Image sensors and optical devices

Which correctly describes "pixel binning" in image sensors?

  1. ACombining the signals of several neighboring pixels into one, trading resolution for sensitivity and SNR
  2. BRearranging pixels by color
  3. CRemoving defective pixels
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Answer: A. Combining the signals of several neighboring pixels into one, trading resolution for sensitivity and SNR

Pixel binning sums the signals of, for example, a 2×2 group of four pixels and reads them as one pixel. Resolution drops, but the signal per pixel increases and the SNR improves, which helps in dark scenes. High-resolution smartphone sensors switch it on and off depending on the light.

  • A. Correct. It combines pixels to raise sensitivity.
  • B. Signals are summed, not rearranged.
  • C. Correcting defective pixels is a separate process.
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More Image sensors and optical devices questions

  1. What is the phenomenon called in which charge overflows from a pixel hit by very bright light and spreads white into surrounding pixels?
  2. Which component is sometimes placed in front of the sensor to suppress moiré, false patterns caused by interference between a fine striped subject and the pixel array?
  3. Which infrared wavelength band is mainly detected in thermography, which images the temperature of people and objects?
  4. What does the "fill factor" of an image sensor pixel mean?
  5. From the output of a sensor with color filters such as a Bayer array, what is the process called that estimates all of the red, green and blue values for each pixel from surrounding pixels?