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Teledyne Princeton Instruments PI-MAX 3, System Manual

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Chapter 2: PI-MAX3 Camera System

Teledyne Princeton Instruments’ PI-MAX3 is an advanced Intensified CCD (ICCD) 
camera system designed for general macro-imaging and microscopy imaging 
applications. It is ideal for applications involving ultra low light measurements, or 
measurements of transient effects. PI-MAX3 uses a proximity-focused microchannel 
plate (MCP) image intensifier (Gen II and Filmless Gen III intensifiers available) 
fiber-optically coupled to a CCD array. The fastest intensifiers can be gated in as little as 
3 ns or less with an exceptionally high on/off light-transmission ratio. The CCD array 
provides a low noise, high dynamic range readout device that can be scanned at a 
variety of pixel rates. A number of different arrays are available to match the PI-MAX3 to 
the widest possible range of experimental requirements.
The operation of the camera system is under complete control of WinView/32 
(Imaging,) WinSpec/32 (Imaging and Spectroscopy,) or LightField

®

 software packages. 

In pulsed/gated experiments where the camera needs to be synchronized to a light 
source such as a laser, the internal timing generator is used.
All PI-MAX3 systems consist of standard hardware and software as well as the 
appropriate interface hardware for your host computer system. 

Figure 2-1

 shows those 

items that are typically included as part of a standard PI-MAX3 Camera system.

Figure 2-1: Typical PI-MAX3 System Components

This chapter provides an introduction to, and overview information about, Teledyne 
Princeton Instruments’ PI-MAX3 camera system.

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Summary of Contents for Princeton Instruments PI-MAX 3

Page 1: ...www princetoninstruments com PI MAX 3 System Manual 4411 0129 Issue 2 August 20 2019 ...

Page 2: ...Princeton Instruments 3660 Quakerbridge Rd Trenton NJ 08619 TEL 800 874 9789 609 587 9797 2 PI MAX 3 System Manual Issue 2 Revision History Issue Date List of Changes Issue 2 August 20 2019 Issue 2 of this document incorporates the following changes Rebranded as Teledyne Princeton Instruments Issue 1 D September 21 2015 Issue 1 D of this document incorporates the following changes Added clarificat...

Page 3: ...a 22 2 1 1 Mount Adapters 22 2 1 2 Cooling 23 2 1 3 GigE Ethernet Card 23 2 1 4 Extender Bracket Kit 23 2 1 5 PI MAX3 Rear Panel Connectors and Indicators 24 2 1 6 Power 26 2 2 Application Software 28 2 3 Optional Accessories 29 2 3 1 Cables 29 2 3 2 CoolCUBEII Coolant Circulator 30 2 3 3 Spectrograph 30 2 4 PI MAX3 Camera and System Maintenance 30 2 4 1 Camera 30 2 4 2 Cleaning Optical Surfaces U...

Page 4: ...on 63 7 1 Data Acquisition Sequence 63 7 2 WinX 32 System On Off Sequences 64 7 3 Pre Exposure Removal of Accumulated Charge 64 7 3 1 Dark Charge 64 7 3 2 Cleaning 65 7 4 Phosphor Decay Delay 67 7 5 Temperature Control 68 7 5 1 Cooling Method 68 7 5 1 1 Air cooling 69 7 5 1 2 Supplemental Circulating Coolant 69 7 5 2 Setting the Temperature 70 7 6 Exposure 70 7 6 1 Exposure with an Image Intensifi...

Page 5: ... 4 3 Static Gate Experiment Fixed Width Fixed Delay 120 8 4 4 Single Shot Experiment 120 Chapter 9 LightField and Gated Operation 125 9 1 Precautionary Measures 126 9 1 1 Intensifier Modes and Safety 126 9 1 2 Alarm 127 9 2 Timing Mode 127 9 3 MCP Bracket Pulsing 128 9 3 1 Bracket Pulsing in LIF Measurements 129 9 3 2 Bracket Pulsing in Nanosecond Pump Probe Experiments 129 9 3 3 Limitations of Br...

Page 6: ...cence Experiment 175 13 4 Hardware Configuration for MCP Gated Operation 176 Chapter 14 Picosecond Option 179 14 1 Activating Picosecond Operation 179 14 2 Gain and Gate Width 179 14 3 MONITOR Operation 180 14 4 Repetition Rate Issues 180 14 5 Timing 180 14 6 Methods for Finding a Short Optical Pulse 181 14 6 1 Example 181 Chapter 15 Tips and Tricks 183 15 1 Overexposure Protection 183 15 2 Signal...

Page 7: ...ntal Requirements 204 A 1 4 Ventilation 205 A 2 Internal Pulser 205 A 3 Intensifier Quantum Efficiency 206 A 4 CoolCUBEII Circulator 207 A 5 Minimum Host Computer Requirements 208 Appendix B Outline Drawings 209 B 1 PI MAX3 209 B 2 PI MAX3 Power Supply 212 B 3 CoolCUBEII Circulator 213 Appendix C WinSpec 32 and LightField Cross References 215 C 1 WinSpec 32 to LightField Terminology 215 C 2 LightF...

Page 8: ...ear Panel Connectors 24 Figure 2 4 PI MAX3 Power Supply Connectors and Indicators 27 Figure 3 1 Primary Components of an Intensifier CCD 33 Figure 4 1 Block Diagram PI MAX3 37 Figure 5 1 Typical WinView 32 Setup Dialog Select Installation Type 43 Figure 5 2 Typical LightField Installation Wizard Dialog 44 Figure 5 3 Typical CoolCUBEII Coolant Circulator 45 Figure 5 4 Typical Camera Detection Wizar...

Page 9: ... of Interest Expander 94 Figure 7 22 Typical LightField Trigger Expander Internal Trigger Source 95 Figure 7 23 Typical LightField Trigger Expander External Trigger Source 95 Figure 7 24 Typical LightField SuperSYNCHRO Timing Expander 96 Figure 8 1 Timing Bracket Pulsing 100 Figure 8 2 Timing Diagram PI MAX3 MCP Bracket Pulsing 103 Figure 8 3 Typical PI MAX3 Experiments 104 Figure 8 4 Block Diagra...

Page 10: ...xpander External Trigger Source 138 Figure 9 14 Typical SuperSYNCHRO Timing Expander 139 Figure 9 15 Typical SuperSYNCHRO Timing with SyncMASTER On 140 Figure 9 16 Typical Experiment Results with Frame Cross Section Active 141 Figure 9 17 Block Diagram PI MAX3 SyncMASTER1 as Master Clock 141 Figure 9 18 Timing Diagram PI MAX3 SyncMASTER1 as Master Clock 142 Figure 9 19 Typical SuperSYNCHRO Timing ...

Page 11: ...re 12 8 Timing Diagram DIF Operation Dual Trigger 171 Figure 13 1 Hardware Block Diagram MCP Gated Operation 176 Figure 13 2 Timing Diagram MCP Gated Operation 177 Figure 16 1 Typical WinX 32 eBUS Driver Installation Tool Dialog 195 Figure 16 2 Typical LightField eBUS Driver Installation Tool Dialog 195 Figure A 1 Typical Phosphor Emission Spectra 199 Figure A 2 Typical AUX I O Cable 201 Figure A ...

Page 12: ...ator100 Table 8 2 Sample Single Shot Experiment Time Budget 120 Table 9 1 Timing Mode Shutter Control and Ext Trigger Input when Using the Internal Timing Generator128 Table 9 2 Sample Single Shot Experiment Time Budget 143 Table 14 1 Typical PI MAX3 1024i Picosecond Operation Data Sustained Operation180 Table 16 1 List of Recommended Troubleshooting Procedures 191 Table A 1 CCD Specifications 197...

Page 13: ...erating conditions are established Alarm To reduce the risk of detector damage the PI MAX3 detector is equipped with an audible alarm in the detector head that is activated when the intensity of light falling on the image intensifier exceeds a preset threshold NOTE It is normal for this alarm to sound briefly when the system is turned on While the alarm is sounding the photocathode is disabled Imm...

Page 14: ...otective window over the intensifier Do not scratch the image intensifier s coated surface To remove any lint or dust use very clean dry nitrogen with 5 PSI pressure If you have any questions please contact your sales contact or Teledyne Princeton Instruments Customer Service Refer to Contact Information on page 248 for more information ...

Page 15: ...llected using an PI MAX3 system This document provides all information necessary to safely install configure and operate the PI MAX3 beginning with the system s initial installation 1 2 Related Documentation Table 1 1 provides a list of related documentation and user manuals that may be useful when working with the PI MAX3 camera system To guarantee up to date information always refer to the curre...

Page 16: ...r provides information about experiment setup temperature control background subtraction array readout binning and digitization Chapter 8 WinX 32 and Gated Operation This chapter discusses issues specific using WinX 32 and operating the PI MAX3 system in gate mode Chapter 9 LightField and Gated Operation This chapter discusses issues specific using LightField and operating the PI MAX3 system in ga...

