ULTRAHIGH-SPEED, HIGH-SENSITIVITY, PORTABLE CCD COLOR CAMERA

We have been developing ultrahigh-speed, high-sensitivity broadcast cameras that are capable of capturing clear, smooth, slow-motion video even in conditions with limited lighting, such as at professional baseball games played at night. In 2003, we developed the first broadcast color camera using three 80,000- pixel ultrahigh-speed, high-sensitivity charge-coupled devices (CCDs). This camera is capable of ultrahigh-speed video recording at up to 1,000,000 frames/sec, and with about ten times the sensitivity of standard high-speed cameras. This camera enabled an entirely new style of presentation for sports broadcasts and science programs. We are continuing our research with the aim of improving the camera's resolution. In this paper, we discuss our development of the first ever ultrahigh-speed high-sensitivity CCD with 300,000 pixels—a four-fold increase over the previous version, as well as the development of a single- chip portable color camera mounted with this CCD.