Specifications
Table Of Contents
- iXon Ultra
- SAFETY AND WARNINGS INFORMATION
- SAFETY AND WARNINGS SYMBOLS
- MANUAL HANDLING
- SHIPPING AND STORAGE PRECAUTIONS
- SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION TO IXON ULTRA HARDWARE
- 1.1 - TECHNICAL SUPPORT
- 1.2 - DISCLAIMER
- 1.3 - TRADEMARKS AND PATENT INFORMATION
- 1.4 - COMPONENTS
- 1.4.1 - Camera description
- 1.4.2 - Camera Power Supply Unit
- 1.4.3 - SOFTWARE
- 1.5 - SPECIFICATIONS
- 1.6 - ACCESSORIES
- 1.7 - SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND MAINTENANCE
- 1.7.1 - Care of the camera
- 1.7.2 - Regular checks
- 1.7.3 - Annual electrical safety checks
- 1.7.4 - Replacement parts
- 1.7.5 - Fuse replacement
- 1.7.6 - Working with electronics
- 1.7.7 - Condensation
- 1.7.8 - Dew Point graph
- 1.7.9 - EM Gain ageing
- 1.7.10 - Minimizing particulate contamination
- 2.1 - INSTALLING THE HARDWARE
- 2.1.1- PC requirements
- 2.2 - INSTALLING ANDOR SOLIS SOFTWARE - WINDOWS O/S(XP/VISTA/SEVEN)
- 2.3 - NEW HARDWARE WIZARD
- 2.5 - WATER PIPE CONNECTORS
- 2.6 - MOUNTING POSTS
- 2.7 - COOLING
- 2.8 - START-UP DIALOG
- 3.1 - EMCCD OPERATION
- 3.1.1 - Structure of an EMCCD
- 3.1.2 - EM Gain & Read Noise
- 3.1.3 - EM Gain ON vs EM Gain OFF
- 3.1.4 - Multiplicative Noise Factor and Photon Counting
- 3.1.5 - EM Gain dependence and stability
- 3.1.6 - RealGain: Real and Linear gain
- 3.1.7 - EM Gain Ageing: What causes it and how is it countered?
- 3.1.8 - Gain and signal restrictions
- 3.1.9 - EMCAL
- 3.2 - COOLING
- 3.2.1 - Cooling options
- 3.2.2 - Heat generated in the EMCCD
- 3.2.3 Heatsink “hot side“ temperature
- 3.2.4 - Fan settings
- 3.3 - SENSOR READOUT OPTIMIZATION
- 3.3.1 - Sensor Pre-amp options
- 3.3.2 - Variable Horizontal Readout Rate
- 3.3.3 - Variable Vertical Shift Speed
- 3.3.4 - Output amplifier selection
- 3.3.5 - Baseline Optimization
- 3.3.5.1 - Baseline Clamp
- 3.3.6 - Binning and Sub Image options
- 3.4 - ACQUISITION OPTIONS
- 3.4.1 - Capture Sequence in Frame Transfer (FT) Mode
- 3.4.1.1 - Points to consider when using FT Mode
- 3.4.2 - Capture Sequence in Non-Frame Transfer Mode (NFT) with an FT EMCCD
- 3.4.2.1 - Points to note about using an FT EMCCD as a standard EMCCD
- 3.4.3 - Capture Sequence for Fast Kinetics (FK) with an FT EMCCD
- 3.4.3.1 - Points to consider when using Fast Kinetics mode
- 3.4.4 - Keep Clean Cycles
- 3.5 - TRIGGERING OPTIONS
- 3.5.1 - Triggering options in Frame Transfer (FT) mode
- 3.5.1.1 - Internal Triggering (FT)
- 3.5.1.2 - External Triggering (FT)
- 3.5.1.3 - External Exposure (FT)
- 3.5.2 - Triggering options in Non-Frame Transfer (NFT) mode
- 3.5.2.1 - Internal (NFT)
- 3.5.2.2 - External & Fast External (NFT)
- 3.5.2.3 - External Exposure (NFT)
- 3.5.2.4 - Software trigger (NFT)
- 3.5.3 - Trigger options in Fast Kinetics (FK) mode
- 3.5.3.1 - Internal (FK)
- 3.5.3.2 - External (FK)
- 3.5.3.3 - External Start (FK)
- 3.6 - SHUTTERING
- 3.7 - COUNT CONVERT
- 3.8 - OPTACQUIRE
- 3.8.1 - OptAcquire modes
- 3.9 - PUSHING FRAME RATES WITH CROPPED SENSOR MODE
- 3.9.1 - Cropped Sensor Mode Frame Rates
- 3.10 - ADVANCED PHOTON COUNTING IN EMCCDs
- 3.10.1 - Photon Counting by Post-Process
- 3.11 - SPURIOUS NOISE FILTER
- 4.1 - EMCCD TECHNOLOGY
- 4.1.1 - What is an Electron Multiplying CCD?