Page 17: ...ront of the PI MAX3 to another type if you have multiple adapters Appendix G Spectrograph Adapters This appendix provides mounting instructions for the spectroscopy mount adapter and for the spectrograph adapters available for PI MAX3 cameras with spectroscopy mounts Appendix H Glossary This appendix provides definitions of commonly used words and terms related to intensified camera characteristic...

Page 18: ...wall outlet must have a third prong or must be properly connected to an adapter that complies with these safety requirements WARNINGS 1 If the PI MAX3 camera system is used in a manner not specified by Teledyne Princeton Instruments the protection provided by the equipment may be impaired 2 The PI MAX3 has internal power supplies that generate hazardous and potentially lethal voltages It contains ...

Page 19: ... is continuously biased OFF and the intensifier is as safe as it can be NOTE In order for gating to occur the I I T switch on the back of the PI MAX3 must also be in the ON position 1 5 2 Audible Alarm NOTE It is normal for the alarm to sound briefly when the system is turned on To reduce the risk of camera damage the PI MAX3 camera is equipped with an audible alarm in the camera activated when th...

Page 20: ... level has been lowered If the alarm sounds continuously even when the illumination level is adequately low shut the system down and contact the factory for guidance 1 6 Precautions To prevent permanently damaging the PI MAX3 system observe the following precautions at all times CAUTION 1 Always switch off and unplug the PI MAX3 power supply before changing your system configuration in any way 2 W...

Page 21: ...canned at a variety of pixel rates A number of different arrays are available to match the PI MAX3 to the widest possible range of experimental requirements The operation of the camera system is under complete control of WinView 32 Imaging WinSpec 32 Imaging and Spectroscopy or LightField software packages In pulsed gated experiments where the camera needs to be synchronized to a light source such...

Page 22: ...re defined regions of interest can also be tested without having to digitize all the pixels of the array Flexible exposure set through software is also fully supported The PI MAX3 contains two High Speed analog to digital converters The effective digitization rate is software selectable After the data is converted it is transferred directly from the camera to the host computer memory via the high ...

Page 23: ...lso if the lab is particularly warm achieving temperature lock might take longer or not occur at all NOTE Liquid coolant circulation can also be used with the PI MAX3 camera Photocathode cooling to reduce equivalent background illumination EBI can be achieved via a dry nitrogen source NOTE Clear PVC tubing 3 feet 5 32 OD 1 32 wall McMaster Carr 5006K42 is supplied with the PI MAX3 to connect to a ...

Page 24: ...s turn the power off at the power supply before connecting or disconnecting any cable that interconnects the camera and the computer or serious damage to the CCD may result This damage is NOT covered by the manufacturer s warranty Figure 2 3 PI MAX3 Rear Panel Connectors 4411 0129_0004 MONITOR I I T PWR ON OFF ERROR TRIGGER IN OUT IN GIG E AUX OUT POWER READY OUT AUX I O LOGIC OUT ...

Page 25: ... limit is 6 25 kHz TRIGGER IN When external triggering is selected within the software the internal timing generator will be triggered by an externally derived trigger pulse range of 5 5 V applied to this input The threshold slope coupling mode i e AC or DC and input impedance i e High or 50 are selectable in software The corresponding Green LED flashes each time PI MAX3 is triggered At high repet...

Page 26: ... following five I O signals that can be used to input a trigger to initiate data acquisition to monitor frame readout status and to control an external shutter T0 Out Pre Trigger In SyncMASTER1 General Purpose Input 0 SyncMASTER2 Refer to Section A 1 1 AUX I O Connector Pinout on page 201 for additional information LOGIC OUT 0 to 3 3V logic level output TTL compatible WinView WinSpec32 Version 2 5...

Page 27: ...er Supply Connectors and Indicators Refer to Table 2 1 for information about each connector and indicator on the power supply Table 2 2 PI MAX3 Power Supply Connectors and Indicators Sheet 1 of 2 Label Description Power In Line Input for the power supply TEC Fault This Red LED is normally extinguished When illuminated or flashing this LED indicates a fault within the system has been detected 4411 ...

Page 28: ...ighest performance wavelength calibration software available providing up to 10X greater accuracy across the entire focal plane than competing routines PICam The standard 64 bit software interface for cooled CCD cameras from Teledyne Princeton Instruments PICam is an ANSI C library of camera control and data acquisition functions Refer to the PICam Programmer s Manual for the list of supported ope...

Page 29: ...thernet cable for connecting the PI MAX3 to the host computer The distance between the camera and the computer can be over 50 meters Contact the factory for longer cables 5 m 16 4 ft AUX I O 6050 0660 Female DB26 high density connector that connects to the AUX I O connector Provides access to five I O signals via BNC connectors that can be used to input a trigger to initiate data acquisition to mo...

Page 30: ...uld occur 2 4 1 Camera Although there is no periodic maintenance that needs to be performed on a PI MAX3 camera users are advised to wipe it down with a clean damp cloth from time to time This operation should only be done on the external surfaces and with all covers secured In dampening the cloth use clean water only No soap solvents or abrasives should be used Not only are they not required but ...

Page 31: ...ned In normal operation the CCD chamber should remain sealed for the life of the detector and should require no maintenance to assure integrity If it should ever happen that the CCD chamber becomes unsealed contact the factory and arrange to return the detector to the factory where it can be properly flushed backfilled and resealed again Refer to Contact Information on page 248 for complete inform...

Page 32: ...32 PI MAX 3 System Manual Issue 2 This page is intentionally blank ...

Page 33: ...e CCD using a fused fiber optic bundle from the output of the image intensifier to the front side of the CCD The image at the output of the image intensifier is translated to the input of the CCD at the same size 1 After being detected by the CCD the image is read out to the internal controller where it is digitized and then transferred to the computer for processing via a high speed data link 1 U...

Page 34: ...itional electrons resulting in electron gain The amount of gain is adjusted by increasing or decreasing the voltage at the MCP output 4 When the electrons exit the channels they are further accelerated by a constant high voltage 5 6 kV and strike the phosphor coating on the fluorescent screen causing it to release photons Because of the MCP gain there are now many photons for each photon that stru...

Page 35: ...h Adapters on page 227 4 If the appropriate interface card is not already installed in the host computer install it and its drivers Host Computer Manual 5 If the application software is not already installed in the host computer install it Section 5 4 Install Application Software on page 42 6 With the PI MAX3 power supply and computer power turned OFF connect the Ethernet cable GigE to the PI MAX3...

Page 36: ...rmation or change the parameters as appropriate Enter the pulser information Enter the experiment setup parameters If using a spectrograph enter or edit that setup information WinView 32 or WinSpec 32 manual LightField Online Help 12 Set the target array temperature The typical target temperature is 25 C Section 7 5 2 Setting the Temperature on page 70 13 When the system reaches temperature lock b...

Page 37: ...evel block diagrams Figure 4 1 Block Diagram PI MAX3 CoolCUBE II Coolant Circulator Spectrograph coolant circulator and dry nitrogen tank connections are optional 90 264 100 240 Power Supply Power Supply Spectrograph Acton SP2300i PI MAX3 USB Computer Trigger In GigE Dry Nitrogen Tank 4411 0129_0009 ...

Page 38: ...38 PI MAX 3 System Manual Issue 2 This page is intentionally blank ...

Page 39: ... system requirements including environmental storage power and minimum host computer requirements The PI MAX3 has an audible alarm and shutdown circuit to bias the photocathode off if excessive photocathode current is detected The circuit automatically resets and biases the photocathode back on after approximately 0 5 seconds The short term protection provided will not prevent intensifier damage i...

Page 40: ...ount F mount and spectroscopy mounts are supplied one of which has been factory installed GigE Computer Interface Host Computer customer supplied WinView 32 WinSpec 32 or LightField CD ROM User Manuals Interface Dependent Components Computer Interface GigE cable Standard Ethernet Cable 5 m P N 6050 0621 Additional lengths up to 100 m are available Interface Card User provided GigE interface card I...

Page 41: ...care not to block the ventilation openings CAUTION Cameras equipped with F mount must never be mounted with the camera nose up where the lens mount would be required to support the camera s weight The F mount is not designed to sustain the weight of the camera in this orientation and the camera could pull free Always provide additional support for the camera When the camera must be mounted in a no...

Page 42: ...igE Adapter card before installing the WinView 32 or WinSpec 32 application software 2 Leave the interface cable disconnected from the camera until you have installed WinView 32 or WinSpec 32 Version 2 5 25 or higher Perform the following procedure to install WinView 32 or WinSpec 32 application software 1 Insert the installation CD into the CD drive on the host computer The Installation Wizard wi...

Page 43: ...on Follow all on screen prompts 4 Once the installation has been completed verify the camera is connected to the host computer and that the camera power supply is turned on 5 Reboot the host computer Windows will detect the GigE card REFERENCES For additional information refer to Section 6 1 WinX 32 First Light on page 49 4411 0129_0010 ...

Page 44: ... the following procedure to install LightField application software 1 Insert the installation CD into the CD drive on the host computer The Installation Wizard will automatically launch See Figure 5 2 Figure 5 2 Typical LightField Installation Wizard Dialog 2 After the installation finishes reboot the host computer 3 Connect the PI MAX3 system components to the host computer and turn them on 4 Lau...

