Quantum dot tech leading to ultra-quality phone cameras
updated 02:30 pm EDT, Mon March 22, 2010
InVisage QuantumFilm boosts cameraphone light
InVisage today showed a new technology that could improve the image quality for phone cameras. QuantumFilm replaces some of the silicon in an image sensor with a layer of quantum dots that get the imprint of an image and uses the remaining silicon to produce the final image. Since it covers the entire pixel, it jumps the amount of receivable light from 25 percent to as much as 95 percent and doubles the dynamic range in the process.
A sensor using QuantumFilm can not only capture more detail without needing higher ISO sensitivity but should also reduce the instances of clipped highlights or shadows. Both are important for photography as a whole but especially so for phones, where extremely dense sensors can produce excessive noise.
The first end products should be camera sensors for smartphones and other high-end devices, and should start sampling for phone makers in the fall. Finished products should start appearing sometime in 2011.