- 4.1.2 - Does EMCCD technology eliminate Read Out Noise?
- 4.1.3 - How sensitive are EMCCDs?
- 4.1.4 - What applications are EMCCDs suitable for?
- 4.1.5 - What is Andor Technology's experience with EMCCDs?
- 4.2 - EMCCD SENSOR
- 4.3 - VACUUM HOUSING
- 4.3.1 - Thermoelectric cooler
- 4.4 – USB 2.0 INTERFACE
- 4.5 - OUTGASSING
- 4.6 - EXTERNAL I/O
- 4.7 - SIGNAL DIAGRAMS
- 4.8 - CAMERALINK
- SECTION 5: TROUBLESHOOTING
- 5.1 - UNIT DOES NOT SWITCH ON
- 5.2 - SUPPORT DEVICE NOT RECOGNISED WHEN PLUGGED INTO PC
- 5.3 - TEMPERATURE TRIP ALARM SOUNDS (CONTINUOUS TONE)
- 5.4 - CAMERA HIGH FIFO FILL ALARM
- 5.5 - USE OF MULTIPLE HIGH SPEED USB 2.0 I/O ON ONE CAMERA
- A.1 - GLOSSARY
- A.1.1 - Readout sequence of an EMCCD
- A.1.2 - Accumulation
- A.1.3 - Acquisition
- A.1.4 - A/D Conversion
- A.1.5 - Background
- A.1.6 - Binning
- A.1.7 - Counts
- A.1.8 - Dark Signal
- A.1.9 - Detection Limit
- A.1.10 - Exposure Time
- A.1.11 - Frame Transfer
- A.1.12 - NOISE
- A.1.12.1 - Pixel Noise
- A.1.12.1.1 - Readout Noise
- A.1.12.1.2 - Shot Noise
- A.1.12.1.2.A - Shot Noise from the Signal
- A.1.12.1.2.B - Shot Noise from the Dark Signal
- A.1.12.1.3 - Calculation of Total Pixel Noise
- A.1.12.2 - Fixed Pattern Noise
- A.1.13 - Quantum Efficiency/Spectral Response
- A.1.14 - Readout
- A.1.15 - Saturation
- A.1.16 - Scans (Keep Clean and Acquired)
- A.1.17 - Shift Register
- A.1.18 - Signal To Noise Ratio
- B - MECHANICAL DIMENSIONS
- C - DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
- D - HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE WARRANTY SERVICE
- D.1 - SERVICE DESCRIPTION
- D.2 - Access to Service
- D.3 - Hardware Remediation
- D.4 - Software Remediation
- E - THE WASTE ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT REGULATIONS 2006 (WEEE)
Version 1.1 rev Jan 2013
Page 42
iXon Ultra
, Features and Functionality
3.1.4 - Multiplicative Noise Factor and Photon Counting
It is impossible to determine the exact gain a detected signal charge traversing the EM Gain register will acquire, due
to the stochastic nature of the processes which produce EM Gain. However, it is possible to calculate the probability
distribution function of output charge for a given input charge.
At high gain levels (> x30) this uncertainty introduces an additional noise component called Multiplicative Noise. This
noise source is only present in signal amplifying technologies and is a measure of the uncertainty inherent in the signal
multiplying process. For example, during each transfer of electrons from element to element along the gain register of
the EMCCD, only a small probability exists that the process of impact ionization will produce an extra electron during
that step. This is a small probability, but when executed over > 590 steps it results in a very large overall EM Gain.
However, the downside to this process results from the probabilities. Due to this, there is a statistical variation in the
overall number of electrons generated by the gain register from an initial charge packet. This uncertainty is quantied
by a parameter called “Noise Factor” and detailed theoretical and measured analysis has placed this Noise Factor at a
value of √2 (or 1.41:1) for EMCCD technology.
NOTE: This noise source is signicantly greater for the Multi Channel Plate (MCP) of ICCDs than for the gain
register of EMCCD. ICCDs have noise factors typically ranging from 1.5 to >2.
Multiplicative noise is an additional form of noise that must be taken into account when calculating Signal/Noise for
these types of detectors. However, one way to better understand the potential effects of this noise source is in terms
of an addition to the shot noise of the system. Extra multiplicative noise has the same form as shot noise as each noise
type results in an increase in the variation of number of electrons that are read out of the sensor (under constant uniform
illumination).
Multiplicative noise can be thought to contribute directly to the overall shot noise, in that one should multiply the Shot
Noise by the Noise Factor when calculating overall noise. Simply put, multiplicative noise does not in any way reduce
the average signal intensity, or reduce the number of photons that are detected. It simply increases the degree of
variation of the signal around the mean value, in addition to the variation that already exists from the shot noise (variation
from pixel to pixel or from frame to frame). This additional variation to the signal intensity is represented overleaf in
Figure 11 as a signal intensity prole.