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Could you use a stationary array of antennas to form an image? (lemmy.radio)
submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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tl;dr: if you could build a tiny array of nantennas, could you use it to form an image?

My inspiration for this idea comes from insect compound eyes as well as some uses of optical fiber like boroscopes and endoscopes, where light enters a dense array of optical fibers and emerges as an image on the other end.

The idea is that you have a densely packed array of nanoscopic antennas that are resonant at visible wavelengths, with each antenna connected to its own "feed line" which all in turn connect to a receiver that can collate the received signals from all the antennas into an image.

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[-] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

That you posted in this community means that I am going to assume that you understand that light and radio are the same thing. This means that anything that can "detect" light is essentially an antenna, for that (range of) frequency(ies). The Charge Coupled Device sensors or CCD sensors are in common use in digital imaging, it's an integrated circuit that can detect light. Or said differently, a CCD can detect radio waves at light frequencies.

In other words, a CCD chip is an array of antennas, that do what you describe.

I'm not sure what a densly packed array of nanoscopic antennas brings that isn't already solved with a CCD.

CCD's are also used outside the visible spectrum in all manner of places.

this post was submitted on 09 May 2025
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