A 1k x 1k pixel camera has been developed on a single CMOS chip providing performance and functionality found only on high-end multi-chip or multi-board CCD-sensor based camera systems. The functions include: 10 bit A/D, programmable gain and offset, anti-blooming, random access, non-destructive read out (NDRO), electronic shutter, programmable rolling shutter or global shutter, electronic frame store, pixel binning, on-chip correlated double sampling (CDS), and programmable multiple sub-array readout. A custom state machine or "vision engine" utilizes user-programmable registers to generate all necessary row, column, and global timing and control for the imager. In the default sequential full frame, rolling shutter made the imager requires only a pixel clock and a single 5.0 Volt supply, and provides analog video at up to 60 MHz pixel rate from a single port in parallel with a 10 bit digital out up to 24 MHz pixel rate. The imager uses proprietary Active Column Sensor (TM) (ACS) technology, which produces a wide dynamic range (>60dB), and virtually eliminates the fixed pattern noise (FPN) problems associated with conventional CMOS active pixel sensors (APS). The ACS technology replaces the APS source follower by a true unity gain amplifier, which can be implemented with only two transistors at each pixel. This permits a fill factor of over 70% to be achieved with 12um x 12um pixels using standard 0.5um CMOS design rules. System size, power consumption, and cost are decreased dramatically over CCD-based cameras. Measured performance, unlike conventional APS imagers, is capable of meeting the demanding requirements of scientific and industrial applications. The ACS family will be expanded to include formats ranging from 512(2) to 4096(2). The first section will review the requirements for scientific/industrial cameras and discuss the limitations of conventional CCD and APS approaches. The next section will describe the Active Column Sensor technology, and discuss the reasons for the improved performance compared to passive pixel CMOS and APS imagers. Then the ACS pixel structure and modes of pixel operation will be discussed. The paper will also describe the other camera functions that are placed on the same substrate. Experimental results including images will be presented The paper will close with a glimpse into the future of industrial and scientific CMOS ACS image enabled systems.