Page 45: ...ctions between the circulator and the camera It does not matter which hose from the circulator is plugged into which coolant port on the camera It is recommended that hoses be secured to the camera hose barbs with the clamp supplied NOTES 1 Verify there are no kinks in the hoses that impede the coolant flow Lack of sufficient flow can seriously harm the detector and any resulting damage is not cov...

Page 46: ...ource Perform the following procedure to connect the PI MAX3 to a dry nitrogen source 1 Remove the 3 foot 0 9 m clear PVC tubing from the Accessory Kit 2 Slip one end of the tubing on the plastic hose barb on the front of the PI MAX3 3 Connect the other end to a source of dry nitrogen 5 7 Configure Default System Parameters This section provides information about configuring default system paramet...

Page 47: ... screen prompts to complete the initial hardware setup The Camera Detection Wizard automatically enters default parameter values on the Hardware Setup dialog tabs It then provides the opportunity to acquire a test image to confirm the system is working properly REFERENCES For a step by step procedure about basic system setup and operation refer to Section 6 1 WinX 32 First Light on page 49 4411 01...

Page 48: ... LightField As LightField starts it detects available device s and places appropriate icons in the Available Devices area on the Experiment workspace 3 Once LightField has finished booting drag a desired icon into the Experiment Devices area The appropriate expanders will be loaded into the Experiment Settings stack on the left hand side of the window Default system parameters will automatically b...

Page 49: ...on page 97 for information about configuring Gating with WinX 32 Refer to Chapter 9 LightField and Gated Operation on page 125 for information about configuring Gating with LightField 6 1 WinX 32 First Light This section provides the step by step procedure for acquiring an imaging measurement in WinX 32 for the first time The purpose of this section is to gain familiarity with the operation of the...

Page 50: ...ting Mode for the first time WARNING All system components must be turned off before connecting or disconnecting cables 1 Connect the PI MAX3 power supply to The rear of the PI MAX3 An AC power source 2 Connect one end of the GigE cable P N 6050 0621 to the PI MAX3 GigE connector and the other end to the host computer s GigE Interface card connector 3 Set the PI MAX3 I I T On Off switch to off 4 C...

Page 51: ...ething wrong Turn off all power and contact Teledyne Princeton Instruments Customer Service for assistance Refer to Contact Information on page 248 for complete information 9 Turn on the host computer 10 Launch WinX 32 11 From the Setup menu select Pulsers to display the Pulsers dialog See Figure 6 1 Figure 6 1 Typical WinX 32 Setup Pulsers Dialog 12 On the Pulsers dialog select SuperSYNCHRO and t...

Page 52: ...nal is selected and that the Frequency is 10000 Hz See Figure 6 2 Figure 6 2 Typical WinX 32 SuperSYNCHRO Trigger In Tab Dialog 14 Click on the Gating tab select Repetitive and click Setup See Figure 6 3 Figure 6 3 Typical WinX 32 SuperSYNCHRO Gating Tab Dialog 4411 0129_0015 4411 0129_0016 ...

Page 53: ...lay 10 ns Gates Per Exposure 1 Repeat Width Delay for 1 See Figure 6 4 Figure 6 4 Typical WinX 32 Repetitive Gating Setup Dialog 16 Click OK 17 From the Acquisition Experiment Setup Main tab configure the following parameters as indicated CCD Readout Use Full Chip Intensifier Section Gain 1 Gate Mode selected See Figure 6 5 4411 0129_0017 ...

Page 54: ...X 32 Experiment Setup Main Tab Dialog 18 Click on the ADC tab to configure the Rate as indicated based on CCD type Kodak 1024 x 1024 16 MHz CCD30 11 1 MHz See Figure 6 6 Figure 6 6 Typical WinX 32 Experiment Setup ADC Tab Dialog 4411 0129_0018 4411 0129_0019 ...

Page 55: ... or ambient lighting is subdued 22 Set the PI MAX3 I I T switch to on NOTE The PI MAX3 overload alarm may sound briefly and then stop This is normal and is not a cause for concern However if the alarm sounds continuously even when there is no light entering the camera spectrograph there is something wrong Turn off all power and contact Teledyne Princeton Instruments Customer Service for assistance...

Page 56: ...ck on Acquire to confirm that the degree of focus has changed REFERENCES For additional information about focusing the PI MAX3 system refer to Appendix E Mounting and Focusing C and F Mount Lenses on page 221 Appendix G Spectrograph Adapters on page 227 Images acquired with an older PI MAX3 1024 x 256 camera may be upside down similar to the image shown in Figure 6 8 When this occurs there are two...

Page 57: ... If the PI MAX3 will not be used with the lens replace the C mount lens with the screw in dust cover provided with the C mount adapter If a different adapter will be used install the desired adapter Refer to Appendix F C F and Spectroscopy Mount Adapters on page 223 for complete information NOTE Always use the adapter s dust cover whenever the PI MAX3 is not being used ...

Page 58: ...have been read Familiarity with the LightField software The PI MAX3 camera is being operated in imaging mode The target that is being used is a sharp image text or a drawing that can be used to verify that the PI MAX3 is seeing and can be used to maximize focus NOTE This procedure is based on LightField Basic familiarity with the LightField software is assumed If this is not the case you may want ...

Page 59: ...oad alarm may sound briefly and then stop This is normal and is not a cause for concern However if the alarm sounds continuously even when there is no light entering the camera spectrograph there is something wrong Turn off all power and contact Teledyne Princeton Instruments Customer Service for assistance Refer to Contact Information on page 248 for complete information 9 Turn on the host comput...

Page 60: ...efault parameter values for the PI MAX3 will be configured The Status bar displays icons for Temperature Status and Intensifier Status Temperature Status reports the current temperature and whether the set temperature has been reached Intensifier Status reports whether or not the I I T Power switch on the rear of the PI MAX3 is turned on and whether the Enable Intensifier check box is checked Clic...

Page 61: ...tation or a new experiment is created data will be displayed correctly NOTE A new experiment resets all camera parameters to their default settings Therefore the orientation for a PI MAX3 1024 x 256 camera must be corrected whenever a new experiment is created 13 Verify the I I T Power switch on the rear of the PI MAX3 is in the on position 14 Verify Enable Intensifier is selected on the Common Ac...

Page 62: ...ers on page 227 If the image is upside down you need to change the orientation via the Online Corrections expander Figure 6 14 Typical LightField View Tab with Image 17 Once it has been confirmed that PI MAX3 is acquiring images properly turn the PI MAX3 I I T switch to off 18 Close the WinX 32 application 19 If the PI MAX3 will not be used with the lens replace the C mount lens with the screw in ...

Page 63: ...ata are acquired the CCD array is exposed to an incoming signal which integrates on the array At the end of the exposure which may include multiple gates the charge from the array pixels must be read out digitized and transferred to the host computer before the image from the array appears on the computer screen This is illustrated in Figure 7 1 Figure 7 1 Block Diagram Signal Path in Standard PI ...

Page 64: ...ay and post processing It will acquire signal whenever the camera has power whether or not the intensifier is being gated to take an exposure If the intensifier is off dark charge will be the main source of signal accumulation on the array To counteract this clean cycles and continuous clean cycles are used to remove the dark charge while the camera is waiting to acquire the signal of interest Dar...

Page 65: ...n the camera on and a clean pattern is programmed into the camera Their purpose is to remove charge that accumulates on the array while the camera not acquiring data i e exposing and reading out the array Figure 7 2 illustrates the timing diagram for an experiment configured to acquire three 3 images using Internal trigger mode configured on SuperSYNCHRO Trigger In tab Trigger expander and Gate Mo...

Page 66: ...eceipt of a start exposure signal and the beginning of the actual exposure This delay occurs because the current clean cycle must be completed before a start exposure signal received during the cycle will be implemented Typically the default setting is much smaller and in time critical experiments the setting should be 1 or 2 Clean Before Exposure Clean Before Exposure Available only for cameras t...

Page 67: ...he Setup Hardware Cleans Skips tab Sensor Cleaning panel on Sensor expander If you enter a value other than 0 you will further delay the start of the exposure by that number of clean cycles 7 4 Phosphor Decay Delay WinX 32 and LightField allow you to enter a delay between the end of the exposure time and the beginning of the array readout This time is inserted to allow the phosphor to decay to 1 b...

Page 68: ...ling the CCD array reduces the amount of dark charge thereby acting to improve the signal to noise ratio An internal Peltier device directly cools the cold finger on which the CCD is mounted The heat produced by the Peltier device is then removed by the air drawn into the camera by the internal fans and exhausted through the side panel grill The fans are always running and cooling the CCD and the ...

Page 69: ... with a temperature below laboratory ambient but this approach will increase the risk of condensation inside the PI MAX3 This condensation can cause catastrophic failure of the camera electronics Any resulting damage would be considered to have resulted from improper operation and will not be covered by the Warranty Even ordinary tap water is too cold to be used without risk For safety the water s...

Page 70: ...ch pixel in the two dimensional grid of individual pixels senses the intensity of light falling on its collection area and stores a proportional amount of charge in its associated well Once charge accumulates for the exposure time via gating sequences defined in the application software the pixels are read out serially Because CCD arrays are always sensitive to light light must not be allowed to f...

