewswire, BusinessWire: Toshiba announces the newest addition to its TMPV760 family of image recognition processors for automotive applications. The TMPV7602XBG is suitable for monocular cameras used in ADAS, and will help designers implement ADAS applications utilizing a cost-optimized camera system with a small form factor.

Featuring 13 hardware-based image recognition accelerators, the TMPV7602XBG incorporates ADAS features that will become part of the camera requirements for the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) in 2018. These include Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Traffic Signal Recognition (TSR), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) / Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), High Beam Assistance (HBA), and Forward Collision Warning (FCW). In addition, the processor supports such new applications as Traffic Light Recognition (TLR) and night-time pedestrian detection.

ADAS applications are processed concurrently within a typical time window of 50ms inside the image recognition processor and with relatively low power consumption due to the purpose-built hardware accelerators and media processing units. The TMPV7602XBG can process up to five applications concurrently, with very low power consumption, and targets mid- to high-end ADAS designs. Optimizing the circuit to downsize the ADAS monocular camera module enables the device's reduced package size (17mm x 17mm BGA with 521 pins and 0.65mm ball pitch) and an anticipated 50-percent reduction in power consumption.

Samples of the TMPV7602XBG image recognition processor will begin shipping in March. Mass production is scheduled for January 2018.

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BusinessWire: According to the latest report by Technavio, the CMOS sensors market is highly fragmented due to the presence of a large number of vendors. Sony is the market leader here followed by Samsung Electronics, OmniVision, Canon, and ON Semiconductor.

Sony

Sony is the market leader with a 27% market share. “The reason behind Sony's success is its strategy of purchasing many factories in order to boost CMOS sensor production to meet the demand for sensors incorporated in the global smartphone market. Their plan was to welcome any smartphone manufacturer to use its CMOS image sensor,” says Sunil Singh, a lead analyst at Technavio for computing devices.

Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics is the second major vendor in this market with a market share of 19%.

OmniVision

Omnivision is the third major vendor in this market with 17% market share. OmniVision is mostly driving benefit from the increasing adoption of smartphones in China and India.

Canon

Canon is the fourth major vendor in the CMOS sensors market with a 7% market share. Its strengths are that it always looks for innovation and invests a lot in production to cut costs. Its only weakness is the major competition from its rivals like Nikon, which forces it to invest more in advertisements, and which again indirectly leads to increasing the price of its products.

ON Semiconductor (Aptina)

ON Semiconductor is the fifth major vendor in this market with a market share of 6%. In August 2014, ON Semi acquired Aptina Imaging. In 2012, Aptina had almost an 8% market share in CMOS image sensors, which now belongs to ON Semi.

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Newswire.ca: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has accused four individuals in connection with the illegal export of controlled goods and technologies to China. The investigation, dubbed Project OSensor, commenced in early 2014 after the RCMP was requested to conduct a criminal investigation by Public Services and Procurement Canada – Controlled Goods Directorate and Global Affairs Canada, as a result of a written complaint having been received by them from Teledyne DALSA Inc. Waterloo. The matter involves controlled goods and technologies being shipped between Canada and China in violation of the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and related Export Laws. Police allege that the four accused involved themselves in Chinese contracts for the design and development of Controlled Goods intended for space satellite use. These contracts involved a state-owned corporation and a Chinese based company founded by two of the accused to create microelectronics destined to enhance space satellite camera technology.

