High spatial resolution, low inter-pixel crosstalk, high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), adequate application dependent speed, economical and energy efficient design are common goals sought after for optical image sensors. In optical microscopy, overcoming the diffraction limit in spatial resolution has been achieved using materials chemistry, optimal wavelengths, precision optics and nanomotion-mechanics for pixel-by-pixel scanning. Imagers based on pixelated imaging devices such as CCD/CMOS sensors avoid pixel-by-pixel scanning as all sensor pixels operate in parallel, but these imagers are fundamentally limited by inter-pixel crosstalk, in particular with interspersed bright and dim light zones. In this paper, we propose an agile pixel imager sensor design platform called Coded Access Optical Sensor (CAOS) that can greatly alleviate the mentioned fundamental limitations, empowering smart optical imaging for particular environments. Specifically, this novel CAOS imager engages an application dependent electronically programmable agile pixel platform using hybrid space-time-frequency coded multiple-access of the sampled optical irradiance map. We demonstrate the foundational working principles of the first experimental electronically programmable CAOS imager using hybrid time-frequency multiple access sampling of a known high contrast laser beam irradiance test map, with the CAOS instrument based on a Texas Instruments (TI) Digital Micromirror Device (DMD). This CAOS instrument provides imaging data that exhibits 77 dB electrical SNR and the measured laser beam image irradiance specifications closely match (i.e., within 0.75% error) the laser manufacturer provided beam image irradiance radius numbers. The proposed CAOS imager can be deployed in many scientific and non-scientific applications where pixel agility via electronic programmability can pull out desired features in an irradiance map subject to the CAOS imaging operation.
Proposed and experimentally demonstrated is the CAOS-CMOS camera design that combines the coded access optical sensor (CAOS) imager platform with the CMOS multi-pixel optical sensor. The unique CAOS-CMOS camera engages the classic CMOS sensor light staring mode with the time-frequency-space agile pixel CAOS imager mode within one programmable optical unit to realize a high dynamic range imager for extreme light contrast conditions. The experimentally demonstrated CAOS-CMOS camera is built using a digital micromirror device, a silicon point-photo-detector with a variable gain amplifier, and a silicon CMOS sensor with a maximum rated 51.3 dB dynamic range. White light imaging of three different brightness simultaneously viewed targets, that is not possible by the CMOS sensor, is achieved by the CAOS-CMOS camera demonstrating an 82.06 dB dynamic range. Applications for the camera include industrial machine vision, welding, laser analysis, automotive, night vision, surveillance and multispectral military systems.
For the first time, proposed and demonstrated is a simultaneous dual optical band coded access optical sensor (CAOS) camera design suited for extreme contrast multispectral bright target scenarios. Deploying a digital micromirror devices (DMDs)-based time-frequency agile pixels CAOS-mode within a two point detector spatially and spectrally isolating framework, this imager simultaneously and independently detects pixel selective image information for two different broad spectral bands that further undergo independent spectral image data extraction via finer-tuned wavelength filtering using all-optical or CAOS-mode electronic filters. A proof-of-concept visible-near infrared band CAOS imager is successfully demonstrated using a target scene containing LEDs and engaging narrowband optical filters. In addition, using the CAOS-mode, demonstrated is the RF domain simultaneous color content monitoring of a white light LED image pixel. Also proposed is the use of a higher bit count analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with both range and sampling duration parameter control along with a larger data set electronic DSP to extract higher DSP gain and realize additional noise suppression. Using a 16-bit ADC and 2,097,152 point fast Fourier transform (FFT) digital signal processing (DSP) for a 633 nm laser engaged test target scene that is subject to nearly 7 decades (107) of gradual optical attenuation, the experimental camera demonstrates an agile pixel extreme dynamic range of 136 dB, which is a 56 dB improvement over the previous CAOS-imaging demonstrations.
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