Page 71: ...range due to the buildup of dark charge in the pixels 7 7 Background Subtraction Each CCD has its own dark charge pattern or background that can be subtracted from the total acquired signal By subtracting this background you can eliminate the dark charge which might otherwise hide low intensity signal When setting up for background subtraction set up the experiment conditions for acquiring the act...

Page 72: ...fied and digitized Depending on the experiment design binning may also occur as part of the readout operation For the PI MAX3 1024i camera and WinX dual port readout mode is selected whenever full image readout is selected or when the region of interest ROI is defined to be horizontally symmetrical and centered Single port readout is activated when the ROI is not horizontally symmetrical and cente...

Page 73: ...Overlapped In Overlapped Readout mode each exposure begins while the readout of the prior exposure is in progress Non Overlapped In Non Overlapped Readout mode which is automatically selected when the exposure time is shorter than readout time each readout is completed before the next exposure begins Imaging area Masked area CCD Array Dual Port Readout Single Port Readout Output Amplifier Output N...

Page 74: ...l be shifted when the transfer occurs Section 2 This section represents shows the status early in the readout cycle Charge in the imaging areas has been transferred to the adjacent masked areas and up shifting to the readout register has started Note that a second exposure does not begin while the readout is in progress because the intensifier is not gated on at this time 1 Empty Readout Register ...

Page 75: ...imaging and storage areas are empty When the intensifier is gated on again signal charge will again be accumulated NOTE A subsection of the CCD can be read out at full resolution sometimes increasing the readout rate while retaining the highest resolution in the Region Of Interest ROI 7 8 1 2 Interline Readout Rate Equations that define the rate at which the CCD is read out are provided in this se...

Page 76: ...epresents a CCD after exposure but before the beginning of readout The capital letters represent different amounts of charge including both signal and dark charge Figure 7 7 Full Frame Readout Table 7 1 Readout Rates Kodak 1024 x 1024 Array 16 MHz Dual Port Mode Binning Region of Interest Size 1024 x 1024 400 x 400 200 x 200 1 x 1 25 8 fps 36 2 fps 42 5 fps 2 x 2 56 3 fps 49 5 fps 50 0 fps 4 x 4 9...

Page 77: ...is immediately ready for the next exposure The equations used to calculate the rate at which the CCD is read out are shown below The time needed to take a full frame at full resolution is 1 tR texp tc where tR is the CCD readout time texp is the exposure time tc is the phosphor decay time The readout time is approximately given by 2 tR Nx Ny tsr tv Nx ti where Nx is the smaller dimension of the CC...

Page 78: ... will configure 2 x 2 hardware binning In LightField hardware binning is configured on the Region of Interest expander First by verifying that hardware binning is selected on the Advanced fly out pane then selecting Full Sensor Binned and entering a 2 in fields or by clicking on the Edit ROIs button and creating a custom ROI with Bin W and the Bin H values set to 2 Limitations of hardware binning ...

Page 79: ... full frame is being read out or when an ROI is symmetrical about the horizontal center of the CCD In WinX a single port readout will automatically occur when an ROI is not symmetrical about the horizontal center of the CCD In LightField you can either change the ROI location size or select single port readout via the Advanced panel on the Region of Interest expander 7 8 3 1 1 Full Frame Binning F...

Page 80: ...e CCD Figure 7 10 illustrates single port operation for a full frame array Figure 7 10 Single Port Readout 2 x 2 Binning Full Frame CCD 4411 0129_0036 4411 0129_0037 A1 B1 C1 D1 A2 B2 C2 D2 A3 B3 C3 D3 A4 B4 C4 D4 A5 B5 C5 D5 A6 B6 C6 D6 A3 B3 C3 D3 A4 B4 C4 D4 A5 B5 C5 D5 A6 B6 C6 D6 A1 B1 C1 D1 A2 B2 C2 D2 A3 B3 C3 D3 A4 B4 C4 D4 A5 B5 C5 D5 A6 B6 C6 D6 A1 B1 C1 D1 A2 B2 C2 D2 A3 B3 C3 D3 A4 B4 ...

Page 81: ...rresponding configuration parameters NOTE WinX 32 may refer to the horizontal axis as either X or Wavelength depending on the specific application X Start to End 200 pixels no grouping binning Since 200 4 50 this is a valid ROI setup X Start to End 200 pixels and grouping binning is by 8 The resulting number of super pixels is 25 Since 25 4 6 25 this is not a valid ROI setting for the horizontal d...

Page 82: ...g dual port readout Because the ROI is not centered horizontally an Experiment Conflict is shown If you click on the Experiment Conflict icon a pop up window will report the nature of the conflict In this case the ROI needs to be centered horizontally Click on the middle Center button to reposition the ROI correctly NOTE Only one ROI can be created when dual port readout is selected When single po...

Page 83: ... Register Exposure has ended and image has been shifted to masked area of each pixel Charges from two masked areas in each column have been shifted to Readout Register and added After sum of first four charges have been transferred from Output Node next four charges are shifted into Output Node and added Four charges have been shifted to the Output Node and added A1 B1 C1 A2 B2 A4 A3 B4 B3 A6 A5 B...

Page 84: ...Region s of Interest and entered them in the Edit ROIs dialog For example a Bin W 5 and a Bin H 3 would not be allowed via the Edit ROIs dialog until you created a horizontally centered ROI whose dimensions would permit even division by those values If you use the Full Sensor Binned function LightField creates the appropriately sized ROI and reports the resulting image size The Custom Region s of ...

Page 85: ... 32 and LightField software binning can either be set up to occur automatically or as a manual post processing operation WinX 321 Automatic software binning is set up by entering Group parameters on the Acquisition Experiment Setup ROI Setup tab card and then selecting the Use Software Binning checkbox The drawback to automatic binning is that the raw data is lost Alternatively you can acquire raw...

Page 86: ...ixels the user may also want to select 1 Low if binning is being applied In both instances the goal is to prevent CCD saturation and maximize signal acquisition 2 High Users who consistently measure low level signals may wish to select 2 High which requires fewer electrons to generate an ADU and reduces some sources of noise If saturation occurs at this setting 1 Low should be selected 7 11 Digiti...

Page 87: ...ring Acquiring After a start acquisition command this output changes state on completion of the array cleaning cycles that precede the first exposure Initially low it goes high to mark the beginning of the first exposure In Focus mode operation it remains high until the system is halted If a specific number of frames have been programmed it remains high until all have been taken and then returns l...

Page 88: ...is at a logic high when the camera is ready to acquire and is waiting for an external trigger through the EXT SYNC connector before exposing the CCD The level goes low when a trigger is detected exposure begins The Wait for Trigger WFT signal goes high immediately after readout or after preopen if it is active If continuous cleans is enabled the camera will check for a trigger at the EXT SYNC conn...

Page 89: ...llect and store in a single file Each frame will be digitized and stored but all of the frames will be in a single file A frame may contain data from more than one region of interest as defined via the ROI Setup tab If the Accumulations 1 each stored frame will contain summed data sets from two or more exposures The number of separate frames stored will the same as it would be for Accumulations 1 ...

Page 90: ...fier gain also affects the Equivalent Background Illumination EBI of the intensifier One result of this is that to properly perform background subtraction a new background must be taken whenever the intensifier gain is changed Intensifier Mode The Intensifier Mode selection determines whether the intensifier will be biased on or off by the defined pulser gate timing Gate Mode or it will be continu...

Page 91: ...h hardware A drawback to this mode is that the computer will only display frames when it is not performing other tasks Image display has a lower priority so the image on the screen may lag several images behind A second drawback is that a data overrun may occur if the number of images collected exceeds the amount of allocated RAM or if the computer cannot keep up with the data rate Safe Mode opera...

Page 92: ...ters Start Safe Mode Start acquisition command sent from computer to camera 1 frame collected as per timing mode Background or flatfield on Background and or flatfield correction performed Frames complete During next acquisition frames are displayed as time permits Stop acquisition command sent from computer to camera Stop No Yes No Yes Cleans performed Computer programs camera with exposure and b...

Page 93: ...For detailed descriptions of all of the expanders refer to the LightField User s Manual and LightField s Online Help 7 14 1 Common Acquisition Settings Expander Figure 7 20 illustrates a typical LightField Common Acquisitions Setting expander Figure 7 20 Typical LightField Common Acquisitions Settings Expander The Common Acquisitions Setting expander includes the Number of Frames On CCD Accumulati...

Page 94: ...egions of interest This is also where you can set up and select either hardware or software binning The Advanced button opens a fly out pane where you the type of binning i e hardware or software to be used if you have entered bin values other than 1 The Edit ROIs button opens the Edit Regions of Interest window where you can capture a reference image to help you define which area or areas on the ...

Page 95: ...ernal Trigger Source The Trigger expander is where you specify the trigger source i e Internal or External to be used to trigger gating Internal trigger uses the user selected Internal Trigger Frequency configured on the SuperSYNCHRO Timing expander External requires that you define the external trigger so LightField will be able to recognize it when it occurs at the TRIGGER IN BNC on the rear of ...

