The Bayer arrangement of color filters on the pixel array of an image sensor

Front page of Dr. Bryce Bayer's 1976 patent on the Bayer pattern filter mosaic, showing his terminology of luminance-sensitive and chrominance-sensitive elements

A Bayer filter mosaic is a color filter array (CFA) for arranging RGB color filters on a square grid of photosensors. The term derives from the name of its inventor, Bryce Bayer of Eastman Kodak, and refers to a particular arrangement of color filters used in most single-chip digital image sensors used in digital cameras, camcorders, and scanners to create a color image. The filter pattern is 50% green, 25% red and 25% blue, hence is also called RGBG or GRGB. Image File history File links BayerPatternFiltration. ... Image File history File links BayerPatternFiltration. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (648x1013, 109 KB)Front page of Bayers 1976 US patent #3,971,065, on Bayer filter. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (648x1013, 109 KB)Front page of Bayers 1976 US patent #3,971,065, on Bayer filter. ... A demosaicing algorithm is a digital image process used to interpolate a complete image from the partial raw data received from the color-filtered image sensor internal to many digital cameras in form of a matrix of colored pixels. ... The RGB color model is an additive model in which red, green and blue (often used in additive light models) are combined in various ways to reproduce other colors. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Hello--80. ...

Bryce Bayer's patent called the green photosensors luminance-sensitive elements and the red and blue ones chrominance-sensitive elements. He used twice as many green elements as red or blue to mimic the human eye's greater resolving power with green light. These elements are referred to as samples and after interpolation become pixels. A pixel (a contraction of picture element) is one of the many tiny dots that make up the representation of a picture in a computers memory. ...

The "RAW" output of Bayer-filter cameras is referred to as a Bayer Pattern image. Since each pixel is filtered to record only one of the three colors, two-thirds of the color data is missing from each. To obtain a full-color image, various demosaicing algorithms can be used to interpolate a set of complete red, green, and blue values for each point. A raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of a digital camera or image scanner. ... A demosaicing algorithm is used to interpolate a complete image from the partial raw data that one typically receives from the color-filtered CCD or CMOS image sensor internal to a digital camera. ... In the mathematical subfield of numerical analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points from a discrete set of known data points. ...

Different algorithms requiring various amounts of computing power result in varying-quality final images. This can be done in-camera, producing a JPEG or TIFF image, or outside of the camera using the RAW data directly from the sensor. Flowcharts are often used to represent algorithms. ... In computing, JPEG (pronounced JAY-peg) is a commonly used standard method of lossy compression for photographic images. ... This article is about TIFF, the computer image format. ...

Alternatives

The Bayer filter is almost universal on consumer digital cameras. Alternatives include the CYGM filter (cyan, yellow, green, magenta), which requires similar demosaicing; the Foveon X3 sensor, which layers red, green and blue sensors vertically rather than using a mosaic; or using three separate CCDs, one for each colour, which produces the best results, but is far more expensive. In digital photography, the CYGM filter is an alternative colour filter array to the Bayer filter (GRGB). ... The Foveon X3 sensor is an image sensor for digital cameras produced by Foveon, Inc. ... 3CCD is a term used to describe an imaging system used used by some video camcorders. ...

Reference

• Bryce E. Bayer, U.S. patent No. 3,971,065 (20 July 1976).

External links

• Understanding Digital Sensors, Sean McHugh in Cambridge in Colour
• RGB "Bayer" Color and MicroLenses, Silicon Imaging (design, manufacturing and marketing of high-definition digital cameras and image processing solutions)