Color filter array

In digital imaging, a color filter array (CFA),

or color filter mosaic (CFM), is a mosaic of
tiny color filters placed over the pixel
sensors of an image sensor to capture
color information.

The Bayer color filter mosaic. Each

two-by-two submosaic contains 2
green, 1 blue, and 1 red filter, each
filter covering one pixel sensor.
The term is also used in reference to e
paper devices where it means a mosaic of
tiny color filters placed over the grey scale
display panel to reproduce color images.

Image sensor overview

Color filters are needed because the
typical photosensors detect light intensity
with little or no wavelength specificity and
therefore cannot separate color
information.[1] Since sensors are made of
semiconductors, they obey solid-state
physics.

The color filters filter the light by

wavelength range, such that the separate
filtered intensities include information
about the color of light. For example, the
Bayer filter (shown by the image) gives
information about the intensity of light in
red, green, and blue (RGB) wavelength
regions. The raw image data captured by
the image sensor is then converted to a
full-color image (with intensities of all
three primary colors represented at each
pixel) by a demosaicing algorithm which is
tailored for each type of color filter. The
spectral transmittance of the CFA
elements along with the demosaicing
algorithm jointly determine the color
rendition.[2] The sensor's passband
quantum efficiency and span of the CFA's
spectral responses are typically wider than
the visible spectrum, thus all visible colors
can be distinguished. The responses of the
filters do not generally correspond to the
CIE color matching functions,[3] so a color
translation is required to convert the
tristimulus values into a common, absolute
color space.[4]

The Foveon X3 sensor uses a different

structure such that a pixel utilizes
properties of multi-junctions to stack blue,
green, and red sensors on top of each
other. This arrangement does not require a
demosaicing algorithm because each pixel
has information about each color. Dick
Merrill of Foveon distinguishes the
approaches as "vertical color filter" for the
Foveon X3 versus "lateral color filter" for
the CFA.[5][6]
List of color filter arrays
Pattern
Image Name Description size
(pixels)

Bayer
Very common RGB filt er. Wit h one blue, one red, and t wo green. 2×2
filt er

Bayer-like wit h one of t he green filt ers modified t o "emerald";

RGBE filt er 2×2
used in a few Sony cameras.

RYYB filt er One red, t wo yellow, and one blue; 2×2

CYYM One cyan, t wo yellow, and one magent a; used in a few cameras
2×2
filt er of Kodak.

CYGM One cyan, one yellow, one green, and one magent a; used in a
2×2
filt er few cameras.

RGBW
Tradit ional RGBW similar t o Bayer and RGBE pat t erns. 2×2
Bayer

RGBW #1
4×4
Three example RGBW filt ers from Kodak, wit h 50% whit e. (See
RGBW #2
Bayer filter#Modifications )

RGBW #3 2×4

Fujifilm-specific RGB mat rix filt er, wit h a large pat t ern, st udied
X-Trans 6×6
for diminishing Moiré effect .

Similar t o Bayer filt er, however wit h 4x blue, 4x red, and 8x 4×4
green.[7]
Quad
Bayer Used by Sony, also known as Tet racell by Samsung and 4-cell
by OmniVision.[8][9]
 Similar t o Quad Bayer filt er, but wit h RYYB inst ead of RGGB. i.e.
RYYB 4x blue, 4x red, and 8x yellow.
Quad
First used in t he Leica camera sensor of t he Huawei P30 series
Bayer
smart phones.[10]

Similar t o Bayer filt er, however wit h 9x blue, 9x red, and 18x
Nonacell 6×6
green.[11]

Used in t he aut omot ive indust ry.[12] A monochrome sensor is

desired for maximum sensit ivit y, wit h t he red channel required
RCCC 2x2
for regions of int erest such as t raffic light s and rear
light s.[13][14][15]

Used in t he aut omot ive indust ry.[12] Similar t o t he Bayer sensor

RCCB except t he green pixels are clear, providing more low-light 2x2
sensit ivit y and less noise.[15]

RGBW sensor
An RGBW matrix (from red, green, blue,
white) is a CFA that includes "white" or
transparent filter elements that allow the
photodiode to respond to all colors of
light; that is, some cells are
"panchromatic", and more of the light is
detected, rather than absorbed, compared
to the Bayer matrix. Sugiyama filed for a
patent on such an arrangement in 2005.[16]
Kodak announced several RGBW CFA
patents in 2007, all of which have the
property that when the panchromatic cells
are ignored, the remaining color filtered
cells are arranged such that their data can
be processed with a standard Bayer
demosaicing algorithm.

CYGM sensor
A CYGM matrix (cyan, yellow, green,
magenta) is a CFA that uses mostly
secondary colors, again to allow more of
the incident light to be detected rather than
absorbed. Other variants include CMY and
CMYW matrices.

Manufacture of the image

sensor CFA
Diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ)-novolac
photoresist is one material used as the
carrier for making color filters from color
dyes or pigments. There is some
interference between the dyes and the
ultraviolet light needed to properly expose
the polymer, though solutions have been
found for this problem.[17] Color
photoresists sometimes used include
those with chemical monikers CMCR101R,
CMCR101G, CMCR101B, CMCR106R,
CMCR106G, and CMCR106B.[18]

A few sources[1][19] discuss other specific

chemical substances, attending optical
properties, and optimal manufacturing
processes of color filter arrays.

