Single Pixel Camera - Low-cost Infrared Imaging

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1 Single Pixel Camera - Low-cost Infrared Imaging Infrared cameras are used in a variety of industrial applications but they can be expensive with their many millions of pixel arrays. What if you had a cheaper camera that could do the same but with just one pixel? With the Single Pixel Camera, this is now possible. QuantIC is developing cameras that have only one pixel, but when combined with the technology similar to that found in a digital cinema projector these single pixel cameras still produce real time video. The advantage of the single pixel approach is that it is much cheaper than a multimillion infrared pixel array, where traditional cameras are expensive or even impossible. We are already working with the private sector on a number of different industrial applications including the imaging of leaking gas with M Squared Lasers and a 3D imaging project with Finmeccanica-Selex ES. QuantIC is interested in further technical modifications leading to new applications of this technology to address market needs and deliver competitive advantage in the following areas: Agriculture and Food processing Emergency services Medical imaging Environmental monitoring Professor Miles Padgett miles.padgett@glasgow.ac.uk

2 QuantiCam of Light - Imaging at the Speed What camera can see a cyclist approaching around a corner, determine the right time to harvest cauliflowers and detect cancer under the skin? A superfast QuantiCam. These are some of the applications that could be unlocked by a camera so fast it can image light propagating in real time through the air. QuantIC is developing camera systems that can both detect a single photon while also noting the time, to an accuracy of less than 50ps, of when the photon arrived. This level of sensitivity and performance has enabled us to film light in flight. QuantiCam s sensors have been developed in collaboration with ST Microelectronics and offer a route to manufacture. Proof of principle projects are under development in collaboration with a range of industry partners including Thales and M Squared Lasers to explore possible applications where camera systems based on QuantiCam s sensors can deliver competitive advantage. We are now looking for new industry partners interested in developing systems and possible modifications based on this technology to address market needs in the following areas: Seeing around corners collision avoidance, fire and rescue services, defense and security Monitoring the ripeness and health of fruit and vegetables Remote 3D imaging (>1 km in air, > 8 absorption lengths in water) Non-invasive medical imaging Scientific instrumentation for research and development Professor Daniele Faccio D.faccio@hw.ac.uk

3 IndiPix - Mid-infrared sensing and imaging technology How can we image CO 2 emissions? How can we develop cameras that can image in low light conditions, or image particular biological structures? Medium wavelength infrared sensors based on antimonides are already available and QuantIC is developing IndiPix, a new kind of image sensor based on this technology that will open new applications in biological imaging, security and sensing. Using a novel semiconductor device architecture we have demonstrated an active InSb pixel technology capable of addressing individual pixel of a focal plane array without the need for a flip-chipped read-out input-output circuit. The new technology will enable conventional low-cost technology to be used instead. Work is now underway to develop the world s first active pixel mid-ir camera sensor. QuantIC is working in collaboration with a range of industry partners including Gas Sensing Solutions and we are looking for partners interested in new imaging sensors based on this technology and possible modifications to address market needs and deliver competitive advantage in the following areas: Gas sensing Biological imaging Agricultural and Food storage applications Energy and Environmental monitoring Cameras using IndiPix will be able to see Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) Professor David Cumming david.cumming.2@glasgow.ac.uk

4 Led-by-LED - Self-location based on a micro-led array How can a device determine its own position using lighting in a room? How can smart lighting be used to transmit information? LED lights are commonly used in lighting rooms and at QuantIC we are developing ultrafast LED illumination capable of projecting patterns and sending information at such fast speed, greater than 100MHz, that are also undetectable to the human eye. The patterns are used by sensing devices to determine their position accurately within an environment and the information can direct them to undertake tasks. QuantIC has worked with industry partner mled on developing the new technology and is now seeking to advance demonstrator projects in collaboration with a range of industry partners to explore possible applications where the led-by-led technology can address market needs and deliver competitive advantage in the following areas: Smart lighting systems Internet of things Optical wireless communications Medical instrumentation Professor Martin Dawson m.dawson@strath.ac.uk

5 TeraCAM - Imaging between the IR and radio waves How can you design a camera that can see under the skin? How can you inspect semiconductor devices or even detect drugs? The electromagnetic spectrum is broad from UV to visible, infrared and beyond. Between the IR and radio waves lies the Terahertz region. At QuantIC we are developing camera systems that can image this terahertz light opening applications ranging from security monitoring and manufacturing inspection to skin cancer detection. The camera systems being developed rely on exploiting widely available CMOS technology and the novel integration of a metamaterial structure. The technique is linearly scalable to other wavelengths, from the IR to microwave, providing a powerful new low cost method for building image sensors. QuantIC is looking to develop the TeraCAM by working with companies interested in new imaging sensors based on this technology and possible modifications to address market needs and deliver competitive advantage in the following areas: Environmental monitoring Manufacturing inspection Medical instrumentation Agriculture Professor David Cumming david.cumming.2@glasgow.ac.uk

6 Wee-g Imager An ultra-sensitive Gravity Imagine using your mobile phone to predict volcanic eruptions, find oil and gas reservoirs and sense objects buried underground? Sensors already present in your mobile phone are capable of detecting the orientation of your screen. At QuantIC we are taking this technology to the next level with Wee-g, the most sensitive Micro Electro Mechanical Sensor (MEMS) device ever developed. The device has a target sensitivity of 10ng/ HZ and will be able to measure acceleration variances in all three directions. Wee-g is compact in size and with its integrated optical readout is the size of a golf ball. The device is entirely fabricated as a single component from solid silicon, offering the most attractive cost to performance ratio in the marketplace. QuantIC would like to develop Wee-g technology demonstrator projects in collaboration with a range of industry partners to explore possible applications where the technology can deliver competitive advantage in the following areas: Oil and gas prospecting and reservoir monitoring Civil engineering and detection of underground structures Environmental monitoring and volcanology Navigation Aerospace Professor Giles Hammond giles.hammond@glasgow.ac.uk

7 Single Photon Imaging- Superconducting Nanowire Arrays One of Einstein s seminal contributions to modern science was the insight that light, at a fundamental level, is comprised of quantized packets of energy known as photons. A century later, the ability to detect low energy infrared photons holds the key to a host of applications, spanning secure communications, atmospheric remote sensing and medical diagnostics. QuantIC is developing some of the world s most advanced infrared photon counting technologies. Professor Robert Hadfield is leading the development of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs), using the world class nanofabrication capability of the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre at the University of Glasgow. Through QuantIC his team are scaling up from single pixel SNSPD devices to large area arrays, and developing next generation miniaturized cryogenic platforms. SNSPDs offer key advantages over conventional single photon avalanche diodes and photomultipliers: Single photon sensitivity from visible to mid infrared wavelengths Near unity efficiency Low dark count rates (Hz) Excellent timing resolution (20 ps) Short reset times enabling GHz count rates A recent Market Survey confirmed the tremendous potential of this technology in a variety of growing application areas, including: Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) Remote sensing Astronomy Free space communications Integrated circuit testing Medical diagnostics For more information, please contact: Professor Robert Hadfield robert.hadfield@glasgow.ac.uk