Angular Light, Polarization and Stokes Parameters Information in a Hybrid Image Sensor with Division of Focal Plane

Abstract

Targeting 3D image reconstruction and depth sensing, a desirable feature for complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors is the ability to detect local light incident angle and the light polarization. In the last years, advances in the CMOS technologies have enabled dedicated circuits to determine these parameters in an image sensor. However, due to the great number of pixels required in a cluster to enable such functionality, implementing such features in regular CMOS imagers is still not viable. The current state-of-the-art solutions require eight pixels in a cluster to detect local light intensity, incident angle and polarization. The technique to detect local incident angle is widely exploited in the literature, and the authors have shown in previous works that it is possible to perform the job with a cluster of only four pixels. In this work, the authors explore three novelties: a mean to determine three of four Stokes parameters, the new paradigm in polarization cluster-pixel design, and the extended ability to detect both the local light angle and intensity. The features of the proposed pixel cluster are demonstrated through simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) of the regular Quadrature Pixel Cluster and Polarization Pixel Cluster models, the results of which are compliant with experimental results presented in the literature.

Analysis of the Polarization Distribution and Spin Angular Momentum of the Interference Field Obtained by Co-Planar Beams with Linear and Circular Polarization

“…In the field of laser manipulation, such SAM distributions can also be used to implement micropumps and study the hydrodynamic interactions of numerous optically trapped nano-and microparticles. Research into these interactions will contribute to biological sciences and nanotechnology [64][65][66][67].…”

Anisotropic optical and electric properties of β-gallium oxide

“…Plasmonic meta-surfaces at sub-wavelength scale, at most one-fifth of the wavelength, are found to function as a polarizing mirror or a polarizer [52,53] . In addition, sub-wavelength metal grids were integrated with photodetectors to construct focal plane polarization photodetectors [54,55] . Our group reported enhancement of polarization response in UVA and UVC wavelength by placing sub-wavelength Au grids onto β-Ga 2 O 3 and wurtzite-ZnO materials (Fig.…”