Rick,
You can make a sensor with more than 100% Qe
Its called a PhotoMultiplier.
They just havent done it commercially in large Silicon semiconductor arrays yet with a large Dynamic range.
The High Gain Avalanche Photodiodes only have single or small array of detectors.
SiOnyx's Black Silicon has looked extremely promising for years but seems to be taking an aeon to get to market but In-Q-Tel's investment in the co. last year would indicate that the prospects are still looking good
However given that In-Q-Tel is a US not for profit military investment vehicle - we'll probably not be seeing the technology in our amateur hands for a long while !
They used to have a detailed Technology section on their website but I don't see anything about how it works, how it performs etc is gone completely.
I suspect that since superior dark imaging/night vision is a huge strategic advantage - so it always seems to get snaffled up by the military - depriving us poor amateurs !!!
Rally
Quote:
Originally Posted by RickS
Shot noise is a fundamental physical limitation unless we think of a clever way to make significantly bigger apertures practical, Rob. You can't make a sensor with better than 100% QE.
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