A quantum leap in the sensor technology?

[Akira]

I've found an intersting article about the new sensor technology called Quantum Film sensor:

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/1365289912/invisage-brings-long-promised-quantum-film-smartphone-sensor-to-market

The sensor has been developed for smartphone, but should also be very efficient for smaller format cameras like Nikon 1 or m4/3.

[Frank Fremerey]

It is not well explained what this Quantum film does.

It could well be another investror scam or am I wrong?

What is the light sensitive substrate if not silicon?

[Akira]

It is not well explained what this Quantum film does.

It could well be another investror scam or am I wrong?

What is the light sensitive substrate if not silicon?

I'm not sure if you are wrong.  I'm not sure what the Quantum Film is made of either.  If it is mage from some organic substance like the amterial of OLED, I would suspect the longevity of the sensor's life cycle and the resistance against the heat when the sun image is focused onto the sensor.  There could be other concerns.

Having said that, I'd rather be interested in the possiblity for the technological breakthrough.  CMOS replacing CCD was the breakthrough which enabled lower noise, electronic shutter without highlight smear, lower power compensation/heat emission, etc.

If the Quantum Film does what they say,

[arthurking83]

Lets just hope the hype isn't a case of 'overzealous investor advertising material' in this case.

Sensor technology breakthroughs, whether incremental or monumental are something many of us look forward too.
Otherwise we'd all still be using digital cameras made in the early 2000's! :p .. and we wouldn't have D4's or Df's .. D750's, D800's etc, etc

Have a look at the video they made with apparently with this sensor. I'm assuming it was made using a small sensor type device(smartphone of experimental camera).
IQ looks weird tho. Colours aren't particularly nice, but the sensor has done reasonably well with dynamic range. Film is silly(but humorous in it's own way).

Obviously if this tech does come to market, the question is .. will Sony buy it out, or will they force them(the current owners of the IP in this sensor) to sell it to them with threats of producing their own version!
(I can't imagine Sony allowing anyone to compete in a market they currently dominate!)

[Akira]

At least at this point, the Quantum Film sensor has been developed for the (very) small sensor for smartphones.  But, as with the backside-lit CMOS sensors, the technology would eventually be applied for larger sensors.

As you say, Arthur, the politics would be unavoidable, but, yeah, let's hope any new technology to be implemented properly.

[MILLIREHM]

Quantum is a word widely abused outside Quantum physics where it fits into, to gain authority by using famous scientific terms
but thats life and advertising.
Keep in mind that a true quantum leap in fact is a very minor leap

[afx]

Keep in mind that a true quantum leap in fact is a very minor leap

Amen!
I am so sick and tired of hearing Quantum Leap being used for something big whereas in fact it is extremely small.

cheers
afx

[Airy]

Well, in fact it does not mean "extremely small", but "cannot be smaller" (quanta cannot be further divided), with extreme smallness as a consequence. But, pedantic remark apart (for which I apologize), meaning of words sometimes evolve faster than we would like. Here, I guess that "quantum computers" are creating the hype (as they will create the next big leap in computing, after massively parallel processing)...

[Frank Fremerey]

Amen! I am so sick and tired of hearing Quantum Leap being used for something big whereas in fact it is extremely small.

And "light years" as a measure of long times ... We as engineers and physicists have to bear in mind that teachers of natural science are not always the best when it comes to handling children...


Plus: Many people are only interested in natural sciences in a metaphorical sense. Psychologists and Philologists love to abuse natural science or artificial intelligence or brain science as metaphors giving their associative "sciences" a harder outfit.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Languages evolve in their own frame of (twisted) logics. It is not unheard of to have connotations change 180 degrees over time. In Norwegian, that is particularly seen with nautical terms, often borrowed from old Dutch, when the words themselves lose the connectivity and scope originally seen within.

In 100 years 'quantum leap' with high probability will belong to this kind of words.

[Akira]

Well, the meaning of the words are twisted for the political reason, too.  Since the accident in Fukushima, the definition of the words referring to the nuclear technology and safety have been twisted and distorted here...