An AER based CMOS polarization image sensor with photo-aligned micropolarizer array

This paper presents a compact Address Event Representation AER-based CMOS image sensor for real-time focal-plane polarization imaging. The image sensor integrates a unique micropolarizer array, patterned using the well-controlled process of UV photolithography. Real-time Stokes parameters extraction is achieved using a novel time-to-first-spike (TFS) pixel architecture. The proposed implementation enables low power operation and efficient readout of polarization information. Moreover, it is scalable and well suited to the next generation of deep submicron CMOS technologies owing to decreased supply voltage and increased noise level.