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Microsoft publishes a Youtube video showing how Hololens gesture control functions:



Other Microsoft tutorials talk about AR/VR objects that do not cause a discomfort or headaches:

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Epson Moverio new BT-300 AR glasses have gesture control as its main interface (Youtube):



ST presented its ToF SPAD sensors lineup:


Heptagon booth was almost completely dedicated to 3D imaging solutions. While most of them were miniature ToF cameras, there were structured light, stereo, and combined modules too. Heptagon uses an interesting tilted periodic dot pattern in its structured light solution. The claim is that it allows them to use FFT to filter out most of the noise and irrelevant background data and also simplifies processing:


Mediatek boasted its dual camera ISP:


Armdevices post a Youtube video with Mediatek reference design with Dual Rear Camera Depth Mapping:



Many smartphone manufacturers exhibited their dual rear camera devices:

ZTE Axon, 13MP + 2MP rear cameras

LG G5 rear side has 8MP wide angle camera and 12MP one for zoom, not to talk about 8MP front one

Focalmax uses dual 8MP camera for stereo recording

One of the most creative uses of the camera is a new Oral B Genius 9000 toothbrush that utilizes a smartphone camera to make sure that each and every tooth is properly brushed (WD News):

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Intel publishes a comparison of its 2nd generation structured light camera SR300 with the 1st generation F200:

SR300 Camera

The SR300 model adds new features and has a number of improvements over the F200 model:

• Support for the new Hand Tracking Cursor Mode
• Support for the new Person Tracking Mode
• Increased Range and Lateral Speed
• Improved Color Quality under Low-light Capture and Improved RGB Texture for 3D Scan
• Improved Color and Depth Stream Synchronization
• Decreased Power Consumption

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Nikkei reports few interesting details about image stabilization implementation in the recently announced Canon G7X Mark II compact camera leveraging the high speed of its image sensor:

"While the previous product stabilizes images with a gyroscope, the new product takes into account the data on the amount of camera shake obtained from the image data collected by the CMOS sensor. Canon calls this function "Dual Sensing IS."

In addition, a "panning" mode was added by using the image stabilization function. The camera instantly analyzes the moving speed of the camera and the moving speed and direction of the subject and calculates the best shooting conditions. As a result, it became easy to take an image with a flowing background while stabilizing the image of the subject."

Canon G7X M2 internals

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BusinessWire: ON Semiconductor introduces the AR0135 global shutter CMOS sensor, an 1/3-inch, 1.2 MP device aimed to automotive imaging as well as high-speed barcode scanning, and emerging applications like virtual reality and 3D depth sensing. The new innovative global shutter pixel design has 10X lower dark current and 4X higher shutter efficiency vs. previous generation products. This 1280 x 960 resolution device is capable of 54fps at full resolution and 720p at 60fps.

The AR0135AT is qualified to meet the AEC-Q100 Grade 2 temperature range of -40 to 105°C, while the AR0135CS supports the standard temperature range of -30 to 70°C. Engineering samples are available now, and the devices will be in production in 3Q16.

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Oppo presents its new smartphone featuring SmartSensor sensor-based image stabilization for smartphones. While OIS in most smartphones is based on lens shift, Oppo SmartSensor shifts image sensor, as shown in this Youtube video:



The advantages over the lens-based OIS are:

• Not only camera yaw and pitch, but also roll is compensated
• Very fast sensor movements, under 15ms time required for image stabilization, said to be 3 times faster than lens-based OIS
• Power consumption as low as 10mW, said to be 50 times lower than lens-based OIS
• High accuracy of of compensation of 0.3um, while lens-based systems are said to be 10 times less accurate

"So why is the SmartSensor just now arriving? Let's have a look at just how difficult it was to bring about this technology.

To achieve three-axis sensor-based stabilization, the image sensor needs to be suspended in a very small space to allow for rotation around a central axis.

Another challenge brought by suspension is signal transmission. The SmartSensor presents the challenge of having to connect over 200 signal wires from the floating sensor to the main board.

This was the key puzzle that OPPO and MEMS Drive solved through years of research."

GSM Arena reports from the MWC 2016 Oppo booth: "Oppo SmartSensor image stabilization can correct up to 1.5° of motion and works on sensors ranging from 1/1.8" (bigger than any phone yet) and 1/3" (typical of mid-range phones). It's also smaller than a typical OIS module, so we may see it in thinner phones." While being a very impressive technology, 1.5deg is somewhat limited range for a high quality OIS.

