Image Sensor Resolution via Multi-Directional Illumination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current two-dimensional image sensors face limitations in increasing resolution due to the low aperture ratio of photoelectric conversion sections, which restricts the amount of light available for conversion and degrades image quality, especially when attempting to enhance resolution using super-resolution techniques.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus that emits illuminating light beams from multiple directions, captures images in these directions, and processes these images to form a high-resolution image by extracting pixel values as vectors, effectively increasing the photosensitive area and aperture ratio without altering the pixel arrangement pitch.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the aperture ratio is increased by using micro lenses to converge light onto photoelectric conversion sections, then the amount of light for photoelectric conversion increases and image quality improves, but the arrangement pitch and arrangement density of pixels do not increase, so resolution does not change
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional pixel arrangement to a three-dimensional light path utilization by capturing images from multiple irradiation directions. This allows the system to extract more information from the same physical pixel array, effectively increasing resolution without changing the physical arrangement of photoelectric conversion sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of light incident angle by capturing images from multiple different irradiation directions. By varying this parameter and synthesizing the resulting images, the system achieves higher resolution than would be possible with a single-direction capture, effectively overcoming the resolution limit imposed by the fixed pixel arrangement.
2Manufacturing precision
If super-resolution techniques are used to increase resolution, then higher resolution images can be obtained, but accurate PSF measurement is difficult and measuring error increases proportionally to zoom power, deteriorating image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by capturing multiple images from different irradiation directions before the final high-resolution reconstruction. This preliminary multi-directional capture provides sufficient information for accurate image synthesis without requiring difficult and error-prone PSF measurements, thus avoiding the measurement accuracy problems associated with traditional super-resolution techniques.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for a significant increase in image resolution by synthesizing low-resolution images captured from different angles, enhancing the quality of the output image without the need for additional lenses or complex deconvolution processes.
Implementation Method 1
an illumination system which sequentially emits illuminating light beams from multiple different irradiation directions with respect to an object and irradiates the object with the illuminating light beams
Implementation Method 2
an image sensor which is arranged at a position where the illuminating light beams that have been transmitted through the object are incident and which captures a plurality of different images
Data Source
AI summary
An exemplary image forming apparatus includes: an illumination system which sequentially emits illuminating light beams from multiple different irradiation directions; an image sensor which captures a plurality of different images in the multiple different irradiation directions, respectively; an image processing section which forms a high-resolution image; and a memory which stores data about the ratio of light rays that have been incident on a photoelectric conversion section of each pixel of the image sensor to light rays that have passed through the upper surface of a plurality of subpixels included in the pixel with respect to each of the multiple irradiation directions. The image processing section forms the high-resolution image based on the data that has been retrieved from the memory by extracting, as a vector, a set of pixel values associated with the multiple irradiation directions from pixel values that form each of the plurality of images.