Latest News
2012-02-20 - NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTION : A stereoscopic camera based upon NIT Native WDR CMOS sensor...
NIT has introduced a stereoscopic camera based upon its global shutter high dynamic range CMOS sensor NSC1001. This unit and [...]
2012-01-26 - Come to see us at OPTRO, booth 25 and see our Native Wide Dynamic Range™ sensors...
NIT will exhibit at the forthcoming show OPTRO 2012 in Paris, February 8-10, and will present its Native [...]
2012-01-12 - Visit us at Photonics West, booth 2211, and see our native WDR™ products..
NIT will participate to the Photonics West Show 2012 in San Francisco, January 24-26, where we will [...]
Core technology : MAGIC™
Our core technology, named as MAGIC™ is the result of 15 years of continuous R&D investment performed by the VLSI R&D team of the French Institute of Telecommunication. All these R&D efforts and the associated patents have been entirely brought to NIT for exploitation.
MAGIC™ is a breakthrough technology in which each pixel photodiode is used as an individual solar cell. The immediate benefits of this mode are :
- Intrinsic High Dynamic Range of more than 120 dB in every pixel – no need for companion chips or complicated registers to setup.
- True and accurate logarithmic signal response to illumination without smearing or image lagging
- No accommodation of ambient light variation and no noticeable fixed pattern noise within the image
- Operability at high temperature (>90°C) without image degradation. There are no hot pixels or flickers appearing with increase of temperature
Contact us to receive our white paper on MAGIC™ technology
|
|
|
|
CORE TECHNOLOGY: MAGIC™
Have you ever though that one day, the dynamic range of an imaging sensor could be the same as a human eye?
Today, NATIVE WDR™ (NATIVE Wide Dynamic Range™) From New Imaging Technologies is able to make your dream comes true.
Based on its own proprietary technology, MAGIC ™ ,which stands for Matrice à Génération Indexée sur Contraste, NATIVE WDR™ sensors deliver a fully contrast conserving image sensing over a large dynamic range without saturation, contrast losses and the need of any external control. This extremely easy to use –Power In- Image Out – digs a huge gap on the world of high dynamic range Imaging Sensors.
The concept of MAGIC™ imaging technology is based upon an extremely innovative pixel architecture where each individual pixel operates as a single solar cell. The image signal is formed by the open-circuit voltage of a photodiode under illumination. In the photovoltaic mode, the open-circuit voltage is proportional to logarithm of the incident light intensity on a very large dynamic range. This native logarithmic response, like a human eye (Weber Law), palliates the major troubles of imaging sensors when they are faced to a scene with high contrast and illumination changes.
|
|
On the Left: Photodiode operating in Direct Integration mode (classical CMOS sensors). Photons are accumulated on a limited capacitor and then the photocurrent is read.
On the Right: Photodiode operating in Solar Cell Mode. The voltage across the photodiode junction is directly measured to obtain the images. This direct measurement of voltage allows images without saturation or blooming.
On the Left: Linear response of a conventional CMOS sensor
On the Right: True logarithmic response of a Native WDR™ sensor, with no saturation and no accommodation
In addition to the high dynamic performance, never reached so far (the SNR can be maintained over 6-7 decades of illumination changes), the noise behavior also marks a break with classical sensors.
For a classical photodiode operating on integration mode, the noise is fully present on the output signal. The more the number of photons increases, the more the noise level increases (Poisson law). With the Magic™ technology, the noise level is merged with all the shot noises in PN junction, so the noise level remains constant.
Finally, with their extreme ease of use, the NATIVE WDR™ breaks away with conventional sensors. You get a fully contrast conserving image sensing without multi-exposure or any setting of knee points, companion chip or additional FPGA: just “Power In –Image out”.