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OWL 640 N/USER MANUAL/03-20/REV1.0 

3. SPECIFICATION 

3.1 Camera Overview 

The Owl 640 N is a family member of the Owl 640 product range, offering the lowest readout 

noise available on the SWIR market, with a typical value of 18e-. This makes the camera the 

highest performing SWIR camera for low light imaging i.e. night imaging. With even smaller 

mechanics and the implementation of the smaller SDR Camera Link connector, the camera is 

even more compact and lightweight than the original Owl 640. The Owl 640 N is a rugged, 

high sensitivity digital VIS-SWIR camera. Using the low noise 640 x 512 InGaAs sensor from 

SCD, the camera enables high sensitivity imaging from 0.4µm to 1.7µm. 
The Camera Link digital interface provides the most stable platform for data transfer and the 

camera will work on any Camera Link standard frame grabber.  
 

3.2 Datasheet 

For the full specification of the Owl 640 N, the datasheet for the camera can be downloaded 

from the Raptor Photonics website using the link below: 

https://www.raptorphotonics.com/products/owl-640-n/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary of Contents for Owl 640 N

Page 1: ...OWL 640 N USER MANUAL 03 20 REV1 0 Owl 640 N Model NO1 7 VS CL 640 USER MANUAL...

Page 2: ...ibility 9 5 4 Custom Software Interfacing 9 6 CAMERA SETUP AND REQUIRMENTS 10 6 1 Connecting the Camera to the Frame Grabber 10 6 2 Computer Laptop System Requirements 10 6 3 Frame Grabber Requirement...

Page 3: ...1 Recording Images on XCAP 24 9 2 Saving Preset Configuration Settings 24 9 2 Contrast Modification XCAP Std Only 25 10 MICRO MANAGER 26 10 1 Downloading and Installing Micro Manager Windows 26 10 2 C...

Page 4: ...pe This manual covers the Owl 640 N digital camera and all applicable components Details of the camera mechanical interface along with information on how to control the camera are stated Each camera c...

Page 5: ...swab can be used but may leave some fibres on the window so be careful To avoid this you could also use a lens tissue or a cleaning swap such as a texwipe Forced air can be applied to remove any loos...

Page 6: ...camera is even more compact and lightweight than the original Owl 640 The Owl 640 N is a rugged high sensitivity digital VIS SWIR camera Using the low noise 640 x 512 InGaAs sensor from SCD the camer...

Page 7: ...NUAL 03 20 REV1 0 4 DESIGN OVERVIEW 4 1 Mechanical Model The camera has the same mechanical design of the Owl 640 N which is shown below Units shown in mm and inches PDF of mechanical model available...

Page 8: ...o try and achieve the set point temperature with a limit of approx 5W drive For low ambient temperatures or with additional heat sinking less than 5W may be applied to the TEC to achieve the set point...

Page 9: ...Compatibility Raptor can supply a LabView icd file which can be used to control the camera on National Instruments imaging tools such as NI MAX The file may also be useful if attempting to create a cu...

Page 10: ...ter Laptop System Requirements The basic system requirement is that the PCIe bus of the system must provide sufficient bandwidth to handle video rate transfers The amount of bandwidth required depends...

Page 11: ...meras and latest PIXCI imaging boards Open the downloaded file when complete and follow the onscreen instructions in the installation wizard If a pop up message appears asking whether to install the P...

Page 12: ...tup will open the control panel with all control parameters set to the default states Open w Last used Video Setup will open the control panel with all parameters set at the last known state Once this...

Page 13: ...trol panel will have three moving dots This indicates that you are obtaining video data from the camera The imaging statistics displayed directly underneath the imaging window will also inform you if...

Page 14: ...a can perform in theory is 26 8s However in practice with the sensor only stabilised at 15 C the image would display a lot of dark noise with large exposure times This camera is not designed for large...

Page 15: ...OWL 640 N USER MANUAL 03 20 REV1 0 The exposure time controls on XCAP are shown in Figure 7 Figure 7 ALC and Manual Exposure Time Controls...

Page 16: ...or the active ROI This value will be calculated in real time i e as pixel data in the ROI is captured from the sensor it is fed directly to an accumulator At the end of the frame the accumulator is di...

Page 17: ...can be adjusted from the Auto ROI tab in the XCAP GUI shown in Figure 10 The ROI can be moved to within a resolution of 4 pixels in the X and Y and the ROI size will have a resolution of 4 pixels An o...

Page 18: ...ode will be controlled automatically depending on the imaging scene illumination High gain mode provides the best noise performance and can provide better images for low scene illumination e g night i...

Page 19: ...tched to external trigger mode by selecting the Ext Triggered option When this mode is enabled the Trigger Polarity rising or falling edge dropdown input box will become available By default the camer...

Page 20: ...ls are fully functional Issues between the InGaAs layer indium dots and CMOS ROIC are inevitable Therefore all Raptor SWIR cameras have a pixel operability specification describing how many pixels are...

Page 21: ...The NUC is also performed at this temperature also so will not be optimal at other sensor temperatures There is roughly a 35 40 C delta between the PCB and sensor temperature so the set point can pos...

Page 22: ...nhancement Sharpens Image Bad Pixel Selecting Highlight will show the bad pixel map on the image that the NUC is correcting for Selecting the default Replace will hide the bap pixel map Mirror Selecti...

Page 23: ...he Info tab displays the manufacturers data of the camera such as the firmware version and serial number etc The PCB and sensor temperature can be read back from this tab by clicking Update Temp The I...

Page 24: ...ng images on XCAP Please contact Raptor to obtain this manual 9 2 Saving Preset Configuration Settings Different camera and frame grabber settings can be saved in the Preset tab under the PIXCI Frame...

Page 25: ...igure 17 In the contrast modification box that can be seen from Figure 18 select Stretch Contrast Histogram Percentile Endpoints and click preview The contrast modification will now be applied over th...

Page 26: ...ramework for implementing advanced and novel imaging procedures extending functionality customization and rapid development of specialized imaging applications Micro Manager has been developed at UCSF...

Page 27: ...onfiguration File After loading up Micro Manager the start up configuration window will pop up as seen from Figure 19 The user should ensure that none or MMConfig_demo cfg is selected from the dropdow...

Page 28: ...to the tools tab on the toolbar shown in Figure 20 Figures 21 25 outlines the process to create an Owl 640 N cfg file After selecting the Hardware Configuration Wizard from the main toolbar the wizar...

Page 29: ...ar with the device and property values stated in Figure 23 Click Ok Under Installed Devices the Owl 640 N will now be listed Figure 24 If the software froze on the last stage or an error occurs and th...

Page 30: ...e and where to store it The common place is to store in the Micro Manager 1 4 folder usually stored in C Program Files Micro Manager After selecting the name and location click Finish After finishing...

Page 31: ...to be stored in the Micro Manager folder to access it If the Micro Manager download was stored in the default section the configuration file should be stored in the same location C Program Files Micro...

Page 32: ...er guide gives a full breakdown on using all features and analytical tools of Micro Manager To access the controls of the camera select Device Property Browser from the Tools tab on the toolbar of the...

Page 33: ...e refer to section 8 that gives detailed and important information of using each camera control and the effect that it has on the camera performance Please Note that the controls in Micro Manager are...

Page 34: ...OWL 640 N USER MANUAL 03 20 REV1 0 CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS Raptor Photonics LTD Willowbank Business Park Larne Co Antrim BT40 2SF Northern Ireland PH 44 2828 270141 www raptorphotonics com...

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