Ultraviolet Imaging with Low Cost Smartphone Sensors: Development and Application of a Raspberry Pi-Based UV Camera

Here, we report, for what we believe to be the first time, on the modification of a low cost sensor, designed for the smartphone camera market, to develop an ultraviolet (UV) camera system. This was achieved via adaptation of Raspberry Pi cameras, which are based on back-illuminated complementary me...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Thomas C. Wilkes, Andrew J. S. McGonigle, Tom D. Pering, Angus J. Taggart, Benjamin S. White, Robert G. Bryant, Jon R. Willmott
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2016-10-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/10/1649
Description
Summary:Here, we report, for what we believe to be the first time, on the modification of a low cost sensor, designed for the smartphone camera market, to develop an ultraviolet (UV) camera system. This was achieved via adaptation of Raspberry Pi cameras, which are based on back-illuminated complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors, and we demonstrated the utility of these devices for applications at wavelengths as low as 310 nm, by remotely sensing power station smokestack emissions in this spectral region. Given the very low cost of these units, ≈ USD 25, they are suitable for widespread proliferation in a variety of UV imaging applications, e.g., in atmospheric science, volcanology, forensics and surface smoothness measurements.
ISSN:1424-8220