Snapshot CCD Camera With Microelectromechanical Shutter

A proposed charge-coupled-device (CCD) camera would be mechanically shuttered by a planar array of micromachined, electromechanically actuated shutters. This proposal has arisen as part of the solution to the problem of designing a visible/near-infrared imaging spectrometer using a commercial off-the shelf CCD as the image sensor at the focal plane. The need for mechanical shuttering arises because the desired exposure time clashes with the readout times of available CCDs. In particular, what is needed is an exposure time shorter than the readout time. By use of the array of micromachined mirrors, the image could be deflected off the focal plane during the readout cycle to prevent contamination of the captured image with light after the desired charge-integration (exposure) time.