Smart Pixels with Smart Illumination Smart pixels with smart illumination (SPSI) is a new approach to image sensor and processing. The SPSI concept, recently proposed by Prof. Babbitt of Montana State University and Prof. Darling of the University of Washington, involves the dynamic control of the spatial and temporal illumination of an object via feedback from the detected image. The optical design of a SPSI sensor enables the light from an array of smart emitters that scatters off a remote object to be optically coupled back to an array of smart photodetectors, even if the emitters and detectors are spatially and electronically integrated. Integrated enlitters and detectors enable dynamic and efficient illumination and sensing off remote objects on a pixel by pixel basis, leading to enhanced image processing capabilities and some radically new sensor designs. Some of the potential SPSI applications in sensor array technology include edge detection-, dynamic spotlight tracking system; a tracking sensor that monitors focus, translation, and rotation of a scribe line; winner-take-all neural networks that highlights the "winning" pixel; precise tracking of fluorescent objects; intensity compression algorithms; tracking, differential sensing, and error correction in page oriented memory and processing systems; pixel by pixel background subtraction; and ranging.
Simultaneous Submissions of Proposals This proposal was written collaboratively by Prof. Babbitt of Montana State University and Prof. Darling of the University of Washington, who are simultaneously submitting proposals with the same technical sections, but with separate budgets and supporting data for their respective institution. The two proposals are coupled and should be reviewed jointly, as the work of each institution relies on the expertise contribution of the other institution to achieve the proposed objectives. For each task in the research plan, the institution that has primary responsibility for its completion is identified.
Program Objectives The overall objective of the proposed program is the development of the SPSI concept and its potential applications from their embryonic stage to well defined and practical sensor systems. The research objectives of the proposed program are to 1) formalize the design of proposed SPSI applications, 2) model their performance, 3) design and fabricate the electronic and optical elements needed for SPSI, 4) demonstrate those implementations with the most promising attributes, and 5) map out a plan for future development of the SPSI concept.
Research Plan The proposed program benefits greatly from the acceptance of the SPSI concept for participation in the VCSEL Foundry Service, which supplies at no cost an integrated VCSEL/MSM array, a custom CMOS processing chip, a custom diffractive optical element, and a custom lenslet array. The initial research effort will focus on the design and utilization of these elements, building on our initial results with integrated LEDs and MSM detectors, which demonstrated the core SPSI optical and electronic feedback mechanisms. New electronic and optical devices will be designed, fabricated, and incorporated as needed. Advances in other integration technologies, including the silicon on sapphire technology being developed by Prof. Darling, will be examined and utilized to optimize SPSI sensor performance. The research program will require extensive design, fabrication, and testing of both electronic and optical devices and is thus strengthened by the collaboration between Prof. Babbitt, with his expertise in optical design and processing, and Prof. Darling, with his expertise in electronic and optoelectronic design and fabrication. ***
