SBIR Phase II: Room Temperature High Speed Photon Counting Quanta Image Sensor Camera for Scientific Imaging Applications

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是一个革命性的，高速，高分辨率和极高灵敏度的相机。这款量子图像传感器（QIS）相机将是市场上唯一一款在室温下具有光子计数能力的紧凑型互补金属氧化物半导体（CMOS）相机。该相机可用于高灵敏度非常重要的科学和医学成像应用。目前最先进的摄像头技术无法满足这些市场客户的需求，客户迫切需要更好的技术解决方案。QIS是一种平台成像技术，可用于广泛的成像应用，例如汽车，增强现实虚拟现实，安全监控等，其中需要高灵敏度，高分辨率和高速操作。全球图像传感器市场预计从2015年到2021年将以10.4%的年增长率扩张，到2021年将达到188亿美元的市场价值。由于QIS技术与主流CMOS生产线兼容，它有可能通过大批量生产来主导图像传感器和相机市场。拟议的项目解决了最先进的科学EMCCD相机的主要缺点，例如高噪声（在外部冷却的情况下大约1个电子读取噪声）、非线性响应和不可预测的读出增益、低分辨率、低速度巨大的体积和极高的功耗。在这个项目中，第二代量子图像传感器（QIS）芯片将被设计和制造，并将被实现为一个800万像素的QIS相机，可以以120帧/秒的速度工作，整个相机的功耗将低于几瓦。平均噪声约为0.25电子，在室温下解锁真实的光子数分辨，精度约为99%。模块化紧凑型QIS相机将包含一些外围数字IC芯片、电源、FPGA、USB 3接口等。将在相机模块中实现QIS图像处理算法，以根据从QIS成像仪接收的位形成输出图像。将进行先进的工业和商业标准测试和表征，以全面衡量原型QIS相机的性能。此外，相机将测试的测试客户和他们的反馈将收到改善QIS相机。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be a revolutionary, high-speed, high-resolution and extremely high-sensitivity camera. This Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) camera will be the only compact complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera in the market with photon counting capability at room temperature. This camera can be used in scientific and medical imaging applications where high-sensitivity is extremely important. The current state-of-the-art camera technologies cannot satisfy the needs of the customers in these markets, and customers are desperately seeking a better technical solution. The QIS is a platform imaging technology and can be used in a broad range of imaging applications, such as automotive, augmented-reality & virtual-reality, security & surveillance, among others, where high-sensitivity, high-resolution and high-speed operations are required. The global image sensor market is expected to expand at an annual growth rate of 10.4% from 2015 to 2021, reaching $18.8 billion market value by 2021. Since the QIS technology is compatible with the mainstream CMOS fabrication lines, it has the potential to dominate the image sensor and camera market by high-volume production.The proposed project addresses the major drawbacks of the state-of-the-art scientific EMCCD cameras, such as high noise (around 1 electron read noise with external cooling), nonlinear response and unpredictable readout gain, low-resolution, low-speed, massive size and extremely high-power consumption. In this project, the second generation Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) chip will be designed and fabricated, and will be implemented into an 8 megapixel QIS camera which can function at 120 frames/s and the whole camera power consumption will be less than a few Watts. The average noise will be around 0.25 electron that unlocks the true photon-number-resolving at room temperature, with about 99% accuracy. The modular compact QIS camera will contain some peripheral digital IC chips, power supplies, FPGA, USB 3 interface, etc. A QIS image processing algorithm will be implemented in the camera module to form an output image from the bits received from the QIS imager. Advanced industrial and commercial standard tests and characterizations will be performed to comprehensively measure the performance of the prototype QIS camera. Also, the camera will be tested by beta-customers and their feedback will be received to improve the QIS camera. The QIS camera will be available in monochrome and color.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.