2005 Volume 68 Issue 1 Pages 3-8
Until the end of 1990's, the CCD image sensor had been a technology of choice for any imaging applications except for a few niche market applications. However, the recent progress of CMOS image sensor technology is remarkable, enabling the CMOS image sensors be used in cell phone cameras and PC cameras. Also, large-format CMOS image sensors are used in digital single-lens-reflex cameras.
In this article, features, architectures and operations of the CMOS image sensor are described, following a brief description of the history of CMOS image sensor developments. Applications of the CMOS image sensor for digital still cameras are briefly addressed.