Page 96: ...e you can enter gate width and delay information for the AUX OUT BNC When Internal Trigger is the selected Trigger Source or SyncMASTER is turned on you can also enter the Internal Trigger Frequency The hyperlinks open the appropriate expanders so you can check or make changes to the current settings for the intensifier trigger phosphor decay delay number of frames on CCD accumulations and readout...

Page 97: ...nanoseconds during the laser pulse thus reducing the flame emission interference by approximately the measurement duty factor ratio Exposure time is the time space from which charge integrating on the CCD will get summed into the reported data Gate width is the time during which light will be detected by the intensifier intensified and applied to the CCD Basically the intensifier controls what the...

Page 98: ...ned on immediately switch the I I T switch on the back of the PI MAX3 to the OFF position Cover the detector window and only switch the I I T switch to ON after the illumination level has been lowered to safe operating conditions 8 1 1 Intensifier Modes and Safety The Experiment Setup Main screen in WinX 32 applications allows you to select one of two intensifier modes Gate Mode In Gate Mode the p...

Page 99: ...ate attention 8 2 Timing Mode When in Gate Mode the internal timing generator only operates using Internal Sync timing This timing mode initiates a readout cycle after each internal timing generated pulse ensemble 1 The handshakes that prevent a readout from occurring while the timing generator is busy and that prevent the timing generator from pulsing the photocathode ON while a readout cycle is ...

Page 100: ...ch reduces the On Off ratio to about 2 x 104 at 200 nm This is the dominant response of a Gen II image intensifier to UV photons when the photocathode is electrically off At an On Off ratio of 20 000 the ability of a camera with conventional photocathode only gating to perform certain kinds of measurements in the UV is adversely affected MCP bracket pulsing1 keeps the MCP biased OFF except for an ...

Page 101: ...ection of CW and even millisecond time scale background An alternative to suppressing background for imaging has been the use of very narrow spectral bandpass filters In the UV these filters are expensive and they can have low transmission at their central wavelength An additional filter is required for each wavelength to be imaged The use of electronic temporal rejection of CW or quasi CW backgro...

Page 102: ...ecessary to delay the arrival of the laser pulse at the sample this will mean inserting an additional delay of 10 ns min gate delay 25 ns with bracket 35 ns to accomplish coincidence at the detector MCP bracketing should only be used in experiments where it is going to make a difference Also MCP bracket gating limits the repetition rate to 6 25 kHz Without it the gate repetition rate can be up to ...

Page 103: ... allows the MCP to be up to full gain before the photocathode is gated on NOTE Because Gen III Intensifiers do not respond in the UV bracket pulsing is not available for these intensifiers Figure 8 2 Timing Diagram PI MAX3 MCP Bracket Pulsing Bracket Aux Out 12 ns Ů PU PU Trigger In T0 T0 remains high for the duration of the pulse ensemble Switches Photocathode OFF Gates MCP ON and OFF Delay is pr...

Page 104: ...of intensity vs time such as might be obtained with a sampling oscilloscope This technique is used to measure lifetime decays Repetitive Sequential 2 The Trigger is repetitive and Gate Width and Delay are varied over the course of the measurement Gate Width and Delay can be incremented in a linear fashion or in an exponential fashion Increasing the Gate Width is useful for trying to find fine deta...

Page 105: ...mum of dark current Pre Trigger can be helpful if available 8 4 1 Swept Gate Experiment Fixed Width Variable Delay This section provides information about configuring a Swept Gate experiment with fixed Gate Width and variable Gate Delay i e Repetitive Sequential 1 8 4 1 1 Experiment is Master Clock NOTE In this configuration the experiment itself serves as the Master Clock This experiment attempts...

Page 106: ...Figure 8 5 for connection information 1 Turn on the equipment and start the WinX 32 application software Version 2 5 25 or higher 2 Open the Setup Hardware Hardware Setup dialog The Hardware Setup dialog is displayed similar to that illustrated in Figure 8 6 which shows information for a KAI 1024 x 1024 interline camera Figure 8 6 Typical Hardware Setup Controller Camera Tab Trigger In Level chang...

Page 107: ...he WinView 32 or WinSpec 32 manual as necessary 3 If you have a spectrograph configure the spectrograph properties using the menu items on the Spectrograph menu WinSpec 32 only If the spectrograph being used has not been installed first click on Install Remove Spectrograph and do so before setting the properties Figure 8 7 through Figure 8 9 illustrate the WinSpec 32 sequence for an Action 300I sp...

Page 108: ...108 PI MAX 3 System Manual Issue 2 Figure 8 8 Typical Install Remove Spectrographs Dialog Figure 8 9 Typical Define Spectrograph Dialog Main Tab Acton SP300i 4411 0129_0057 4411 0129_0058 ...

Page 109: ...e Spectrograph Dialog 5 At this point verify that the camera is focused by running it in Internal Trigger mode Perform the following procedure to configure Internal Trigger mode a On the Experiment Setup Main tab choose Gate Mode and configure a value between 0 and 100 for MCP gain See Figure 8 11 Figure 8 11 Typical Experiment Setup Dialog Main Tab 4411 0129_0059 4411 0129_0060 ...

Page 110: ...e Timing tab select Fast Mode See Figure 8 12 Figure 8 12 Typical Experiment Setup Dialog Timing Tab c On the ADC tab select the appropriate rate See Figure 8 13 Figure 8 13 Typical Experiment Setup Dialog ADC Tab 4411 0129_0061 4411 0129_0062 ...

Page 111: ...p tab select the appropriate ROI See Figure 8 14 Figure 8 14 Typical Experiment Setup Dialog ROI Setup Tab e On the SuperSYNCHRO Trigger In tab select Internal See Figure 8 15 Figure 8 15 Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog Trigger In Tab 4411 0129_0063 4411 0129_0064 ...

Page 112: ... you will be asked if you want to change the setting to Use Region of Interest before focus mode is activated Click Yes and the camera will begin acquiring data 7 After you make sure that the camera is seeing stop data acquisition 8 Perform the following procedure to configure the pulser SuperSYNCHRO a After selecting SuperSYNCHRO as the active pulser click Setup Pulser Define the external trigger...

Page 113: ...ave a Gen II intensifier set Bracket Pulsing to OFF for this experiment See Figure 8 17 Figure 8 17 Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog Gating Tab c Click Setup to display the Sequential Gating Setup dialog See Figure 8 18 Figure 8 18 Typical Sequential Gating Setup Dialog 4411 0129_0066 AVAILABLE FOR GEN II INTENSIFIERS 4411 0129_0067 ...

Page 114: ... Since this experiment requires a fixed gate width these values will be the same Under Gate Delay from T0 Out configure the desired Start and End durations For this experiment Start delay is 1 s End delay is 201 s Under On CCD Accumulations configure the number of Gates per Exposure In this case 1 To verify the Gate Delay for each of the 41 spectra click View Width Delay Sequence See Figure 8 19 F...

Page 115: ...he output of the SyncMASTER2 connector will be at the same frequency as that of SyncMASTER1 However you can enter a delay so the edges of that signal will occur after the edges of SyncMASTER1 When using the Aux Out signal from the SuperSYNCHRO to trigger a piece of equipment enter the Auxiliary pulse Delay time on the Trigger Out tab The delay is based on T0 This is in effect a delay from SyncMAST...

Page 116: ...igure 8 21 Typical Experiment Setup Dialog Timing Tab 10 On the Main tab configure the Intensifier Gain value and select Gate Mode NOTE In Gate Mode the photocathode is only biased on for the time that each gate pulse is applied This limits the risk of damage resulting from room light However there is a risk of damaging overload from intense light sources such as lasers See Figure 8 22 4411 0129_0...

Page 117: ...g on the number configured on the Sequential Gating Setup dialog See Figure 8 18 11 After verifying all connections and equipment readiness click Acquire to begin acquiring the spectra images Figure 8 23 illustrates a typical 3 D graph for a Sequential Repetitive experiment with Fixed Width and Variable Delay as configured in step 8 of this procedure 4411 0129_0070 ...

Page 118: ...with Trigger In the PI MAX3 SyncMASTER function can be used as the Master clock Figure 8 24 illustrates the block diagram for this configuration and Figure 8 25 is the timing diagram Figure 8 24 Block Diagram PI MAX3 SyncMASTER1 as Master Clock 4411 0129_0071 PI MAX3 Spectrograph AUX I O AUX OUT 96 264 GigE USB AUX I O Cable SynchMASTER1 Out 4411 0129_0072 ...

Page 119: ...Gate experiment with variable width and delay is similar to that for a Swept Gate experiment with fixed width and variable delay with the following configuration changes In addition to configuring differing start and end values for the Gate Delay differing start and end values for the Gate Width must be configured Refer to Section 8 4 1 Swept Gate Experiment Fixed Width Variable Delay on page 105 ...

Page 120: ...a photodiode can be used to generate an electrical trigger from the laser light In this situation light has to be delayed by optical means fiber optic cable or mirror reflections to allow sufficient time for the electronics to be activated after receiving the trigger Another important thing to note in single shot experiments is that the CCD is set in Continuous Cleans mode so that there is no dark...

