The CCD sensor: A semiconductor circuit for capturing images. On the Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Charles Kuen Kao, Willard S. Boyle, and George E. Smith (II)

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2009 was jointly awarded to two scientists (in addition to Charles Kuen Kao): Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith, both of Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, for having invented, in 1969, an imaging semiconductor circuit, the CCD (charge-coupled device), an electronic device which allowed an important development of digital cameras, both photography and video. A year later, Bell Labs already had the first CCD-based camcorder. In commercial cameras it is being replaced by CMOS sensors, but in some capture systems it is still the most important component, especially because of its low levels of noise. This article examines the functioning and evolution of the device.