Winn L. Rosch Hardware Bible, Sixth Edition

Imaging Sensors

The heart of any digital camera is its image sensor, which actually captures the image, registering it in a form that can later be used. It detects photons and translates their energy into a minute electrical current that computer circuits can sense, amplify, digitize, and store.

Many people call image sensors CCDs, the name of the technology used by most digital camera image-sensing devices (charge coupled devices). Although CCDs are used in most cameras, some companies have adopted a similar technology that's usually termed CMOS. Yes, it's the same name as the memory used for system-configuration data in your computer, because the image sensors and the memory use the same semiconductor technology—Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor ...