Andor Technology, Fairchild Imaging and PCO have published a whitepaper presenting sCMOS - a technology based on next-generation CIS design-and-fabrication techniques.
Unlike previous generations of CMOS and CCD-based sensors, sCMOS is capable of simultaneously offering: extremely low noise, rapid frame rates, wide dynamic range, high quantum efficiency (QE), high resolution, and a large field of view.
Current scientific imaging technology standards suffer limitations in relation to a strong element of 'mutual exclusivity' between performance parameters - in other words, one can be optimised at the expense of others.
SCMOS concurrently delivers on many key parameters, while eradicating the performance drawbacks that have traditionally been associated with conventional CMOS imagers.
Performance highlights of the sCMOS technology sensor include: sensor format: 5.5 megapixels (2560(h) x 2160(v)); read noise: < 2 e- rms at 30 frames/s, < 3 e- rms at 100 frames/s; maximum frame rate: 100 frames/s; pixel size: 6.5mm; dynamic range: > 16,000:1 (at 30 frames/s); QEmax: 60 per cent; read-out modes: rolling and global shutter (user-selectable).
Key applications for the new technology, already identified by Andor Technology, Fairchild Imaging and PCO, include: live cell microscopy; particle imaging velocimetry (PIV); single molecule detection; super-resolution microscopy; lucky astronomy/imaging; adaptive optics; solar astronomy; luminescence; fluorescence spectroscopy; bio- and chemo-luminescence; genome sequencing (second and third generation); high content screening; biochip reading; photovoltaic inspection; X-ray tomography; machine vision; TV/broadcasting; spectral (hyperspectral) imaging; TIRF; spinning disk confocal microscopy; FRET; FRAP; and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.
