Sony announced a new backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor at IEDM 2016 which is equipped with integrated polarizers. Nikkei reports:
A polarizer is a kind of filter that transmits only light in a specific polarization state and reflects light in the other states. A prototype of the new sensor is equipped with four kinds of polarizers that transmit linearly-polarized lights (linearly-polarized waves) with different polarization directions (polarization angles: 0, 45, 90 and 135°).
In the lecture, the group emphasized that the transmittance and extinction ratio of the prototype are satisfactory. It disclosed data to prove that it has achieved a higher extinction ratio than that of a conventional polarization camera in the wavelength range of 400-700nm. Also, the sensitivity and extinction ratio of the new sensor are less dependent on the incident angle.
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Thanks Barry!