User manual

Rolera Thunder User Manual 20
A slower readout speed can be used when better noise performance is needed at the expense of
frame rate. On the other hand, increased frame readout rate can be achieved by one or more of
the following:
• higher readout speed,
• sub-region selection,
• binning.
For more information on frame rate, please refer to the product data sheet.
Binning
Binning (combining pixels into one super pixel) allows you to increase the sensitivity and frame
rate. On the other hand, binning reduces spatial resolution. The Rolera Thunder allows binning
of 1, 2, 4 and 8 in the serial (horizontal) direction and binning in the parallel (vertical) direction,
up to 256.
Note: Due to the small array size in the Rolera Thunder edge artifacts may be present at higher binning.
Rolera Thunder
Application
Examples
Example 1:
“I would like to obtain kinetic information (time-correlated) information of the single molecule
fluorescence. My light level is fairly low and I want to optimize the frame rate of the camera.”
For this application, the "Multiplication" port (Port #1) should be selected and camera speed
should be set to 10 MHz. In addition, the camera should be operated in “Overlap mode”. This
can be achieved by setting the camera to “frame transfer mode” with clearing mode “Pre-
sequence” and number of clears “1” (refer to Figure 11). If possible, choose a sub-region (ROI)
and/or binning to further increase the frame rate. Finally, on-chip multiplication gain can be used
to boost the signal level and achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio.
Example 2:
“My application requires precise control of the exposure time (less than the readout time) and I
want to operate the camera in the most sensitive mode possible.”
For better imaging characteristics, the "Multiplication" port (Port #1) is selected and camera
speed must be set to 5 MHz. Use on-chip multiplication gain for increased sensitivity. To achieve
an exposure time less than readout time, use Non-Overlap mode (shown in Figure 9) and set the
clearing mode to “Pre-exposure” and clear count to “2”.
Example 3:
“I would like to image a bright target/sample (e.g., fluorescence or bright field) that is fixed. High
resolution and high dynamic range are important."
For imaging bright, non-moving samples, the "Non-multiplication" port (Port #2) offers the best
performance in terms of dynamic range. Set the speed to 1.25 MHz (or 5 MHz, if higher speed is
required) and conversion gain to #2 (this allows maximum full well of the CCD to be used).
Reading out the full CCD (no-ROI or binning) gives best resolution possible. In addition, camera
can be operated in overlap or non-overlap mode as explained before.