EOS conferences

Trends in Optoelectronics
This theme will discuss how optoelectronic devices are being used in a range of applications. Topics for discussion will include innovative, optoelectronics-based lighting systems that will save energy while also offereing a stylish alternative to traditional forms of lighting. Optical techniques are also becoming increasingly important when it comes to measuring and verifying human characteristics such as fingerprints. Meanwhile, many common processes, such as the scanning of shopping in a supermarket, would take much longer without a laser. These and other applications will be discussed as part of this theme.

Frontiers in Electronic Imaging
According to a recent market forecast, some one billion solid-state image sensors will be produced worldwide in 2007 alone. These sensors are crucial for electronic imaging, with applications in cell phones and laptops, still-picture and video cameras, game consoles and toys, as well as for scientific imaging, biomedical diagnoses and industrial production. However, their performance could be improved with optimized CCD and CMOS Image Sensor processes, advanced design techniques and clever pixel designs.

Conferences falling under this theme will discuss today's the latest advances in electronic imaging. Topics will include application-specific image sensors (using smart pixels and related approaches), high-performance real-time 3D imaging, and single-photon solid-state image sensing. The conferences are aimed at the following groups: scientists and engineers working in electronic imaging research and development, users of imaging solutions and interested professionals from all segments of industry where imaging plays a significant role.

Timetable and topics
18 June: Opening Session, chaired by Peter Seitz (CSEM SA and University of Neuchatel, Switzerland). The keynote speaker will be Albert J.P. Theuwissen (DALSA BV and Delft University of Technology, Netherlands)

18 June: Application Specific Image Sensors, chaired by: Abbas El Gamal (Stanford University, USA), Boyd Fowler (Fairchild Imaging, US). Invited speakers are Ralph Etienne-Cummings (Johns Hopkins University, US) and Himfumi Sumi (Sony Corporation, Japan).

This conference will explore all aspects of application specific image sensors (ASIS), from the physics of unusual smart pixels to architectural issues of high-complexity optoelectronic systems-on-a-chip (SoC).

In terms of ASIS functionality, the ability to integrate photosensitive, analog and digital circuit elements on the same monolithically integrated chip and even in the same "smart" pixel has opened the way to devices that can be optimized for a particular environment, special operational modes and custom applications.

Meanwhile, the holy grail of optical SoC is the "seeing chip", an adaptive high-dynamic-range image sensor with all processing elements on board to process the acquired pictures, to recognize individual objects and to understand complete images. These and other technologies related to ASIS development will be discussed at this conference.

19 June: High-Performance 3D Imaging, chaired by Shoji Kawahito (Shizuoka University, Japan). lnvited speakers are Kunihiro Asada (Tokyo University, Japan) and Andrea Simoni (CRS, Italy).

This conference is devoted to the architectures of customized solid-state image sensors and novel smart pixels whose functionality and performance is optimized for a specific optical 3D imaging technique. Indeed, only three basic techniques for optical 3D imaging are known: triangulation (active or passive stereo vision), interferometry (monochromatic, multiple wavelength, white-light interferometry or optical coherence tomography), and time-of-flight range imaging.

In all cases, the performance of these optical 3D techniques is limited by the performance of the solid-state image sensors that are used to implement them. These issues will be discussed in detail at this conference.

19 June: Single-Photon Imaging, chaired by Edoardo Charbon (EPFL, Switzerland). Invited speakers are Takeharu Goji Etoh (Kinki University, Japan) and Radivoje Popovic (EPFL, Switzerland).

Registration
The registration for this EOS Conference includes admission to all conferences held under the umbrella of the World of Photonics Congress 2007 and to the LASER 2007 exhibition, and the deadline for "early-bird" registration is 30 April 2007. More information at My EOS website.