Our History

More than 100 years ago, American scientist and industrialist Sherman Fairchild invented and developed a novel camera shutter/lens system and associated timing mechanism that enabled accurate aerial photography for the first time. He parlayed that success into the development of several aircraft companies as well as the Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp. In 1957, Fairchild provided the venture capital to a group of engineers to start Fairchild Semiconductor in California. This was the beginning of “Silicon Valley” as it has come to be known.

Building on initial work being done at Bell Labs, a group of engineers began to develop the CCD concept within the Fairchild Semiconductor R&D building in Palo Alto, CA. The first commercially available CCD was produced in 1970. Soon thereafter, a contract was signed to provide the military with the first solid state television compatible image sensor. It was to be mounted into a cockpit television system (CTVS). With this early success, the CCD group was broken out into a separate division from the rest of the R&D group. This group produced many of the first image sensors used in both commercial and military applications.

Throughout its’ history Fairchild Imaging has continued to operate at the forefront of imaging technology. Linear CCD sensors were used in numerous applications including fax, copy and telecine (film to television conversion) machines as well as aerial reconnaissance and satellite imaging. Area CCD sensors were used in applications such as television, professional photography, mammographic screening and intra-oral dental x-ray imaging. Backside imaging technology was also developed for these area sensors and were used on the NASA Deep Impact program as well as for scientific imaging applications. TDI CCD sensors were developed for industrial inspection such as letter scanners for all US Post Offices, automated food inspection systems and satellite imaging.

In 2003, Fairchild Imaging began leveraging the image sensor knowledge base, developed through years of CCD innovation, into the development of CMOS image sensors. This culminated in the introduction of scientific CMOS (sCMOS) image sensors that quickly became the industry standard for high performance image sensors with their ability to simultaneously deliver on many key performance metrics that previously involved design tradeoffs. We specialize in extremely low noise and low light imaging. The sCMOS line portfolio has evolved over the years and is now in its 3rd generation of innovation: sCMOS 3.1. sCMOS 3.1 sensors boast noise levels low enough to enable photon counting, even at high frame rates. These innovations are used in space exploration, physics, the sciences, and quantum computing, among other applications.

All of our successes are attributed to the technology requirements of our customers. To continue to meet their needs, we have continued to push the limits of technology. Fairchild Imaging has gone through several iterations as technologies, missions, and markets have evolved over its illustrious history. Today, Fairchild Imaging is an independent US entity that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hamamatsu Photonics. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Fairchild Imaging is a pioneer in the image sensor industry.