Apparently, the company that supplied the technology to Oppo is MEMS Drive, based in Pasadena, CA.

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ST offers its advanced CIS process and pixels on a foundry basis, including regular MPW service to reduce development cost. ST has started to give access to its high-end CIS technologies to few customers 4 years ago. Based on this experience, ST has realized all the benefits that it can get from this business model and all the differentiators that its pixel technologies can bring to the customers. It is why ST has decided to include this foundry business in its Imaging strategy. Some of the processes are shown in the table:

MPW schedule for 2016, I guess

ST foundry services:

• 8” and 12” wafer fabs in Europe
• In house µLens, color filter, 1D & 2D stitching
• Process and yield tuning and optimization
• Pixel architecture and design, quality and failure analysis
• Broad technology portfolio and extensive expertize

Specialized silicon technology building blocks:

• Small and large, rolling and global shutter sensors
• Large range of analog and digital IPs
• ISP, pixel, algorithmic and optics expertise

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SD Optics, the maker of MALS (Micro Mirror Array Lens System) shows a Youtube demo of all-in-focus imaging. The key advantages of MALS are said to be:

• Ultra High Focusing Speed up to 12000Hz
• Long Term Reliability more than 1 billion operating cycle
• Ultra Small Power Consumption less than 1mA
• Shock Resistance more than 5000G
• Operating Temperature Range: -30 ~ 100 deg.C
• Single Camera Based 3D Camera
• Volumetrically 25% Smaller than Current Technology Based Module

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BusinessWire: Heptagon announces a mobile iris scanning solution leveraging IriTech’s iris recognition algorithms and software as well as Heptagon’s newly launched mobile imaging demo platform.

The new Heptagon module features proprietary illumination and a ToF sensor optimized for iris recognition, eye tracking, and face detection applications. The solution significantly reduces host system computational complexity, latency and power consumption. Depth information is used to improve speed and accuracy of iris scan applications and enables smaller baselines for mobile integration. The system will also benefit from the Heptagon’s Focus Controlled Packaging (FCP) camera technology that allows even further miniaturization.

“We are excited to launch our new UEYE platform together with IriTech iris scanning application here at MWC 2016,” says Erik Volkerink, Heptagon’s Chief Business Officer and Executive Vice President. “IriTech’s leading edge algorithms and technologies have been proven to perform extremely well in large field studies.”

Iris recognition applications in the consumer electronics market are forecasted to grow to $3.6B by 2020 making this the fastest growing segment of the iris recognition market.

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PRNewswire: OmniVision announces the OV13870 PureCel Plus-S image sensor. The 1/2.6-inch 13MP, 1.25um pixel OV13870 features a 12-bit ADC to enable better low-light SNR, PDAF, and dedicated support for dual-camera functionality.

"The trend towards bigger pixels is picking up as the resolution race slows down, making the OV13870's larger 1.25-micron pixel and high-speed architecture well-suited for premium mobile applications," said Manish Shelat, senior product marketing manager at OmniVision. "The OV13870's enhanced dual camera capability can provide key functionality to device makers as they address the growing trend of dual aperture cameras in mobile imaging that enable advanced features and better image quality."

Built on OmniVision's new 1.25um PureCel Plus-S pixel architecture, the OV13870 significant improves the low-light performance and pixel crosstalk while maintaining an optical format of 1/2.6‑inch and a compact, 5.2 mm module height for slim smartphones. The OV13870 features significantly better overall pixel performance compared to previous generation 13MP image sensors.

The OV13870 can capture full-resolution 13MP still images at 45fps or record 4K2K video at 60fps, 1080p at 240fps, or 720p at 300 FPS with binning and cropping.

The OV13870 is currently available for sampling, and is expected to enter volume production in Q2 2016.

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Rambus expands its lensless smart sensor (LSS) technology to thermal sensing. Target applications that can benefit from the small size and affordability of thermal and visible LSS technology include automotive passenger detection, virtual and augmented reality eye tracking, and smart home presence detection.

