R&D 100 winner of the day: Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) Camera

In many fields such as life science, quantum physics, and astronomy, the ability to image in ultra-low light is critical — so scientists and engineers can detect and count individual photons. Until now, photon-counting sensor options have had problematic limitations of higher noise, stochastic noise associated with avalanche gain, require deep cooling, cannot count multiple photons, and have low resolution. Gigajot Technology’s Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) Camera solves these problems and provides a powerful new imaging platform to advance scientific research and enable new discoveries. Because the deep sub-electron read noise is achieved with tiny pixels, magnifying lenses are not required, and life science samples can be studied without expensive optics. In the long run, the small pixel performance of the QIS Camera will migrate from high-end scientific applications to other markets where low light performance is valued, such as cell phones, surveillance, professional video, industrial, and automotive cameras.