Foveon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Foveon, Inc., is the company that makes the Foveon X3 sensor that captures images in cameras such as the Sigma Corporation SD-9, SD-10 and the SD-14 (announced in 2006-08) digital single-lens reflex. Founded in 1997 by Carver Mead, Richard Lyon, Richard Merrill, Richard Turner, and others, and located in Santa Clara, California, Foveon was initially known for their high-end digital portrait camera systems built around a color-separation beam-splitter prism assembly. Both the prism system and the X3 technology derive their benefit from using all the light and sensing all colors at all locations.
Foveon, Inc., was previously known as "Foveonics". The name comes from the fovea of the human eye, which enables sharp imaging, used in activities such as reading and watching TV.
George Gilder has written The Silicon Eye, which tells the story of Foveon and of Carver Mead and the other founders.