Page 121: ...riment Figure 8 27 Block Diagram Single Shot After setting up the appropriate hardware default values for Cleans and Skips are loaded See Figure 8 28 Figure 8 28 Typical Cleans and Skips Default Values If the CCD has to wait more than a few seconds for the external trigger it is advisable to increase the number of cleans PI MAX3 Photodiode Laser Trigger In Fiber Optic Cable Beam Splitter GigE 4411...

Page 122: ...e and the appropriate Gain is selected See Figure 8 29 Figure 8 29 Typical Experiment Setup Dialog Main Tab Gain Configuration Gate width and gate delay are set in such a way that the intensifier is gated ON during the entire event in this case the event is a 60 ns fluorescence See Figure 8 30 Figure 8 30 Repetitive Gating Setup 100 ns Width 10 ns Delay 4411 0129_0060 4411 0129_0077 ...

Page 123: ...Single Shot Result Fluorescence Spot 100 ns Width 10 ns Delay Figure 8 32 shows the peak obtained by binning in the vertical direction the entire region around the fluorescence spot Figure 8 32 Single Shot Result Fluorescence Spot 100 ns Width 10 ns Delay Binned Vertically 4411 0129_0078 4411 0129_0079 ...

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Page 125: ...w nanoseconds during the laser pulse thus reducing the flame emission interference by approximately the measurement duty factor ratio Exposure time is the time space from which charge integrating on the CCD will get summed into the reported data Gate width is the time during which light will be detected by the intensifier intensified and applied to the CCD Basically the intensifier controls what t...

Page 126: ...rned on immediately switch the I I T switch on the back of the PI MAX3 to the OFF position Cover the detector window and only switch the I I T switch to ON after the illumination level has been lowered to safe operating conditions 9 1 1 Intensifier Modes and Safety The Experiment Setup Main screen in WinX 32 applications allows you to select one of two intensifier modes Gate Mode In Gate Mode the ...

Page 127: ...attention 9 2 Timing Mode When you are in Gate Mode the internal timing generator will only operate using Internal Sync timing This timing mode initiates a readout cycle after each internal timing generated pulse ensemble 1 The handshakes that prevent a readout from occurring while the timing generator is busy and that prevent the timing generator from pulsing the photocathode ON while a readout c...

Page 128: ...ch reduces the On Off ratio to about 2 x 104 at 200 nm This is the dominant response of a Gen II image intensifier to UV photons when the photocathode is electrically off At an On Off ratio of 20 000 the ability of a camera with conventional photocathode only gating to perform certain kinds of measurements in the UV is adversely affected MCP bracket pulsing1 keeps the MCP biased OFF except for an ...

Page 129: ...ejection of CW and even millisecond time scale background An alternative to suppressing background for imaging has been the use of very narrow spectral bandpass filters In the UV these filters are expensive and they can have low transmission at their central wavelength An additional filter is required for each wavelength to be imaged The use of electronic temporal rejection of CW or quasi CW backg...

Page 130: ...ecessary to delay the arrival of the laser pulse at the sample this will mean inserting an additional delay of 10 ns min gate delay 25 ns with bracket 35 ns to accomplish coincidence at the detector MCP bracketing should only be used in experiments where it is going to make a difference Also MCP bracket gating limits the repetition rate to 6 25 kHz Without it the gate repetition rate can be up to ...

Page 131: ...y allows the MCP to be up to full gain before the photocathode is gated on NOTE Because Gen III Intensifiers do not respond in the UV bracket pulsing is not available for these intensifiers Figure 9 2 Timing Diagram PI MAX3 MCP Bracket Pulsing Bracket Aux Out 12 ns Ů PU PU Trigger In T0 T0 remains high for the duration of the pulse ensemble Switches Photocathode OFF Gates MCP ON and OFF Delay is p...

Page 132: ...of intensity vs time such as might be obtained with a sampling oscilloscope This technique is used to measure lifetime decays Repetitive Sequential 2 The Trigger is repetitive and Gate Width and Delay are varied over the course of the measurement Gate Width and Delay can be incremented in a linear fashion or in an exponential fashion Increasing the Gate Width is useful for trying to find fine deta...

Page 133: ...imum of dark current Pre Trigger can be helpful if available 9 4 1 Swept Gate Experiment Fixed Width Variable Delay This section provides information about configuring a Swept Gate experiment with fixed Gate Width and variable Gate Delay i e Repetitive Sequential 1 9 4 1 1 Experiment is Master Clock NOTE In this configuration the experiment itself serves as the Master Clock This experiment attempt...

Page 134: ...h LightField 2 Open the Sensor expander and click on Sensor Cleaning The Sensor Cleaning fly out panel is displayed similar to that illustrated in Figure 9 6 which shows the setup for a PI MAX3 1024i camera Figure 9 6 Typical Sensor Cleaning Fly out Panel a If one or more orange reset buttons are shown on the fly out pane click on them to reset to the default values b Configure the Sensor Temperat...

Page 135: ...con is dragged into the Experiment Devices area the Spectrometer expander is added to the Experiment Settings stack Configure the spectrograph parameters using the fields on the Spectrometer expander See Figure 9 7 Figure 9 7 Typical Spectrometer Expanders 4 Move the grating to the desired wavelength 5 On the Region of Interest expander select Full Sensor See Figure 9 8 4411 0129_0081 TELEDYNE ACT...

Page 136: ...focused by running it in Internal Trigger mode Perform the following procedure to configure Internal Trigger mode a On the Common Acquisition Settings expander check Enable Intensifier and configure a value between 1 and 1000 for Intensifier Gain See Figure 9 9 Figure 9 9 Typical Common Acquisition Settings Expander 4411 0129_0082 4411 0129_0083 ...

Page 137: ...e 9 11 Figure 9 11 Typical Trigger Expander Internal Trigger Source Selected 7 After setting the parameters and making sure the ambient light level is low click on the View tab followed by Run to begin acquiring data NOTE This data will not be saved 8 After you verify that the camera is seeing stop data acquisition 9 On the Region of Interest expander select Full Sensor Binned and enter 1024 in th...

Page 138: ...Region of Interest Expander Full Sensor Binned 10 On the Trigger expander change Trigger Source to External and define the external trigger parameters See Figure 9 13 Figure 9 13 Typical Trigger Expander External Trigger Source 4411 0129_0086 4411 0129_0087 ...

Page 139: ...erlink and enter the number of On CCD Accumulations per frame For this experiment enter 1 d The SyncMASTER ON button allows you to enable the SyncMASTER trigger output from the SyncMASTER1 and SyncMASTER2 connectors on the AUX I O cable and select the frequency for the SyncMASTER outputs You can also set up the AUX Output signal at the AUX OUT connector on the rear of the PI MAX3 When you enable S...

Page 140: ... the spectra or images NOTE The photocathode is biased on only for the time that each gate pulse is applied This limits the risk of damage resulting from room light However there is a risk of damaging overload from intense light sources such as lasers Figure 9 16 displays the graph for a Sequential Repetitive experiment with fixed width and variable delay Show Frame Cross Section has been selected...

Page 141: ...e that is equipped with Trigger In the PI MAX3 SyncMASTER function can be used as the Master clock Figure 9 17 illustrates the block diagram for this configuration and Figure 9 18 is the timing diagram Figure 9 17 Block Diagram PI MAX3 SyncMASTER1 as Master Clock 4411 0129_0090 PI MAX3 Spectrograph AUX I O AUX OUT 96 264 GigE USB AUX I O Cable SynchMASTER1 Out 4411 0129_0072 ...

Page 142: ...e experiment with variable width and delay is similar to that for a Swept Gate experiment with fixed width and variable delay with the following configuration changes In addition to configuring differing start and end values for the Gate Delay differing start and end values for the Gate Width must be configured Refer to Section 9 4 1 Swept Gate Experiment Fixed Width Variable Delay on page 133 for...

Page 143: ...iment a photodiode can be used to generate an electrical trigger from the laser light In this situation light has to be delayed by optical means fiber optic cable or mirror reflections to allow sufficient time for the electronics to be activated after receiving the trigger Another important thing to note in single shot experiments is that Sensor Cleaning is configured to Clean Until Trigger so tha...

Page 144: ...0 illustrates the hardware block diagram for this experiment Figure 9 20 Block Diagram Single Shot After setting up the appropriate hardware default values for Cleaning and Skipping are loaded See Figure 9 21 Figure 9 21 Typical Cleans and Skips Default Values PI MAX3 Photodiode Laser Trigger In Fiber Optic Cable Beam Splitter GigE 4411 0129_0075 4411 0129_0092 ...

Page 145: ...propriate Gain is selected See Figure 9 22 Figure 9 22 Typical Common Acquisition Settings Expander Configure Gain Gate width and gate delay are set in such a way that the intensifier is gated ON during the entire event in this case the event is a 60 ns fluorescence See Figure 9 23 Figure 9 23 Repetitive Gating Setup 100 ns Width 25 ns Delay 4411 0129_0083 4411 0129_0093 ...

