Built for both Worlds
Linescan Camera for Imaging in SWIR and Visible Bands
The LineCam12 is an advanced line scan camera with 14-bit digital data at 37k lines per second. It has USB3 and Camera Link outputs and operates in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) and visible spectrum, from 0.4 to 1.7µm.
The LineCan12 utilize a 1024×1 InGaAs linear array imager on 12.5µm pitch that was built for both machine vision and spectroscopy. (Bild: Princeton Infrared Technologies, Inc.)
The indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) camera currently comes in two varieties: 250µm tall pixels for spectroscopy, and 12.5µm square pixels for machine vision applications. The camera has incredible versatility enabling full wells from 75ke – to 100Me – with 128 steps of variation, as well as integration times from 10µs to 10s. The SWIR/visible imager achieves low noise operation at 80e- even at the highest line rate, while still providing 6000:1 dynamic range. On-chip optical pixel binning is available by command to trade spectral resolution for increased signal level and greater speed. This feature is achieved by disconnecting every other detector pixel from the readout integrated circuits‘ (ROIC) amplifiers, resulting in the signal being captured by neighbouring pixels. The optical binning also enables 48k lines per second at 512 pixel resolution in the same camera platform, and can be activated by a simple command to the camera. The TEC-stabilised camera has 18 non-uniformity correction (NUC) tables, with twelve factory set and six user-defined tables to enable flexibility for a given environment (line rate, integration time and capacitor size). An input trigger is available to control integration time length and/or start time, as well as line rate, which further enables imaging flexibility. The lattice-matched InGaAs array is backside illuminated and is the only SWIR line scan camera that can detect from 0.4 to 1.7µm. The InGaAs array has 75% quantum efficiency from 1.1 to 1.6µm. The backside-illuminated device removes the need for bond pads or wires connecting the pixel to the readout circuit. This minimises the opportunity for stray reflections or blocked signals found in frontside-illuminated arrays with many wire bonds near the active imaging area. The array can be customised so that optical filters can be placed on the active detector area; this is a feature that is nearly impossible to achieve in frontside-illuminated devices. The camera can be used with C- and F-mount lenses, as well as custom lenses with an M42 mount. The camera can be powered by the USB3 connector or an optional wall-mount plug.
