Optical sensor from a laser mouse

[Olympusman]

Detail of the optical sensor from Logitech laser mouse

[Charles Krebs]

Interesting one. These really do have a techy graphic beauty.

[siliconGary]

Technically that is a coarse CMOS image sensor fundamentally similar to what is used in a camera. The pixels are much larger, and it is has no color filters. In each of the squares is a photodiode.

[Olympusman]

Thanks. Every one of these dies is a surprise once I get it under the scope. This one wasn't even in an epoxy capsule -- it was just a plastic case which I was able to pry apart after making some cuts on the sides with a Dremel. It had a pinhole lens on the underside.

Mike

[rnabholz]

Very different from many of these.

Sometimes hard to believe what these are capable of doing and the technology represented. Thought provoking images.

[Olympusman]

It's also hard to believe that we accept these chips in a matter of fact way.
When we sent our astronauts to the moon, the were using ferrite core memory and had to reload the programs at each stage of the mission. I had read that a mid-1980s Buicks computer had more capacity than an Apollo space capsule. Every time I unwrap one of these things I am amazed at the absolute beauty of them.
I'm sure the engineers tuning into my images are bemused by the older technolgy that I am showing. But they are fascinating beyond belief.

Mike