For instance, Nakamura said that

materials for on-chip color filter arrays fall
into two categories: pigment and dye.
Pigment based CFAs have become the
dominant option because they offer higher
heat resistance and light resistance
compared to dye based CFAs. In either
case, thicknesses ranging up to 1
micrometre are readily available.[1]

Theuwissen says "Previously, the color

filter was fabricated on a separate glass
plate and glued to the CCD (Ishikawa 81),
but nowadays, all single-chip color
cameras are provided with an imager
which has the color filter on-chip
processed (Dillon 78) and not as a
hybrid."[19] He provides a bibliography
focusing on the number, types, aliasing
effects, moire patterns, and spatial
frequencies of the absorptive filters.
Some sources indicate that the CFA can be
manufactured separately and affixed after
the sensor has been
manufactured,[20][21][22] while other
sensors have the CFA manufactured
directly on the surface of the
imager.[22][23][24] Theuwissen makes no
mention of the materials utilized in CFA
manufacture.

At least one early example of an on-chip

design utilized gelatin filters (Aoki et al.,
1982).[25] The gelatin is sectionalized, via
photolithography, and subsequently dyed.
Aoki reveals that a CYWG arrangement
was used, with the G filter being an overlap
of the Y and C filters.

Filter materials are manufacturer

specific.[26] Adams et al. state "Several
factors influence the CFA's design. First,
the individual CFA filters are usually layers
of transmissive (absorptive) organic or
pigment dyes. Ensuring that the dyes have
the right mechanical properties—such as
ease of application, durability, and
resistance to humidity and other
atmospheric stresses—is a challenging
task. This makes it difficult, at best, to fine-
tune the spectral responsivities.".
Given that the CFAs are deposited on the
image sensor surface at the BEOL (back
end of line, the later stages of the
integrated circuit manufacturing line),
where a low-temperature regime must be
rigidly observed (due to the low melting
temperature of the aluminum metalized
"wires" and the substrate mobility of the
dopants implanted within the bulk silicon),
organics would be preferred over glass. On
the other hand, some CVD silicon oxide
processes are low temperature
processes.[27]

Ocean Optics has indicated that their

patented dichroic filter CFA process
(alternating thin films of ZnS and Cryolite)
can be applied to spectroscopic CCDs.[28]
Gersteltec sells photoresists that
possesses color filter properties.[29]

Some pigment and dye molecules

used in CFAs

In U.S.P.# 4,808,501, Carl Chiulli cites the

use of 5 chemicals, three of which are C.I.
#12715, AKA Solvent Red 8; Solvent Yellow
88; and C.I. # 61551, Solvent Blue 36. In
U.S.P. # 5,096,801 Koya et al., of Fuji Photo
Film company, list some 150-200 chemical
structures, mainly azo dyes and
pyrazolone-diazenyl, but fail to provide
chemical names, CAS Registry numbers, or
Colour Index numbers.

Optically efficient CFA implementation

Nakamura[1] provides a schematic and

bibliographic items illustrating the
importance of microlenses, their f-number,
and the interplay with the CFA and CCD
array.[30] Further, a short discussion of
anti-reflection films is offered,[31] though
Janesick's[32] work appears is more
concerned with photon–silicon interaction.
Early work on microlenses[33] and on the
three-CCD/prism cameras[34] stress the
importance of a fully integrated design
solution for CFAs. The camera system, as
a whole, benefits from careful
consideration of CFA technologies and
their interplay with other sensor properties.

E-paper CFA
There are three primary methods for
reproducing color on e paper displays. One
uses micro spheres in various pigments,
such as the limited color range three
pigment Spectra displays or more faithful
four pigment Advanced Color ePaper, both
by E Ink. This method suffers from often
slow refresh rates as with several
pigments the display must perform
refreshes for each pigment. As with grey
scale units, after the display is updated the
device does not require power to keep the
image on screen.

The second common method uses a

typical grey scale e paper display behind a
transparent color layer. The color layer is a
LCD based CFA. When displaying grey
scale images the device runs at its native
resolution, for instance, 300 pixels per inch
(PPI). However, due to the CFA, the
resolution of the device drops when
displaying color images, say to 100 PPI.[35]
When the image to be displayed consists
of both a colored and a black and white
section, for example when a book page
comprises plain text as well as a color
photo, some e book devices may display
the photo at the reduced resolution while
the text is at the normal resolution. As the
CFA is LCD based, the CFA requires
constant power to run and uses more
energy.

The third method, as in ClearInk, uses a

CFA consisting of a front layer of wells
with hemispherical bottoms above a layer
of fluid containing black charged spheres.
When the spheres are away from the
hemispheres, the hemispheres reflect
brightly due to total internal reflection.
When the black spheres are moved near to
the hemispheres, the amount of reflection
drops. The refresh rate on video versions
of these devices is fast enough for video
playback (33 Hz on the device, compared
to 25 Hz for PAL television or 29.97 Hz for
NTSC television). They require more energy
to operate than a plain E Ink display but
much less than a LCD based display.[36]

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