• Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Semiconductor for You
  • Home
  • Semiconductor News
  • Technology
    • Automotive
    • Consumer Electronics
    • IoT
    • Lighting
    • Power Management
    • Wireless
    • Personal Electronics
    • Hardware & Software
    • Research
    • Medical Electronics
    • Embedded Design
    • Aerospace & Defence
    • Artificial Intelligence
  • DIY Projects
  • Market
  • Industries
    • Renesas Electronics
  • Knowledge Base
  • Events
  • Tools
    • Resistor Color Code Calculator
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Semiconductor News
  • Technology
    • Automotive
    • Consumer Electronics
    • IoT
    • Lighting
    • Power Management
    • Wireless
    • Personal Electronics
    • Hardware & Software
    • Research
    • Medical Electronics
    • Embedded Design
    • Aerospace & Defence
    • Artificial Intelligence
  • DIY Projects
  • Market
  • Industries
    • Renesas Electronics
  • Knowledge Base
  • Events
  • Tools
    • Resistor Color Code Calculator
No Result
View All Result
Semiconductor for You
No Result
View All Result
Home Semiconductor News

Caltech Team Creates Lens From Optical Phased Array

Semiconductor For You by Semiconductor For You
June 27, 2017
in Semiconductor News
0

Caltech engineers have developed a new camera design that replaces lenses with an ultra-thin optical phased array (OPA). The OPA does computationally what lenses do using large pieces of glass: it manipulates incoming light to capture an image.

The OPA has a large array of light receivers, each of which can individually add a tightly controlled time delay (or phase shift) to the light it receives, enabling the camera to selectively look in different directions and focus on different things.

It uses a heterodyne architecture on a thin silicon-photonics integrated SOI (silicon on insulator) substrate. The receiving beam width is 0.75° and the beam steering range is 8°.

“Here, like most other things in life, timing is everything. With our new system, you can selectively look in a desired direction and at a very small part of the picture in front of you at any given time, by controlling the timing with femto-second – quadrillionth of a second – precision,” says Ali Hajimiri, Bren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science at Caltech, and the principal investigator of a paper describing the new camera.

The paper ‘An 8X8 Heterodyne Lens-less OPA Camera’ was presented at the Optical Society of America’s (OSA) Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO) and published online by the OSA in the OSA Technical Digest in March 2017.

“We’ve created a single thin layer of integrated silicon photonics that emulates the lens and sensor of a digital camera, reducing the thickness and cost of digital cameras. It can mimic a regular lens, but can switch from a fish-eye to a telephoto lens instantaneously – with just a simple adjustment in the way the array receives light,” Hajimiri says.

Phased arrays, (used in wireless comms), are collections of individual transmitters, all sending out the same signal as waves. The waves interfere constructively and destructively, amplifying the signal in one direction while canceling it out elsewhere. Thus, an array can create a tightly focused beam of signal, which can be steered in different directions by staggering the timing of transmissions made at various points across the array.

A similar principle is used in reverse in an optical phased array receiver, which is the basis for the new camera. Light waves that are received by each element across the array cancel each other from all directions, except for one. In that direction, the waves amplify each other to create a focused ‘gaze’ that can be electronically controlled.

“What the camera does is similar to looking through a thin straw and scanning it across the field of view. We can form an image at an incredibly fast speed by manipulating the light instead of moving a mechanical object,” says graduate student Reza Fatemi, lead author of the OSA paper.

Last year, Hajimiri’s team rolled out a one-dimensional version of the camera that was capable of detecting images in a line, such that it acted like a lensless barcode reader but with no mechanically moving parts. This year’s advance was to build the first two-dimensional array capable of creating a full image. This first 2D lensless camera has an array composed of just 64 light receivers in an 8 by 8 grid. The resulting image has low resolution. But this system represents a proof of concept for a fundamental rethinking of camera technology, Hajimiri and his colleagues say.

“The applications are endless,” says graduate student Behrooz Abiri, coauthor of the OSA paper. “Even in today’s smartphones, the camera is the component that limits how thin your phone can get. Once scaled up, this technology can make lenses and thick cameras obsolete. It may even have implications for astronomy by enabling ultra-light, ultra-thin enormous flat telescopes on the ground or in space.”

“The ability to control all the optical properties of a camera electronically using a paper-thin layer of low-cost silicon photonics without any mechanical movement, lenses, or mirrors, opens a new world of imagers that could look like wallpaper, blinds, or even wearable fabric,” says Hajimiri. Next, the team will work on scaling up the camera by designing chips that enable much larger receivers with higher resolution and sensitivity.

This research was funded by the Rothenberg Innovation Initiative, previously known as the Caltech Innovation Initiative.

Array of light receivers could make cameras thinner, cheaper, and more flexible
Array of light receivers could make cameras thinner, cheaper, and more flexible
Content Protection by DMCA.com
Semiconductor For You

Semiconductor For You

Browse by Category

  • Aerospace and Defence
  • Articles
  • Automotive
  • Consumer-Electronics
  • Hardware & Software
  • Interview
  • IoT
  • Knowledge Base
  • Lighting
  • Market
  • personal-electronics
  • Power Management
  • Research
  • Semiconductor Events
  • Semiconductor News
  • Technology
  • Wireless
Semiconductor for You

Semiconductor For You is a resource hub for electronics engineers and industrialist. With its blend of
technology features, news and new product information, Semiconductor For You keeps designers and
managers up to date with the fastest moving industry in the world.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Aerospace and Defence
  • Articles
  • Automotive
  • Consumer-Electronics
  • Hardware & Software
  • Interview
  • IoT
  • Knowledge Base
  • Lighting
  • Market
  • personal-electronics
  • Power Management
  • Research
  • Semiconductor Events
  • Semiconductor News
  • Technology
  • Wireless

Recent News

SEGGER’s Ozone now available for macOS on the M1/M2 (ARM-core) by popular demand

SEGGER’s Ozone now available for macOS on the M1/M2 (ARM-core) by popular demand

March 28, 2023
Infineon AIROC™ CYW20829 Bluetooth LE SoC ready with latest Bluetooth 5.4 specification

Infineon AIROC™ CYW20829 Bluetooth LE SoC ready with latest Bluetooth 5.4 specification

March 24, 2023
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2022 Semiconductor For You

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Semiconductor News
  • Technology
    • IoT
    • Wireless
    • Power Management
    • Automotive
    • Hardware & Software
  • Market
  • Knowledge Base
  • Tools
    • Resistor Color Code Calculator

© 2022 Semiconductor For You

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT