Chapter 3. Operating Features
Common Features
Readout Speed
Binning
The features described in this section are identical in the CoolSNAPcf and CoolSNAPES cameras. Features that are specific to the CoolSNAPES camera are described separately in the "CoolSNAPES" section.
The CoolSNAPcf and CoolSNAPES cameras operate at 20 MHz digitization and offer greater than 10 full frames per second.
Both cameras support 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, and 8x binning in the serial (horizontal) direction and flexible binning in the parallel (vertical) direction. Binning increases the frame rate and sensitivity but at the expense of resolution. Choosing a smaller region of interest (ROI) further increases the frame rate.
CoolSNAPES Features
Dual Mode Operation
Normal mode
The following subsections describe features that are specific to CoolSNAPES camera systems.
A unique feature of CoolSNAPES is that it allows two different CCD clocking modes that allow you choose between speed and NIR sensitivity. In the PVCAM implementation, the clocking modes are referred to as "normal" and "alternate normal".
In "Normal" mode, the CCD is optimized for maximum
Example: Consider a situation where the full frame readout time is 90 msec (at 20 MHz) and the exposure time is 200 msec. The readout of a frame will occur during the exposure of the next frame. This is possible because the CCD has alternate columns of sensitive and masked areas. While charge is integrating in the sensor area, the previous frame, which is in the masked area, can be read out (Figure 1). In this example, the time required to acquire the
Exposure
Readout
200ms
200ms
90ms
200ms
90ms
90ms
Figure 1. Normal Mode, Overlapped
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