Performance of PHOTONIS' low light level CMOS imaging sensors for long range observation

Author(s):  
Loig E. Bourree
Photonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 321
Author(s):  
Bowen Wang ◽  
Yan Zou ◽  
Linfei Zhang ◽  
Yan Hu ◽  
Hao Yan ◽  
...  

Wide field-of-view (FOV) and high-resolution (HR) imaging are essential to many applications where high-content image acquisition is necessary. However, due to the insufficient spatial sampling of the image detector and the trade-off between pixel size and photosensitivity, the ability of current imaging sensors to obtain high spatial resolution is limited, especially under low-light-level (LLL) imaging conditions. To solve these problems, we propose a multi-scale feature extraction (MSFE) network to realize pixel-super-resolved LLL imaging. In order to perform data fusion and information extraction for low resolution (LR) images, the network extracts high-frequency detail information from different dimensions by combining the channel attention mechanism module and skip connection module. In this way, the calculation of the high-frequency components can receive greater attention. Compared with other networks, the peak signal-to-noise ratio of the reconstructed image was increased by 1.67 dB. Extensions of the MSFE network are investigated for scene-based color mapping of the gray image. Most of the color information could be recovered, and the similarity with the real image reached 0.728. The qualitative and quantitative experimental results show that the proposed method achieved superior performance in image fidelity and detail enhancement over the state-of-the-art.


Author(s):  
Carolynn A. Moore ◽  
Alec Brown ◽  
Christian Sias ◽  
Timothy R. Robinson ◽  
Toomas H. Allik

Author(s):  
G.Y. Fan ◽  
J.M. Cowley

In recent developments, the ASU HB5 has been modified so that the timing, positioning, and scanning of the finely focused electron probe can be entirely controlled by a host computer. This made the asynchronized handshake possible between the HB5 STEM and the image processing system which consists of host computer (PDP 11/34), DeAnza image processor (IP 5000) which is interfaced with a low-light level TV camera, array processor (AP 400) and various peripheral devices. This greatly facilitates the pattern recognition technique initiated by Monosmith and Cowley. Software called NANHB5 is under development which, instead of employing a set of photo-diodes to detect strong spots on a TV screen, uses various software techniques including on-line fast Fourier transform (FFT) to recognize patterns of greater complexity, taking advantage of the sophistication of our image processing system and the flexibility of computer software.


Author(s):  
W. Lin ◽  
J. Gregorio ◽  
T.J. Holmes ◽  
D. H. Szarowski ◽  
J.N. Turner

A low-light level video microscope with long working distance objective lenses has been built as part of our integrated three-dimensional (3-D) light microscopy workstation (Fig. 1). It allows the observation of living specimens under sufficiently low light illumination that no significant photobleaching or alternation of specimen physiology is produced. The improved image quality, depth discrimination and 3-D reconstruction provides a versatile intermediate resolution system that replaces the commonly used dissection microscope for initial image recording and positioning of microelectrodes for neurobiology. A 3-D image is displayed on-line to guide the execution of complex experiments. An image composed of 40 optical sections requires 7 minutes to process and display a stereo pair.The low-light level video microscope utilizes long working distance objective lenses from Mitutoyo (10X, 0.28NA, 37 mm working distance; 20X, 0.42NA, 20 mm working distance; 50X, 0.42NA, 20 mm working distance). They provide enough working distance to allow the placement of microelectrodes in the specimen.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1261
Author(s):  
Riccardo Roncella ◽  
Nazarena Bruno ◽  
Fabrizio Diotri ◽  
Klaus Thoeni ◽  
Anna Giacomini

Digital surface models (DSM) have become one of the main sources of geometrical information for a broad range of applications. Image-based systems typically rely on passive sensors which can represent a strong limitation in several survey activities (e.g., night-time monitoring, underground survey and night surveillance). However, recent progresses in sensor technology allow very high sensitivity which drastically improves low-light image quality by applying innovative noise reduction techniques. This work focuses on the performances of night-time photogrammetric systems devoted to the monitoring of rock slopes. The study investigates the application of different camera settings and their reliability to produce accurate DSM. A total of 672 stereo-pairs acquired with high-sensitivity cameras (Nikon D800 and D810) at three different testing sites were considered. The dataset includes different camera configurations (ISO speed, shutter speed, aperture and image under-/over-exposure). The use of image quality assessment (IQA) methods to evaluate the quality of the images prior to the 3D reconstruction is investigated. The results show that modern high-sensitivity cameras allow the reconstruction of accurate DSM in an extreme low-light environment and, exploiting the correct camera setup, achieving comparable results to daylight acquisitions. This makes imaging sensors extremely versatile for monitoring applications at generally low costs.


1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lianfa Bai ◽  
Qian Chen ◽  
Dekui Yin ◽  
Baomin Zhang

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