SBIR-STTR Award

Continuous improvements in solid state imaging have led to various approaches to meet the combined demands of large format, low noise and high speed requirements. Novel CMOS technology provides the basis for a monolithic CMOS Imaging Sensor (CIS) that meet these demanding requirements. Powered by a multi-billion dollar consumer market, where performance requirements can be as equally demanding as military applications in terms of pixel size, power and sensitivity, this CIS technology is advancing at an accelerated pace. Customizations to CIS design parameters make it possible to meet the performance requirements for very large area dawn to dusk imaging conditions at an affordable price. With new CIS technology breakthroughs and system-on-chip integration the large format CIS will provide a low power, high speed, high performance, affordable imaging solution for persistent surveillance and other military applications.

Keywords:
Large Area Cmos, Monolithic Cmos, Low Light Level Cmos Imgaing Sensor (L3cis), Multi-Spectral, Wafer-Scale Cmos

Current state-of-the-art CMOS Imaging Sensor (CIS) technology has been improved dramatically over the past several years powered by a multi-billion dollar consumer market, where performance can be as equally demanding as military requirements in terms of pixel size, power and sensitivity. Fairchild Imaging has developed a 5.2 mega pixel monolithic CIS device which has shown excellent day/ low light performance coupled with low noise, high dynamic range and high frame rates. Further customization to CIS parameters makes it possible to meet the performance requirements for a very large area dawn to dusk CIS imager. There are several advantages of CIS technology for ISR applications, including large area with low power and high-speed operation, affordable cost, and system-on-chip integration. The combination of superior imaging performance and more efficient systems integration into reconnaissance payloads are significant advantages that make CIS the ideal technology for persistent surveillance.

Keywords:
Large Area Cmos, Monolithic Cmos, Low Light Level Cmos Imaging Sensor (L3cis), Wafer Scale Cmos, Large Format Cmos Image Sensor (Lfcis)