“LSS can enable a future where IoT technology is infused into many aspects of modern life, from smart cities and transportation to medical equipment and manufacturing,” said Dr. Gary Bronner, VP of Rambus Labs. “With the addition of these new capabilities, LSS can replace traditional thermal lenses with optical gratings that are significantly less expensive, making LSS ideal for cost-sensitive IoT applications.”

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PRNewswire: SoftKinetic, the fully owned Sony subsidiary, announces that Akihiro Hasegawa has joined the company as CEO. Bringing over 35 years of experience with Sony Corporation, Hasegawa's appointment follows Sony's acquisition of SoftKinetic in October 2015. His leadership and experience with Sony will harmonize the strategic vision of the two companies as SoftKinetic continues to lead and innovate in the 3D vision and gesture recognition solution markets.

"SoftKinetic's award-winning technology is behind many of the 3D and gesture-based features available today in automotive, gaming, VR and AR, and it is an important complement to Sony's image sensor business," said Mr. Hasegawa. "Yet, there is much more opportunity ahead. I am looking forward to living in Belgium, growing the SoftKinetic team and moving the company towards even greater successes."

Hasegawa's goal is to guide SoftKinetic from start-up to a mature, global company using his core values - burezu (determination), dojizu (a firm mindset), and kakujitsu (confident execution).

Hasegawa began his career with Sony as an engineer before moving on to Sony's component and device, and then to sales and marketing. He has been a VP of Sony Corporation since June 2011, and has lived in Asia as well as the US in other executive roles within Sony.

Michel Tombroff, the former Softkinetic CEO, has left the company.

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BusinessWire: Heptagon developed the world’s smallest near-field optical sensing module with thickness of 350um and a 2mm2 surface area, which includes a built-in illuminator, light sensor, electronics, crosstalk prevention features, and a lens system. To put that into perspective, Heptagon’s new module is 4x thinner than a US 1 cent coin. Comparable products currently available are 40% thicker.

“We are excited to be taking our sensor technologies to an all new level,” says Hartmut Rudmann, SVP of Engineering at Heptagon, “By combining proprietary design and processes in solution development for these significantly thinner sensors, we’re enabling greater design flexibility with reduced form factor and improved aesthetics for mobile and wearable devices seeking slimmer profiles, such as smart watches. It is now possible to spread out more sensors in a device to increase coverage or for a more accurate reading.”


BusinessWire: In a separate PR, Heptagon announces it has shipped over 2 billion units to customers. The company, which is headquartered in Singapore, recently opened a new factory with expanded capacity to ship 1 billion units per year. Heptagon serves some of the largest makers of mobile and IoT products in the world.

"We are delighted to announce this latest milestone in our rapid growth and see this as ongoing acceptance by the market of our innovative, world-class products," says Christian Tang-Jespersen, CEO and President of Heptagon. "We look forward to continuing our strong growth and reaching our next billion units shipped milestone.”

"We are well positioned to pursue new market opportunities with the expansion of our fab in Woodlands, Singapore and the opening of our new factory in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore," says S.C. Leong, Heptagon’s COO. “We remain committed to uncompromising quality and our proven ability to move quickly from white board to shipping 100s of millions of units."

In addition to opening the new factory in Singapore, Heptagon has expanded its sales, marketing and engineering presence in Silicon Valley. Heptagon’s newly created Silicon Valley Labs and Executive Briefing Center showcase the latest interface and sensing technologies while providing convenient access for the innovators and decision makers in Silicon Valley.

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BusinessWire: ON Semiconductor presents AR1337, a 1/3.2-inch 13MP BSI device for consumer products such as smartphones and tablets. The AR1337 incorporates SuperPD PDAF technology, which delivers focus speeds of 300 ms or less - even in low lighting conditions below 25 lux. Furthermore, by utilizing its on-chip PDAF processing the AR1337 simplifies integration into smartphone platforms.

