bildsensorens

Bildsensoren, also known as image sensors, are electronic devices that convert an optical image into an electrical signal. They are the core component of digital cameras, smartphones, and many other imaging devices. The most common types of image sensors are charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensors. Both technologies capture light and convert it into digital data, but they do so through different mechanisms.

CCDs were among the first widely adopted image sensor technologies. They work by transferring charge packets from one pixel to the next across the sensor until they reach an output amplifier. This process is highly effective at producing low-noise images but can be power-intensive and slower than CMOS.

CMOS sensors, on the other hand, have an amplifier and other circuitry at each pixel. This allows for faster readout speeds and lower power consumption. While early CMOS sensors had higher noise levels than CCDs, advancements in technology have significantly closed this gap, making CMOS the dominant sensor technology in most consumer electronics today.

The process of image capture involves light striking the sensor's photosensitive elements, typically photodiodes. These photodiodes generate an electrical charge proportional to the intensity of the light received. For color imaging, these photodiodes are usually covered with a color filter array (CFA), most commonly a Bayer filter, which assigns red, green, or blue sensitivity to each pixel. The captured electrical signals are then processed to reconstruct the final digital image.