# What Does a One-Bit Quanta Image Sensor Offer?

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.10350 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.10350/

## Key facts

- Cited by 11 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 19 Aug 2022.

## Built on by (most cited first, 11 of 11)

- [HDR Imaging with Spatially Varying Signal-to-Noise Ratios](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.17253/) (2023)
- [Spatially Varying Exposure with 2-by-2 Multiplexing: Optimality and Universality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.17367/) (2023)
- [CT-Bound: Robust Boundary Detection From Noisy Images Via Hybrid Convolution and Transformer Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.16494/) (2024)
- [Quanta Video Restoration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.14994/) (2024)
- [bit2bit: 1-bit quanta video reconstruction via self-supervised photon prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.23247/) (2024)
- [Generative Quanta Color Imaging](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.19066/) (2024)
- [Photon Inhibition for Energy-Efficient Single-Photon Imaging](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.18337/) (2024)
- [StereoISP: Rethinking Image Signal Processing for Dual Camera Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.07390/) (2022)
- [The impact of frame quantization on the dynamic range of a one-bit image sensor](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.01323/) (2023)
- [eRPCA: Robust Principal Component Analysis for Exponential Family Distributions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.19787/) (2023)
- [Fundamental Recovery Bounds for SPAD Signals under Stationary Flux](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.07599/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The one-bit quanta image sensor (QIS) is a photon-counting device that captures image intensities using binary bits. Assuming that the analog voltage generated at the floating diffusion of the photodiode follows a Poisson-Gaussian distribution, the sensor produces either a ``1'' if the voltage is above a certain threshold or ``0'' if it is below the threshold. The concept of this binary sensor has been proposed for more than a decade, and physical devices have been built to realize the concept. However, what benefits does a one-bit QIS offer compared to a conventional multi-bit CMOS image sensor? Besides the known empirical results, are there theoretical proofs to support these findings? The goal of this paper is to provide new theoretical support from a signal processing perspective. In particular, it is theoretically found that the sensor can offer three benefits: (1) Low-light: One-bit QIS performs better at low-light because it has a low read noise, and its one-bit quantization can produce an error-free measurement. However, this requires the exposure time to be appropriately configured. (2) Frame rate: One-bit sensors can operate at a much higher speed because a response is generated as soon as a photon is detected. However, in the presence of read noise, there exists an optimal frame rate beyond which the performance will degrade. A Closed-form expression of the optimal frame rate is derived. (3) Dynamic range: One-bit QIS offers a higher dynamic range. The benefit is brought by two complementary characteristics of the sensor: nonlinearity and exposure bracketing. The decoupling of the two factors is theoretically proved, and closed-form expressions are derived.