14 DAY TRIAL // One of the problems inherent to both classic and digital photography is the inability to take an image in the absence of a sufficient quantity of light.
Photographers compensate this absence by using a flash or by increasing the sensitivity (a higher ISO film or a higher ISO on the digital camera), but the latter is not always possible and sometimes even the maximum allowed ISO is insufficient.
But there's light at the end of the tunnel and that light is called SMDP, or Single Carrier Modulation Photo Detector, a new type of sensor developed by Planet82, a company headquartered in Seoul.
The Koreans claim that their sensor, based on nanotechnology, is 2000 times more sensitive to light than other sensors and that it allows the capturing of photos and movies in almost total darkness.
Planet82's SMPD image sensor will change how professional and amateur photographers and videographers capture images and video," said Dr. Hoon Kim, Ph.D., and chief technology officer for Planet82 and director of the Nano Scale Quantum Devices Research Center at the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI)
According to Planet82's press release, the new sensor makes it possible to take clear images even when the light level is less than 1 lux (or up to 0.1 lux). One lux is equivalent to the brightness from one candle one meter away in a dark room.
Researchers say that this sensor was developed by applying the principles of quantum mechanics to produce thousands of electrons out of one photon. In addition, they also minimized the aperture ratio and increased the number of pixels per unit density on the chip.
Planet82 also says that the SMPD image sensor can be mass-produced using standard CMOS process without additional investment for facilities.