19 June, 2006
111 Megapixel Camera, Anybody?
DALSA Semiconductor has just announced that they’ve developed a 111 megapixel CCD image sensor chip!
This square sensor measures 4″ by 4″ with a 9 µm pixel pitch, giving a resolution of 10,560 x 10,560 pixels. This is currently the world’s highest resolution image sensor chip, and also the first imager to break the 100 million pixel barrier.
Unfortunately for us the sensor is for astronomy, not digital cameras. I doubt many of us would be able to afford a camera containing such a chip anyway! Still, these types of pioneering projects tend to break new ground in the areas of technology and manufacturing, so we might get some kind of trickle-down improvements. Here’s hoping!
STA developed the record-breaking chip for the Astrometry Department of the U.S. Naval Observatory (“USNO”), funded by the Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research Program. The device will assist USNO in the determination of the positions and motions of stars, solar system objects and the establishment of celestial reference frames. DALSA Semiconductor manufactured the device for STA at its wafer fabrication facility in Bromont, Quebec.
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