Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
31/05/2013 JumpReader - The Straits Times
stepaper.straitstimes.com/jr/jrpc.php?param=2013-05-31 1/2
By LIM MIN ZHANG
SINGAPORE researchers havecreated a new camera componentthat could allow photographersto take high-quality pictures,even in dim conditions.
The sensor, made from a mate-rial called graphene, is a thou-sand times more sensitive thanthose currently in use.
It detects a broad spectrum oflight, helping to produce clearphotographs in murky conditionswithout needing the flash.
“Image quality taken in a darkroom with a poor lighting sourcecan potentially be as good as an-other photo taken outdoors inthe day,” said Assistant Profes-sor Wang Qijie, who headed theresearch at Nanyang Technologi-cal University (NTU).
“The sensor can be applied to
all types of cameras, includingcamera phones.”
Graphene is a flexible materialmade of pure carbon atoms ar-ranged in a honeycomb struc-ture. It has been used to makesensors in the past, but they wereeither not as sensitive or detect-ed a narrower spectrum of light.
Last month, the universityfiled a patent for its new innova-tion, which the team hopes tosell to mobile phone and cameramakers. If mass-produced, itcould be five times cheaper thansensors available today, ProfWang estimated. It also con-sumes 10 times less energy as itoperates at lower voltages.
The new component couldalso reduce the cost of manufac-turing imaging sensors – eventu-ally leading to cheaper and bettercameras with longer battery life.
The team is looking into applyingthe technology more widely.
“We expect our innovationwill have great impact not onlyon the consumer imaging indus-try, but also in the satellite imag-ing and communication indus-tries,” added Prof Wang, 37.
The breakthrough was pub-lished recently in Nature Commu-nications, a weekly peer-re-viewed journal that publishes“important advances of signifi-cance” in multiple science fields.
The two-year research costabout $200,000. It was fundedby the Nanyang Assistant Profes-sorship start-up grant, supple-mented by Education Ministry re-search grants. Prof Wang’s teamat NTU includes two other re-search fellows, four doctoral stu-dents and two undergraduates.
last week by the Ministry ofHealth (MOH), was for a range ofservices from architecture to elec-trical engineering.
An MOH spokesman con-firmed the location of the Ang
6,600 Singapore is expected tohave to add by 2020, when one infive people here will be over theage of 65.
Aside from the Ang Mo Kiohome and another near Choa Chu
tries, come at a cost of $500 mil-lion. They make up the firstphase in a long-term plan for eve-ry neighbourhood to have its ownaged-care facilities.
Camera sensor for clear shot in the dark
