Semiconductor maker Dalsa recently announced the manufacturing and shipping of the most powerful image sensor up to date.

Unfortunately for photography lovers, this is not a device that will ever end up in a digital camera, the square CCD measuring four inches by four (10 centimeters) being intended for the scientific field.

But enough with the suspense, Dalsa has managed to break the 100 million pixel barrier and has gathered 111 million pixels on its imaging sensor.

The Canadian company manufactured the sensor, which was developed by the STA (Semiconductor Technology Associates) for the Astrometry Department of the U.S. Naval Observatory ("USNO").

The device will help the USNO to determine the positions and motions of stars, solar system objects and to establish celestial reference frames.

"As with past custom image sensor projects, I'm very satisfied with the versatility and capability of DALSA Semiconductor's foundry to collaborate on new process enhancements and to manufacture challenging custom CCD image sensor products such as this," commented STA President, Richard Bredthauer.

"I'm very pleased that we were able to deliver, ahead of schedule, this custom CCD image sensor to our long time DALSA foundry customer, STA," added Ralf Brooks, President of DALSA Semiconductor.

Dalsa is well-known among photographers, the company's sensors being used in several professional cameras and digital backs, such as Leaf Aptus and Mamiya.