A 640 Megapixel/sec 512 × 512 interline transfer virtual phase CCD

A charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor capable of a 640 Megapixel/second data rate is described. The imager is the first interline transfer format charge-coupled device to be implemented with virtual phase technology. A single gate controls the transfer of charge from the integrating photosite into the interline shift register as well as the transfer of charge through this register. The imaging array is segmented into 64 identical sections. By reading data in a parallel manner an effective data rate of 640 Megapixels/second and a frame time of less than 500 µsec is obtained for a 512 by 512 imaging array.