CCD chip features dramatically lower noise, higher sensitivity and wider dynamic range, while the novel electronics are user selectable for ultra-fast or ultra-low noise readout
At the 2004 Pittsburgh Conference in Chicago, Bruker AXS announced the launch of a new 4K CCD detector, the Apex II, for measuring crystal structures of inorganic and organic chemistry compounds, as well as new materials or minerals.
Apex II is the latest in a ten-year line of CCD detectors for crystallography, first pioneered as the Smart CCD and a recipient of an R and D100 Award.
More than 500 Bruker-Nonius CCD detector systems are now installed worldwide, and are considered state-of-the-art technology for the determination of crystal structures from small molecules to very large DNA and protein structures.
The Apex II detector is based on a brand new model of the largest scientific grade CCD chip manufactured - the Fairchild Imaging Systems 486 4K CCD.
The new detector has been developed in collaboration with Fairchild exclusively for use in Bruker-Nonius crystallography instruments.
Roger Durst, Bruker AXS vice president and chief technology officer, explained why the Apex II is even better than the original Apex detector: "The original Apex was based on the novel concept of designing the detector with no fibre-optic taper, since the original 4K CCD was large enough to collect a complete small molecule data set without magnifying the imaging area.
"This created the most sensitive CCD detector in the diffraction market, while simultaneously removing the spatial distortion introduced by the fiber-optics taper needed in earlier designs.
"Now, the new 486 CCD chip features dramatically lower noise, higher sensitivity and wider dynamic range, while the novel electronics are user selectable for ultra-fast or ultra-low noise readout".
Susan Byram, crystallography business manager, explained which experiments will benefit from these new characteristics: "The intrinsically lower noise of the chip, plus its deeper cooling, lead to a lower 'dark noise' in the system.
"Apex II systems collect superior data when long exposures are necessary - to push the limits of technology to enable new research by solving structures from even smaller or more poorly diffracting crystals.
"Furthermore, the low speed, ultra low noise readout mode is tailored to study novel materials including may only provide a relatively weak signal in the presence of strong background".
Tim Thorson, chief detector scientist, emphasised: "We also designed the Apex II to include even faster readout at all four ports - up to one megahertz per port - which allows sub-second readout times tailored to high-throughput experiments both in the laboratory and at the synchrotron".
The Apex II detector is offered initially in two systems, in the Smart Apex II with its robust three-axis goniostat, and in the Kappa Apex II with its flexible four-axis kappa goniostat, and will be shipping in Q1/2004.
