NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) developed a groundbreaking “camera-on-a-chip” technology originally for space missions, now found in billions of devices like cell phones worldwide. Dr. Eric Fossum, hired at JPL in 1990 to advance CCD technology for space missions, revolutionized technology by developing the first CMOS active pixel image sensor. This innovation paved the way for CMOS technology to be used not only in space science missions but also in billions of cameras in smartphones, webcams, automobiles, and medical devices globally.
In the 1980s, CCD technology was predominant in generating high-quality images, but it required a power-intensive and inefficient charge transfer process. On the other hand, CMOS sensors, featuring signal amplifiers within each pixel, offered a more efficient alternative. Dr. Fossum’s breakthrough in applying a technique from CCD devices to improve CMOS sensor performance reduced noise levels and made it feasible for use in various everyday devices like smartphones and webcams.
Original Source: NASA