ABSTRACT
Photography has a long and well-documented history. The ability to record images in this manner has existed for more than 150 years. Less well known is that the electronic detection of light has also been possible for over a century and that images have been transmitted in this manner since the early 1900s. This chapter examines predominant electronic imaging sensors, the charge-coupled device and complementary metal oxide semiconductor device, and their properties. Imaging sensors rely heavily upon the properties of the materials of which they are comprised. The materials generally influence detection mechanisms, spectral sensitivity, noise characteristics and construction of a device. The energy difference between the valence and conduction band may differ for different types of atoms. If an electron does not gain sufficient energy to move from the valence band to the conduction band it will not become a free electron able to contribute to conducting electricity.
