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Light detector equals human eye for ability to 'see' by Hugh Westrup A group of inventors at the University of Waterloo has designed a tiny electronic com- ponent that "sees" almost as well as the human eye. The new component, no bigger than the head of a pin, is called a VLSI microchip. Each microchip holds 1,024 photodetectors--mi- niature circuits that sense the presence of light. When light strikes a photodetector, the light energy is con- verted into electrical energy. According to one of the inventors, Professor Chamberlain, the chip is capable of sensing even a _ very Savvas faint amount of illumination, such as starlight. It has about the same ability as the human eye, he says. The most remarkable feature of the Cham- berlain chip is its very large response range. The chip can pick up light both from a very bright source (such as a spotlight) and from a very weak source (such Sizeable donation Br. 68 makes presentation to our Sally Ann's A cheque in the amount of $600 was presented, Friday night, to Lt. Ray Braddock of the Midland Salvation Army. The presentation was made on behalf of Branch 68 of the Royal Canadian Legion, Penetanguishene. is to be used, according to Lt. Braddock, to help fund this year's Christmas Cheer The money Campaign. Last Christmas a total of $30,000 was raised along with an additional $10,000 worth of food and toys. The Salvation Army expects to pack 450 hampers this year, each worth about $60. Building permits tell story A total of 23 building permits were issued in Midland last month for have been issued this year for a total value of $3,007,290. as a candle). In other words, the chip will be able to '"'see" the two Objects at the same time, even though they differ in brightness by a factor of 10 million. This is no mean feat. The devices that are currently on the market have nowhere near this capacity. Most cannot detect two objects simultaneously -- when one object is more than 1,000 times brighter than the other. Because present devices have _ small response ranges, they suffer from "blooming"' or 'saturation'. Most people know' what blooming is from watching television. It often Occurs when a person On camera lights up a cigarette. Instead of seeing the burning red tip of the cigarette, the viewer will only see -- a flash of light that looks like a bright star. Blooming happens because the TV camera is not equipped to ac- curately register a high- intensity dot of light (the burning cigarette) at the same time that it is focussing on objects which are giving off much less light. Dr. Chamberlain says his invention can be used in a number of ways. "It can be helpful to astonomers who are studying the light from distant stars," he says. It may also prove useful in fibre optics com- munications systems in which messages are converted to pulses of light and sent through thin glass rods or 'fibres'. The microchip could be installed as a light detector at the receiving end of an optical fibre. Dr. Chamberlain's microchip is an outgrowth of research he has been doing witha BONUS GIFIS Mountainview Mail Only You'll receive this easy-listening former graduate student, Dr. Asmin Husain. They started out to investigate the "subthreshold effect". The subthreshold effect occurs when an electronic device is less than four-thousandaths of a millimetre wide. Even when such a device has been "turned off"-- when there is no energy being supplied to it--a small amount of elec- tricity will still flow through its circuits. It's as if a toaster were unplugged but con- tinued to toast bread. Dr. Chamberlain and Dr. Husain used the subthreshold effect to increase the response range of the microchip. Dr. Chamberlain ex- plains: "To understand how this works you must think of each photodetector on the chip as a tiny bucket. When light in the form of electrons hits the chip it fills each bucket."' An ordinary photodetector "bucket"' will fill up quickly when exposed to high in- tensity light, thus giving the chip, a small response range, 'However, if a leak is put in the bottom of the bucket, you can keep on filling it forever," says Dr. Chamberlain. "You never have saturation."' When Dr. Cham- berlain and Dr. Husain understood the sub- threshold effect they, in effect, learned how to puncture a hole in the bottom of the bucket. So, they could develop a photodetector that does not become quickly saturated by exposure to bright light. Dr. Chamberlain received funding from the Department of National Defence to design the microchip. The department may one day use the chip in laser communications systems. "An at- mospheric disturbance, such as fog or rain, can act like an obstacle and change the intensity of laser light," says Dr. Chamberlain. "If the intensity changes by more than 1,000 times, an ordinary device won't be able to read the light."' Last Almost one call a day month Midland responded to a total of 27 alarms. According to Fire Chief Hal Belfry, 12 of those alarms were general ones while the other 15 were "silent alarms." smoke-eaters BONUS GIFTS <3 DRAW PRIZES 15 Weekly 30 Prizes Mountainview Mall & 30 Prizes Downtown Midland You could win one of two Citizen AM/FM Stereo Draws! Stereo Record or Cassette, especially selected for our customers, FREE when you open a Savings or Chequing account with a Radio/ Cassette Recorder and Telephone sets. Each week to Feb. 4'84, there will be a separate contest. With every $100 a total value of $196,200. 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