'Quantum dots' to boost performance of mobile cameras

Tiny semiconductor particles known as "quantum dots" have been used in a sensor that could make for mobile phone cameras that outperform larger cousins.
A film made from these dots is more light-sensitive than existing approaches to camera sensors, according to its makers, Invisage.
That means that cameras made using the film need not be as large as some to achieve the same performance.
InVisage suggests the films will make it into camera production by mid-2011.
Digital camera sensors rely on silicon to do the crucial business of turning incoming light into an electric charge that the camera can measure and translate into an image.
But the way silicon-based sensors are produced means that in many cases the light is partially blocked by the electronic connections that make the sensor work.
Combined with the fact that silicon can turn only half of the incident light into electric charge, capturing light using silicon throws away about 75% of the light.

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