What Does A Onebit Quanta Image Sensor Offer

• doi: 10.1109/TCI.2022.3202012
• title: What Does a One-Bit Quanta Image Sensor Offer?
• publisher: IEEE
• isbn:
• issn: 2573-0436
• rank: 4000
• access_type: LOCKED
• content_type: Journals
• abstract: The one-bit quanta image sensor (QIS) is a photon-counting device that captures image intensities using binary bits. Assuming that the analog voltage generated at the floating diffusion of the photodiode follows a Poisson-Gaussian distribution, the sensor produces either a “1” if the voltage is above a certain threshold or “0” if it is below the threshold. The concept of this binary sensor has been proposed for more than a decade and physical devices have been built to realize the concept. However, what benefits does a one-bit QIS offer compared to a conventional multi-bit CMOS image sensor? Besides the known empirical results, are there theoretical proofs to support these findings? The goal of this paper is to provide new theoretical support from a signal processing perspective. In particular, it is theoretically found that the sensor can offer three benefits: (1) Low-light: One-bit QIS performs better at low-light because it has a low read noise and its one-bit quantization can produce an error-free measurement. However, this requires the exposure time to be appropriately configured. (2) Frame rate: One-bit sensors can operate at a much higher speed because a response is generated as soon as a photon is detected. However, in the presence of read noise, there exists an optimal frame rate beyond which the performance will degrade. A Closed-form expression of the optimal frame rate is derived. (3) Dynamic range: One-bit QIS offers a higher dynamic range. The benefit is brought by two complementary characteristics of the sensor: nonlinearity and exposure bracketing. The decoupling of the two factors is theoretically proved, and closed-form expressions are derived.
• article_number: 9868147
• pdf_url: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=9868147
• html_url: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9868147/
• abstract_url: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9868147/
• publication_title: IEEE Transactions on Computational Imaging
• conference_location:
• conference_dates:
• publication_number: 6745852
• is_number: 9679468
• publication_year: 2022
• publication_date: 2022
• start_page: 770
• end_page: 783
• citing_paper_count: 9
• citing_patent_count: 0
• download_count: 576
• insert_date: 20220826
• index_terms:
  • ieee_terms:
    • Signal to noise ratio
    • Dynamic range
    • Mathematical models
    • Single-photon avalanche diodes
    • Photonics
    • Dark current
    • CMOS image sensors
  • author_terms:
    • Quanta image sensor (QIS)
    • single-photon image sensor
    • bit-density
    • read noise
    • quanta exposure
    • statistical estimation
    • signal processing
  • dynamic_index_terms:
    • Image Sensor
    • Camera Sensor
    • Quanta Image Sensor
    • Signal Processing
    • Dynamic Range
    • Frame Rate
    • Optimal Rate
    • Presence Of Noise
    • Analog Voltage
    • Binary Bits
    • Random Variables
    • Maximum Likelihood Estimation
    • Theoretical Results
    • Poisson Distribution
    • Poissonian
    • Probability Density Function
    • Integration Time
    • Quantum Efficiency
    • Error Probability
    • Density Data
    • Storage Density
    • Peak Signal-to-noise Ratio
    • Peak Signal To Noise Ratio
    • PSNR
    • Dark Current
    • Single-photon Avalanche Diode
    • Single Photon Avalanche Diode
    • Absence Of Noise
    • Lambert W Function
    • Omega Function
    • Logarithm Of The Product
    • Log Of Production
    • Function Of Exposure
    • Binary Random Variable
    • High Frame Rate
    • Sufficient Statistics
• authors:
  • Author Name: Stanley H. Chan
    Affiliation: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
    Author URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/author/37600910000
    ID: 37600910000
    Order: 1
    Author Affiliations:
    • School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

Image Sensor

• sensor_type: CMOS
• resolution: N/A
• dynamic_range: Higher dynamic range than conventional CMOS sensors due to exposure bracketing
• pixel_size: N/A
• dark_current: About 0.02 e-/s (e.g., the 2021 model by GigaJot Technology)

Optical Data

• focal_length: N/A
• aperture: N/A
• field_of_view: N/A
• distortion: N/A

Performance Metrics

• frame_rate: Much higher speed, potentially exceeding 16 k frames/second (for SPAD-QIS)
• signal_to_noise_ratio: Better performance at low-light due to low read noise
• sensitivity: N/A
• shutter_speed: N/A
• power_consumption: N/A
• noise: Read noise can be as low as 0.19 e- (for QIS)

Applications & Benefits

• cell_imaging: Can be used in low-light applications for small devices
• benefits: Lower read noise, higher dynamic range, and ability to perform exposure bracketing

Supporting Organizations

• supported_by: National Science Foundation under Grants IIS-2133032, ECCS-2030570, gifts from Intel Lab, Google

Manuscript Details

• publication_date: 2022

Relevancy Score

• score: 9
• missing_fields:
  • pixel_size
  • resolution of the sensor
  • frame rate
  • power consumption
  • dark current

Processed JSON Filename

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