Foveon
Foveon, Inc., is the company that makes the Foveon X3 sensor, which captures images in digital single-lens reflex cameras such as the Sigma Corporation SD9, SD10, SD14 and SD15 as well as in the compacts DP1, DP2 and Polaroid X530.
The company, founded in 1997 by Carver Mead, Richard Lyon, Richard B. Merrill, Richard Turner, and others, was a spin-off of National Semiconductor and Synaptics. The founding directors were: Federico Faggin (president and CEO of Synaptics), Brian Halla (chairman, president/CEO of National Semiconductor), Dick Sanquini (VP of National Semiconductor). It is based 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 is derived from the fovea of the human eye, which enables sharp imaging while reading or watching television.
George Gilder has written The Silicon Eye, which tells the story of Foveon and of Carver Mead and the other founders. Foveon had no public comment on the book.
On 11 November 2008, when Federico Faggin was the CEO, all shares of Foveon stock were acquired by Sigma Corporation. The company continues today in a new location as a wholly owned portion of Sigma.