Previously, the Hubble Space Telescope was one of the main space telescopes used for astronomical observations. However, it had limitations in deep space missions, which led to the invention of CMOS active pixel sensors. This new technology is now used not only in space missions but also in our everyday smart devices.
For a very long time, space observation has relied on the sensors of charge-coupled instruments, including the Hubble Space Telescope. This sensor works by converting incoming light into an electrical charge within its pixels. The accumulated charge is transmitted through the chip to an output node, where it is converted into a voltage signal that forms an image. However, charge-coupled devices were not ideal due to their sensitivity to radiation, high cost, and large power consumption.
Eric Fossum joined NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory with the mission of improving charge-coupled devices for use in space. Instead, he optimized a different technology, CMOS image sensor technology. He did this using a technique derived from charge-coupled devices called intra-pixel charge transfer with coherent double sampling. This technology eliminated background noise, resulting in sharper images and a higher signal-to-noise ratio. This invention led to the creation of the active pixel sensor, also called the “camera on a chip.”
Subsequently, the companies partnered with NASA, and the technology was improved and integrated into everyday devices. Today, these sensors are found in phones, cars, swallowable pill cameras, webcams, digital cameras, and much more. This innovation not only advanced space exploration, but also radically transformed the technology we use every day.