This AR1337 image sensor has a 4208 x 3120 array of the company’s proprietary advanced 1.1µm pixels, said to have the best in class SNR. Its QE reaches up to 82%, providing industry-leading sensitivity. The AR1337 speed at full resolution is 30fps and supports many video modes including 4K video at 30 fps and 1080P video at 60 fps. The camera synchronization controls enable dual camera video capture.

“Consumers expect increasingly high performance for their smartphone cameras. They demand great image quality, the ability to take photos in lower light conditions and more recently, the desire for lightning fast autofocus,” comments Vladi Korobov, GM and Senior Director of Technology for the Mobile & Consumer Image Sensor at ON Semiconductor. “With the AR1337 we are responding to each of these demands. Not only does it have great image quality, but its SuperPD technology enables OEMs to achieve fastest possible autofocus locking times.”

The AR1337 is sampling in Bare die format today and is expected to be in mass production in Q2 2016.

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Samsung has increased the pixel pitch from 1.12um to 1.4um in its latest flagship smartphones Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, reducing the resolution from 16MP in the previous generation to 12MP now. The new sensor feature Dual Pixel AF (all pixel PDAF):


"The advantage of the Dual Pixel image sensor in the Galaxy S7 is most evident when taking pictures in a low-light environment. The newest smartphone model is equipped with 1.4um pixels (a 56 percent increase in size compared to the Galaxy S6) and a large F1.7 aperture (which allows for 25 percent more brightness). Combined, these features enable for 95 percent more light compared to its predecessor, which subsequently results in a much brighter and sharper image. Furthermore, the new model employs autofocusing at considerably faster speeds, allowing for faster shooting."

The company's Youtube videos emphasize the PDAF speed and low light capabilities of the new camera:

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SPIE publishes an article on curved sensor optics benefits "Current trends in miniature camera lens technology" by Dmitry Reshidko and José Sasian. The curved sensor are said to give a 1-stop advantage due to allowing optics with a larger aperture:

MTF of a mobile camera. (a) Conventional flat field design at f/2.2. (b) Representative lens imaging on a curved sensor at f/1.6. The lens imaging on a curved sensor is one f-number faster and shows more uniform performance over the field. OTF: Optical transfer function.

Sensitivity to lens element decenter (left) and tilt (right). Lens imaging on a curved sensor shows better as-built performance. The horizontal line indicates the nominal criterion value. RSS RMS: Root sum square, root mean square.

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It was brought to my attention that in 2007, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science published Max Plank Institute paper "A Novel Way of Single Optical Photon Detection: Beating the 1/f Noise Limit With Ultra High Resolution DEPFET-RNDR Devices" by Stefan Wolfel, Sven Herrmann, Peter Lechner, Gerhard Lutz, Matteo Porro, Rainer Richter, Lothar Struder, and Johannes Treis. The paper is also available for free download here. The described pixel structure allows a multiple reading and averaging of the photoelectric signal, so that 1/f noise can be averaged:


"In this work we demonstrate theoretically and experimentally the capability to reduce the readout noise of an optical and X-ray photon detector based on the semiconductor DEPFET device below a level of only 0.3e- ENC (equivalent noise charge). The readout method used is called "repetitive non destructive readout" (RNDR) and was realized by placing two single DEPFET-devices next to each other and by coupling their charge storing region by an additional gate. By transferring the stored charge from one DEPFET to the other and vice versa the same charge can be measured non-destructively and arbitrarily often. Taking the average value of a large number n of these measurements, the noise is reduced by 1/radicn. The main advantage of such a detector is to greatly reduce the contribution of the 1/f noise to the readout noise. The theoretically and experimentally achievable resolution for different operating parameters (leakage current, readout noise, number and duration of readouts) was investigated by Monte-Carlo simulations and verified on a real RNDR minimatrix (pixelarray). Single optical photon detection with high quantum efficiency and, even more fascinating, the possibility to distinguish between different numbers of photons, e.g., 100 from 101 are demonstrated in measurements."