We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

Broadband imaging chips are coming

Way back in 1994 or thereabouts I wrote in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society about future applications of nanotechnology on spacecraft to get sensing in depth across all wavelengths in all directions at once. Well, it looks like we are getting there:

THE NEXT GENERATION.
Beyond the realm of CMOS and CCD image sensors, SiOnyx Inc. is developing a new material called “black silicon.” The company believes the material will lead to a new class of image sensors that are 100 times more sensitive than conventional silicon, detect energy from the ultraviolet to the short-wave infrared bands, operate at very low voltage levels, and can be made in extremely thin 0.5-µm forms (Fig. 5). Most importantly, the material is compatible with existing CMOS processing methods.

“This is a brand new material that is compatible with the largest manufacturing infrastructure of the world,” says Stephen Saylor, SiOnyx’s president and CEO.

I am guessing that ‘black silicon’ might be carbon nanotube technology or it might simply be an array that is so good at sucking up light that it appears black due to lack of wasted reflected photons. Whatever the case, I believe this is just the start of the sort of sensors I would like to see on spacecraft.

4 comments to Broadband imaging chips are coming

  • Kevin B

    So that could mean smaller, cheaper, more numerous observation satellites and CCTV cameras then.

    Google Street and Google Earth in real time and high definition.

    Might lead to scenes like this in a courtroom near you though.

    “Well, Your honour, I was monitoring Acacia Avenue in a westerly direction when I observed that number 62 was emitting 243 watts above the permitted allowance under the Look! Pretty Bunnies, (Carbon) Act, 2012

    “I immediately dispatched a SWAT team who, upon entering and searching the premises, discovered a 6 inch tear in the loft insulation.

    “It should be noted at this time that after the SWAT team had left, the doors and windows of the premises were emitting 2436 watts above the limit.”

    “I find the defendant guilty as charged, Anything known, inspector?”

    “Yes your honour, on examining the video database under the Look! Pretty Bunnies, (Datamining) Act 2012 I observed the defendant putting garden waste, to wit a dandelion that he had viciously pulled from his lawn, into his recycling bin.”

    “£2 trillion fine and 6 months in the Dartmoor Social Awareness, (Eco Criminals) re-education facility.

    “Next case.”

  • Thom

    http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1999/12.09/silicon.html

    Possibly the origin of this?

    Kevin,

    It might also be the technology giving eye-sight back to the blind, improving chemical, light and motion detectors for a whole plethora of “good uses” and a whole host of light-energy harvesting technologies – localised power generation from solar source using clean, non-toxic technologies become a reality, for example.

  • Kevin B

    Oh, I agree Thom, and I hope it pans out. Faster please as Insty would say. Sensor technolgy based on this could help us learn a whole lot more about our Planet, our Solar system, our Galaxy and our Universe, not to mention the advances that could come from improved medical imaging technology.

    It’s just that… Well, councils in the UK are already hiring planes with IR cameras to monitor which houses are the least energy efficient, and local police forces are using anti-terrorism legislation to spy on peoples rubbish bin habits.

    We will have to continue the debate on the database and surveillance society started by the likes of Asimov and Brin many years ago. It’s here and it will get more ubiquitous and intrusive so we need to deal with it.

    Personally, if I can follow our Lords and Masters in real-time and HD using Google Street and Google Earth in the same way that they can follow me and, if I catch them out in any misdemeanours, they can expect the same punishment as me, then perhaps I can live with it.

  • Kevin: that link is unbelievable.

    A spy plane equipped with a thermal imaging camera has been flying over homes in part of Norfolk in the latest drive to reduce energy loss.

    The plane itself doesn’t use any energy, I’m sure. These people need to be locked up.