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SuperResolution Image Processing Lab.

Preface

2003.09.06 11:23

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Preface




Considerable attention has recently been focused on imaging sensors, imaging systems and recording media, since visual perception of scenes can be done by electronic machines and computers through these elements. Along with increasing interest, the development of device physics theories with integrated circuit technology has successfully allowed the interconnection of thousands of tiny semiconductors in a rectangular array to create imagers, called CCD and CMOS imaging sensors. It is widely acknowledged that these devices have important advantages over classical film based sensing media. Imaging systems employing CCD and CMOS imaging sensors are now almost universal in various areas for scientific, medical, and consumer electronic purposes.

There are several groups of people who are interested in and work on/with these imaging devices: In one group, device physicists and engineers including circuit designers have invented and tried to improve the theories and technology for manufacturing and fabricating the sensors after performance evaluation and analysis. This group of people have contributed an enormous amount to the current status of sensor technology. In the other group, more number of people than those in the first are on the user side and they adopt the devices for applications and purposes to achieve their goals. However, the second group of people should not be considered mere beneficiaries, as they have found various artifacts, malfunctioning, and physical limitations of the devices when they apply the sensors to their various applications. Such discoveries serve as important feedback for the first group to modify, reinvent, and improve the conventional theories, designs and fabrication processes to overcome the problems raised.

This volume is organized to focus on this recursive technical progress and the development of CCD and CMOS sensor technology. From the sensor user’s point of view, the physical limitations found in many imaging applications are introduced in sections and how to get over the problems are presented with a collection of papers. First, the historical progress of technical development including the initial invention and current technical trend is shown in Section 1. In Section 2, the intrinsic physical limitations with CCD and CMOS imaging sensors, as well as the efforts made to overcome the problems, are described. Section 3 shows various application areas of the imaging sensors.

Undoubtedly, if any physical limitation occurs with sensors, we have to investigate the causes and will try to overcome it based on device physics and circuit technology. In addition to this natural procedure, another promising approach to overcome the limitation is introduced in this volume, which is based on signal processing technology. The physical limitations and the resulting artifacts are considered as signals generated and come out from the sensing mechanism (system). After analyzing the system models, the problems can be solved by mathematical inverse procedure, which is implemented and located right after the output signal nodes as a postprocessor or postprocessing algorithm. In order to stimulate interest in this alternative but efficient way, the preface comes with a paper “Physical Limitations of Imaging Sensors : An Alternative Approach to Overcome Them”, which describes several types of artifacts with imaging sensors and introduces the postprocessing approach mentioned above.

I would like to thank Professor Brian J. Thompson, the series editor, for suggesting that I edit this volume and to acknowledge Mr. Eunchoel Choi and Mr. Jongsung Choi for their editorial assistance as well as article contribution. I also appreciate Mrs. Margaret Thayer’s editorial efforts.



Moon Gi Kang
Yonsei University
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
April, 2003
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