An angle-sensitive pixel (ASP) is a
CMOS sensor with a sensitivity to incoming light that is
sinusoidal in incident angle.
[A. Wang, P. Gill, and A. Molnar, "Light field image sensors based on the talbot effect," ''Applied Optics'', vol. 48, no. 31, pp. 5897–5905, 2009.](_blank)
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Principles of operation
ASPs are typically composed of two gratings (a diffraction grating
In optics, a diffraction grating is an optical component with a periodic structure that diffracts light into several beams travelling in different directions (i.e., different diffraction angles). The emerging coloration is a form of structur ...
and an analyzer grating) above a single photodiode. ASPs exploit the moire effect and the Talbot effect
The Talbot effect is a diffraction effect first observed in 1836 by Henry Fox Talbot. When a plane wave is incident upon a periodic diffraction grating, the image of the grating is repeated at regular distances away from the grating plane. The reg ...
to gain their sinusoidal light sensitivity. According to the moire effect, if light acted as a particle, at certain incident angles the gaps in the diffraction and analyzer gratings line up, while at other incident angles light passed by the diffraction grating is blocked by the analyzer grating. The amount of light reaching the photodiode would be proportional to a sinusoidal function of incident angle, as the two gratings come in and out of phase with each other with shifting incident angle. The wave nature of light becomes important at small scales such as those in ASPs, meaning a pure-moire model of ASP function is insufficient. However, at half-integer multiples of the Talbot depth, the periodicity of the diffraction grating is recapitulated, and the moire effect is rescued. By building ASPs where the vertical separation between the gratings is approximately equal to a half-integer multiple of the Talbot depth, the sinusoidal sensitivity with incident angle is observed.
Applications
ASPs can be used in miniature imaging devices. They do not require any focusing elements to achieve sinusoidal incident angle sensitivity, meaning that they can be deployed without a lens to image the near field, or the far field using a Fourier-complete planar Fourier capture array
A planar Fourier capture array (PFCA) is a tiny camera that requires no mirror, lens, focal length, or moving parts. It is composed of angle-sensitive pixels, which can be manufactured in unmodified CMOS processes.
Angle-sensitive pixels h ...
. They can also be used in conjunction with a lens, in which case they perform a depth-sensitive, physics-based wavelet
A wavelet is a wave-like oscillation with an amplitude that begins at zero, increases or decreases, and then returns to zero one or more times. Wavelets are termed a "brief oscillation". A taxonomy of wavelets has been established, based on the num ...
transform of the far-away scene, allowing single-lens 3D photography
See also
*Planar Fourier capture array
A planar Fourier capture array (PFCA) is a tiny camera that requires no mirror, lens, focal length, or moving parts. It is composed of angle-sensitive pixels, which can be manufactured in unmodified CMOS processes.
Angle-sensitive pixels h ...
References
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Image sensors
Integrated circuits