A smart range image sensor

In the present paper we discuss a smart image sensor, specifically designed for sheet of light range imaging. The image sensor is capable of measuring the projection of a light stripe on an object. The sensor consists of an array of Position Sensitive Detectors (PSD's), as well as some on-chip electronics. The sensors are made in a standard 3GHz bipolar process. Each PSD measures a light center of gravity, and this way the line of light is sampled in the plane of the image sensor. 3D information is computed by means of triangulation. On chip circuitry takes care of preamplification of the sensorsignals, and multiplexing of the different sensor signals to a single output channel.