Most probably several readers of this blog were not yet born in September 1976, but exactly 40 years ago I started my career in solid-state imaging. Of course I could never ever have guessed that 40 years later I would be still involved in the same discipline.
When I was facing the start of my last year of the MSc-EE studies (at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium) in September 1976, I had to choose a MSc thesis subject. Purely by coincidence I found an MSc thesis project in the team of Gilbert Declerck and under the daily guidance of Jan van der Spiegel, being a PhD candidate in the CCD group. The topic was based on the development of the hardware around a bi-linear CCD of 256 elements. The digital driving pulses as well as the analog signal processing needed to be designed and needed to be built on a breadboard. The CCD needed to be synchronized to a rotating drum, just to show the principle and capabilities of the imaging device. At that moment, 40 years ago, a bi-linear device of 256 elements was already something special.
I remember that another PhD candidate, being Peter Schreurs, explained to me the basic principles of a CCD. I still can recall in which lab space it was. It was Jan van der Spiegel who explained to me the technology of the CCDs and showed me how he made the design and lay-out of the devices. At that time, CCD image sensors were designed and fabricated in the clean room of the ESAT laboratory (Electonics, Systems, Automation, Technology). The environment and the atmosphere in the basement of the EE-building was a great stimulation in the learning process in the field of the “young” semiconductor technology. During the 9 months of the MSc thesis project, and especially for the hardware part of the task, I worked very closely together with Tony van Nuland. He thought me the practical ins and outs of digital and analog circuitry. Afterwards seen, this was the very basic start of a long and lasting career in solid-state imaging.
Gilbert Declerck, the promotor of my MSc thesis, became later the CEO of IMEC; Jan van der Spiegel, my daily supervisor became professor at Penn State University in Philadephia (USA); Peter Schreurs who explained to me the working principles of CCDs started a career at Agfa and Tony van Nuland who helped me with the hardware became a specialist in the field of ion implantation and focused-ion beam techniques at the university’s ESAT laboratory. As you can judge, I was in good company ! Thanks to all of you !
Albert, 22-09-2016.
Hi Albert, Congras for your 40 years’ anniversary in solid-state imaging! Remarkable achievement!
ps. prof. Jan v.d. Spiegel is with Univ. of Pennsylvania, i think. One of my MSc’s officemates in EI Lab, Chengjie Zuo, became a PhD student in his group in Univ.Penn. after graduating from TU Delft in 2006. Very small world!
Thanks Yue !
In the early 80s,I helped put 4 sensors into a camera. Instead of stitching or butting, we used a 4 facet pyramid mirror in the focal plane of the primary mirror and relay optics to take each of the 4 images to different CCDs. We also bought thousands of CCDs from TI in order to get 4 flawless ones with 800×800 pixels each. This is how we made the Hubble Wide Field Planetary Camera. We used the extra CCDs with occasional bad pixels as lab instruments for test and measurement. Cheers!