Page 146: ...le Shot Result Fluorescence Spot 100 ns Width 25 ns Delay Figure 9 25 shows the peak obtained by binning in the vertical direction the entire region around the fluorescence spot Figure 9 25 Single Shot Result Fluorescence Spot 100 ns Width 25 ns Delay Binned Vertically 4411 0129_0094 4411 0129_0095 ...

Page 147: ...X1 SyncMASTER START and STOP define the photocathode gate pulse NOTE MCP GATE START and STOP are not visible to the user and are included for information purposes only See Figure 10 1 Figure 10 1 Typical Pulse Set The EXPOSE signal remains high for the duration of the pulse set and goes low upon approximately 15 ns after pulse completion MCP_GATE START STOP AUX1 SyncMASTER AUX2 4411 0129_0096 ...

Page 148: ...internal trigger Source 2 External Trigger input on the TRIGGER IN BNC A pulse set is initiated by an external trigger 10 2 Single Sequence A sequence is the repetition of one pulse set X number of times Figure 10 3 shows a sequence with the pulse set repeated three 3 times Figure 10 3 Single Sequence with Three Repetitions The EXPOSE signal remains high for the duration of the sequence and goes l...

Page 149: ...by an external trigger 10 3 Time Stamping Time Stamping provides the ability to include the following timing data with each frame of acquired data Exposure Started This time stamp indicates the time control is passed from the camera FPGA to the timing generator not the actual image intensifier gate time Once control is passed to the timing generator the timing generator waits for a trigger or trig...

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Page 151: ...hosphor persistence can become the limiting factor in the rate of image acquisition WinView 32 or WinSpec 32 software version 2 5 26 or higher can control the DIF functionality of the PI MAX3 and provide full access to the two DIF timing modes Single Trigger Dual Trigger 11 2 Interline CCD Operation An interline CCD consists of alternating columns of light sensitive pixels and storage pixels The l...

Page 152: ...uisition Experiment Setup Timing tab 11 4 Configure a Single Trigger DIF Experiment Figure 11 1 illustrates the system block diagram for a single trigger DIF experiment Figure 11 1 Typical System Block Diagram DIF Operation Figure 11 2 shows the timing diagram for single trigger DIF operation Figure 11 2 Timing Diagram DIF Operation Single Trigger Spectrograph coolant circulator and dry nitrogen t...

Page 153: ...s is best performed while the PI MAX3 is operating in Interline mode i e before switching to DIF mode Verify that the Phosphor Decay Time is appropriate for the phosphor used by the camera This information is found on the Setup Hardware Setup Controller Camera tab Refer to Chapter 6 First Light on page 49 for information about initial focus 2 After the alignment and focus the PI MAX3 system needs ...

Page 154: ...lbar or by selecting Gate Mode on the Acquisition Experiment Setup Main tab See Figure 11 4 Figure 11 4 Typical Experiment Setup Main Tab 4 On the Acquisition Experiment Setup Timing tab verify Timing Mode is configured for Single Trig Mode Continuous Cleans is also recommended for DIF See Figure 11 5 Figure 11 5 Typical Experiment Setup Timing Tab 4411 0129_0103 4411 0129_0104 ...

Page 155: ... and click on the Setup Pulser button See Figure 11 6 Figure 11 6 Typical Pulsers Dialog Perform the following procedure to configure SuperSYNCHRO a On the Gating tab of the SuperSYNCHRO dialog select DIF Gating and click the Setup button Figure 11 7 Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog 4411 0129_0014 4411 0129_0105 ...

Page 156: ...lay is greater than the Phosphor Decay Time configured on the Setup Hardware Setup Controller Camera tab See Figure 11 8 Figure 11 8 Typical DIF Gating Setup Dialog c On the Trigger In tab select Internal or External triggering When using External triggering verify the trigger characteristics match the active trigger edge etc of the trigger pulse that will be used Figure 11 9 Typical SuperSYNCHRO ...

Page 157: ...ggers Figure 11 10 Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog Trigger Out Tab e At the bottom of the SuperSYNCHRO dialog click OK to download the gating sequence to the SuperSYNCHRO 6 When the experiment is ready click on the ACQ button or select Acquire on the Acquisition menu to start the image acquisition 4411 0129_0069 ...

Page 158: ...ger NOTE For the purposes of this procedure it is assumed that either WinView 32 or WinSpec 32 is being used to control the system Spectrograph coolant circulator and dry nitrogen tank connections are optional LASER 1 LASER 2 Trigger 1 Trigger 2 100 240 100 240 GiGE Trigger In Power Supply PI MAX3 Computer 4411 0129_0100 QLWLDO DWH HOD XV 3XOVH DWH HOD PLQ GHOD RI FDPHUD a QV 3 3KRVSKRU HFD 7LPH W...

Page 159: ...ode i e before switching to DIF mode Verify that the Phosphor Decay Time is appropriate for the phosphor used by the camera This information is found on the Setup Hardware Setup Controller Camera tab Refer to Chapter 6 First Light on page 49 for information about initial focus 2 After the alignment and focus the PI MAX3 system needs to be put into DIF mode On the Setup Hardware Setup Controller Ca...

Page 160: ...lbar or by selecting Gate Mode on the Acquisition Experiment Setup Main tab See Figure 11 4 Figure 11 14 Typical Experiment Setup Main Tab 4 On the Acquisition Experiment Setup Timing tab verify Timing Mode is configured for Dual Trig Mode Continuous Cleans is also recommended for DIF See Figure 11 5 Figure 11 15 Typical Experiment Setup Timing Tab 4411 0129_0103 4411 0129_0108 ...

Page 161: ...and click on the Setup Pulser button See Figure 11 6 Figure 11 16 Typical Pulsers Dialog Perform the following procedure to configure SuperSYNCHRO a On the Gating tab of the SuperSYNCHRO dialog select DIF Gating and click the Setup button Figure 11 17 Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog 4411 0129_0014 4411 0129_0105 ...

Page 162: ...it is 75 s See Figure 11 8 Figure 11 18 Typical DIF Gating Setup Dialog Dual Trigger c On the Trigger In tab select Internal or External triggering When using External triggering verify the trigger characteristics match the active trigger edge etc of the trigger pulse that will be used Figure 11 19 Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog Trigger In Tab 4411 0129_0109 4411 0129_0064 ...

Page 163: ...ggers Figure 11 20 Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog Trigger Out Tab e At the bottom of the SuperSYNCHRO dialog click OK to download the gating sequence to the SuperSYNCHRO 6 When the experiment is ready click on the ACQ button or select Acquire on the Acquisition menu to start the image acquisition 4411 0129_0069 ...

Page 164: ...phor has a decay time of 2 s which means it takes 2 s for the phosphor emission to drop to 10 of its peak value The decay is not a simple single exponential Even after 100 s there may be 1 or more of the first image on the phosphor screen It is usually possible to subtract a percentage of the first image from the second image to remove the residual image If this is not possible there are intensifi...

Page 165: ...roadly applicable categories Single Trigger Single trigger experiments involve a single impulse event that evolves over time such as a laser induced plasma or luminescence decay Dual Trigger Dual trigger experiments involve two impulses separated in time such as double laser pulse velocimetry measurements 12 1 Requirements For DIF operation the PI MAX3 must use an interline CCD On the Readout expa...

Page 166: ...orage pixels The light sensitive columns are referred to as the active area and acquire the image The storage pixels are called the masked area and store the image in the dark while it is read out With this architecture the CCD can acquire a second image while the first image is being read out unlike a standard CCD which must read out the first image before the second acquisition can begin The abi...

Page 167: ...ly generated by the PI MAX3 or can be generated by an external source connected to the TRIGGER IN connector on the rear of the camera Supported Trigger Responses are Readout Per Trigger Two shot one trigger for both shots Shift Per Trigger Two shot each shot requires a trigger Trigger Source Trigger Source is configured via the Trigger Source pull down Supported Trigger Source are External In orde...

Page 168: ... increments NOTE The Internal Trigger Frequency setting also determines the frequencies of SynchMASTER1 and SyncMASTER2 outputs 12 3 1 Configure a Single Trigger DIF Experiment Figure 12 5 illustrates the system block diagram for a single trigger DIF experiment Figure 12 5 Typical System Block Diagram DIF Operation 4411 0129_0113 Spectrograph coolant circulator and dry nitrogen tank connections ar...

Page 169: ...Acquisition Settings expander NOTE The Phosphor Decay Delay setting tells LightField how long to wait after the gate pulse to shift the image If there is some residual image from the first frame in the second frame simply increase the Phosphor Decay Delay setting to allow more time for the phosphor emission to decay before shifting the image If residual image is not an issue then the Phosphor Deca...

Page 170: ... parameter configurations Intensifier Settings Trigger Settings Phosphor Decay Delay Time Number of Frames i e a multiple of 2 Readout Mode i e DIF or Full Frame c When using PI MAX3 generated internal triggers for DIF acquisition configure the desired Internal Trigger Frequency d Configure the desired Gate Width and Delay Times for the first and second images The Initial Gate Delay time will be 8...

