Sarnoff Corporation

Francis Paul Pantuso

Peter Alan Levine

Nathaniel Joseph McCaffrey

Robert Amantea

Donald J Sauer

John Robertson Tower

Michael J Lurie

Donald Jones Channin

Robert Raymond Michael

A method and apparatus for low light imaging in which a plurality of relatively small detectors forming a line is coupled to a respective cell of a CCD register. A charge indicative of detected image information is provided to the respective cells after the cells are substantially discharged via a drain. The register is read by a control element to define therefrom a row of pixel information.

CMOS/CCD line transfer imager with low dark current

An infrared radiation detector includes a bolometer or micro-cantilever detector device which functions as a null detector in conjunction with electronic circuitry. The electronic circuitry senses a change in an output signal of the detector as the detector responds to infrared radiation incident upon the detector and provides a signal to a control element which provides a stimulus to the detector device to maintain the detector output signal at the same level. The element may be a piezoelectric element, a heater or a pair of electrodes and the corresponding stimulus may be stress, heat, or electrostatic change. The stimulus compensates for the effect of the infrared radiation and maintains the chosen detector output level at the same level. The nulling circuitry improves the linearity and dynamic range of the detector device.

Optical detectors using nulling for high linearity and large dynamic range

A MicroOptoElectroMechanical (MOEM) IR detector utilizes a novel combination of integrated MEMS and photonics to achieve high responsivity with low noise. Increasing incident radiant energy bends a bimaterial arm that moves a coupling waveguide into the evanescent field of a principal optical waveguide. This, in turn, modulates the light in the principal waveguide. This device has high detection sensitivity to incident radiation due to the combination of the length of the lever arm and the sensitivity of the evanescent field. The device exhibits low noise because photons are being modulated instead of electrons.

Optomechanical radiant energy detector

A imager has an array of photodetectors, each of which accumulates charge during an integration period as a result of light detected during said integration period, said array having a charge capacity which increases during the integration period. A charge capacity controller coupled to said imager adjusts how the imager increases the charge capacity of the array based upon the brightness distribution detected by said imager during at least one previous integration period.

Growing community of inventors

Robbinsville, NJ, United States of America

Francis Paul Pantuso