Hybrid Imaging Technology

"Hybrid imaging technology" (HIT) is the name of a discipline in which the advancement of electronic image sensors is pursued via hybridization of charge-coupled-device (CCD) and complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry. The guiding principle of HIT is to combine CCD and CMOS components into units that afford capabilities that neither CCD nor CMOS circuitry can provide by itself. HIT can be applied to advantage in almost any situation in which there are requirements for very high imaging quality and low power dissipation. Applications can include portable video and portable digital still cameras, remote surveillance cameras, and low-power cameras in spaceborne and terrestrial scientific instrumentation.