Experimentally demonstrated for the first time is Coded Access Optical Sensor (CAOS) camera-based imaging of the Sun. Only by using both the shortest 0.029 ms integration time of the scientific CMOS sensor and a very large factor of 10,000 optical attenuation at the entrance of the CMOS camera, one is able to produce the desired unsaturated image of the Sun. In sharp contrast, a small factor of 3.2 optical attenuation is required over a much smaller single photo-detector zone of the CAOS camera to capture the unsaturated Sun image, including color images obtained using red, green, and blue filters. Image data processing shows that both the CMOS camera and CAOS camera show similar Sun limb darkening measurements consistent with prior-art works. The CAOS camera empowers optically and operationally efficient full spectrum (e. g., 350 nm to 2700 nm) imaging of bright heavenly bodies in space, with the potential for creating impact for solar energy farms, space navigation, space exploration and astronomical science.
Nabeel A. Riza, Mohsin A. Mazhar, Nazim Ashraf, "Solar Limb Darkening Color Imaging of the Sun with the Extreme Brightness Capability CAOS Camera" in Proc. IS&T London Imaging Meeting 2020: Future Colour Imaging, 2020, pp 69 - 73, https://doi.org/10.2352/issn.2694-118X.2020.LIM-07