Catching Photons

Your phone camera is built on the photoelectric effect — the phenomenon that won Einstein his Nobel Prize. When photons hit the sensor, they knock electrons loose from silicon atoms. More light means more freed electrons means a brighter pixel.

Color filters for red, green, and blue sit over each photodiode so it counts photons of only one color. Software interpolates the full image. Night mode works by collecting photons over a longer exposure and using AI to cancel motion blur.