Page 171: ...rigger DIF operation Figure 12 8 Timing Diagram DIF Operation Dual Trigger Spectrograph coolant circulator and dry nitrogen tank connections are optional LASER 1 LASER 2 Trigger 1 Trigger 2 100 240 100 240 GiGE Trigger In Power Supply PI MAX3 Computer 4411 0129_0100 QLWLDO DWH HOD XV 3XOVH DWH HOD PLQ GHOD RI FDPHUD a QV 3 3KRVSKRU HFD 7LPH W1 3XOVH DWH LGWK 3XOVH DWH LGWK D1 W1 D2 W2 PD PD 75 5 0...

Page 172: ... the image If residual image is not an issue then the Phosphor Decay Delay setting can be decreased to reduce the time between the two DIF images 2 After alignment and focus the PI MAX3 system needs to be configure for DIF mode On the Readout expander select configure Readout Mode to DIF On the Common Acquisition Settings expander configure Number of Frames to a multiple of 2 e g 2 4 6 etc 3 On th...

Page 173: ...points to consider that may make the experiment setup or troubleshooting much smoother and easier The most important piece of equipment in a DIF experiment is an oscilloscope The PI MAX3 has a MONITOR BNC on the back of the camera which is very useful for seeing when the two image exposures occur during the course of the experiment The use of the MONITOR BNC and an oscilloscope is discussed in mor...

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Page 175: ... the gating parameters You may want to start with a relatively long gate to acquire the phenomenon of interest 4 Begin running the experiment 5 Finally narrow down the gate to the desired operation NOTE Pulse repetition rate is limited to 10 kHz 13 2 Gain Variation MCP gain approximately doubles for each 50 V increase in voltage Therefore small ripples in the MCP voltage as a result of the gating ...

Page 176: ...Gated Operation The laser trigger output is applied to the PI MAX3 s TRIGGER IN connector to initiate the timing sequence SuperSYNCHRO outputs gate the MCP on and off To prevent artifacts from the laser from degrading the data it is essential that SuperSYNCHRO be inhibited during each readout Figure 13 2 is the timing diagram for MCP gating of the photocathode PI MAX3 Photodiode GigE 100 240 100 2...

Page 177: ...RWNUG GPUGODNG 5YKVEJGU 2 1 CVGU 2JQVQECVJQFG 10 CPF 1 GNC KU RTQITCOOCDNG 5YKVEJGU 2 10 6 6 1HH 1HH 1HH 1HH On On 2JQVQECVJQFG CVKPI 2JQVQECVJQFG CVKPI 2 CVKPI 2 CVKPI Gate Start CVG 5VQR PU Td TRM V RKECN GRGPFU QP KPFKXKFWCN KOCIG KPVGPUKHKGT GRGPFU QP KPFKXKFWCN KOCIG KPVGPUKHKGT 1RVKECN 4GURQPUG 6 RKECN CKP XU 6KOG 2TQHKNG UJQYU UQOG TKPIKPI 4411 0129_0115 ...

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Page 179: ...Automatically selects the picosecond gating board whenever the gate width is set below 3 ns LightField The Picosecond Widths button will be added to the SuperSYNCHRO Timing expander when a PI MAX3 equipped with the picosecond gating board is detected and loaded as an experiment device 14 2 Gain and Gate Width The apparent gain of the intensifier falls off as the gate width is reduced Typically at ...

Page 180: ...e picosecond gate generator includes a digital average duty factor limiting circuit that will lock out gating and illuminate the red LED on the rear panel to limit the average heat buildup in the gating circuit This allows continuous operation at 10 kHz and varying numbers of gates per frame at higher rates depending on the read out time Acquisitions of a few frames can usually be done with more g...

Page 181: ...the PI MAX3 so the optical gate is wide enough to be sure it encompasses the optical pulse This method works well if the pulse is conveniently repetitive such as one derived from a repetitive laser Once the pulse is found it is an easy matter to reduce the pulse width and adjust the delay until the precise timing needed is achieved The PI MAX3 repetitive and sequential gating can be used to good a...

Page 182: ... best signal strength and or signal to noise ratio then jump down to the final gate width if width 500 ps is desired and again do a sweep to find the exact timing that maximizes the result This method has the advantage of assuring that the camera is seeing the pulse with the most favorable set up before narrowing the gate width down WinX 32 LightField Number of Images Spectra 101 Gate Mode Sequent...

Page 183: ...ental conditions dictate that only a small portion of the photocathode is illuminated over relatively long periods of time change the illuminated region of the photocathode periodically to avoid long term localized photocathode or MCP damage If you can do so it is a good idea to avoid intense light on the intensifier even when it is off High light levels increase EBI often for hours even when the ...

Page 184: ...sample time budget is unlikely to match any actual system and the values for both the Signal Delay and the Gate On Delay could be very different from those indicated here Nevertheless it illustrates the importance of making a record of the delays that will be encountered in any system to determine their possible impact on experimental results 15 2 2 Measuring Coincidence In addition to preparing a...

Page 185: ... occur before the trigger 15 2 3 Adjusting the Signal Delay The PI MAX3 internal timing generator gives the user wide latitude with respect to adjusting the delay between the time the timing generator is triggered and the time the Gate On and Off edges are generated This being the case as long as the light signal applied to the detector occurs after the minimum delay time of the timing generator 2...

Page 186: ...the integrated light emitted by the flame an intensified gated detector should be used to do the measurement Because available lasers differ so widely with respect to their characteristics and features there is no way to discuss specifically how to incorporate your particular laser into a measurement system It is necessary that users be familiar with the features operation and limitations of their...

Page 187: ... necessary The easiest solution would be to insert electrical delay between the external trigger source and the laser 15 3 3 Jitter Jitter the uncertainty in the timing of the laser output is a critical laser performance parameter in gated experiments If the jitter is significant relative to the duration of the signal pulse the gate width will have to be wide enough to accommodate it and the tempo...

Page 188: ...harply imaged Objects closer or further than the depth of field will not be as sharp The further an object is from the point of sharpest focus the less sharp its image on the CCD will be The point of maximum sharpness is located 1 3 of the way into the depth of field zone For example if the indicated depth of field for the selected aperture extended from 3 ft to 6 ft the point of maximum sharpness...

Page 189: ...perature If this happens an internal thermo protection switch will disable the cooler circuits to protect them Although the thermo protection switch will protect the camera users are advised to power down and correct the operating conditions that caused the thermal overload to occur Note that the cooling performance of the detector can be enhanced by circulating water coolant Refer to Section 7 5 ...

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Page 191: ... issues which have recommended troubleshooting procedures in this chapter Table 16 1 List of Recommended Troubleshooting Procedures Issue Information begins on Alarm Sounds Repetitively page 192 Alarm Sounds Sporadically page 192 Baseline Signal Suddenly Changes by 1000 ADU page 192 Camera Is Not Responding page 192 Camera Stops Working page 193 Temperature Lock Cannot be Achieved or Maintained pa...

Page 192: ...promptly or permanent damage not covered by the Warranty could occur Have the unit serviced by Teledyne Princeton Instruments or an authorized Teledyne Princeton Instruments service facility 16 4 Camera Is Not Responding If this message pops up when you click OK after selecting the Interface Type during Hardware Setup under the WinX 32 Setup menu the system has not been able to communicate with th...

Page 193: ...take is at the rear of the camera A hose is kinked Unkink the hose Coolant level is low Add 50 50 mix of ethylene glycol and water Refer to manufacturer s instructions for adding coolant There may be air in the hoses Remove air and add 50 50 mix of ethylene glycol and water Refer to manufacturer s instructions for removing excess air and adding coolant Circulator pump is not working If you do not ...

Page 194: ...If an error occurs at boot up either the Interface is not installed properly or there is an address or interrupt conflict Turn off the computer try a new address or interrupt and reinstall the card Be sure the Interface is firmly mounted in the slot NOTE Since interrupts and DMA channels cannot be shared verify no other boards in the host computer use this interrupt or these DMA channels 16 9 Ethe...

Page 195: ... Driver Installation Tool dialog Reboot the computer at your convenience 6 Verify that the network connection has been re established If a reboot was required wait until the reboot has occurred before verifying the connection 16 9 2 LightField Applications 1 Locate the EbDriverTool64 exe file Typically it is located in the following directory C Program Files Common Files Pleora The EbDriverTool64 ...

Page 196: ... Noise Excessive readout noise with the intensifier off indicates possible moisture accumulation in the CCD This should be corrected promptly or permanent damage not covered by the Warranty could occur Normal camera noise is a function of the gain setting and temperature as well as CCD type but is typically in the range of 1 50 ADUrms 6 300 ADUpk pk This is on top of offset that typically is about...

Page 197: ...ularity 10 ps Repetition Rate 1 MHz full voltage pulse not burst length limit Table A 1 CCD Specifications Specification PI MAX3 1024i PI MAX3 1024 x 256 CCD Type Kodak KAI 1003 interline e2v CCD30 11 full frame CCD Format 1024 x 1024 1024 x 256 CCD Pixel Size 12 8 m x 12 8 m 26 m x 26 m Imaging Area 13 1 mm x 13 1 mm 18 mm diameter 18 mm x 6 7 mm or 25 mm x 6 7 mm Intensifier Size 18 mm 18 mm or ...

Page 198: ...r Accepts standard C mount threaded lenses Focal Depth Distance from adapter flat to photocathode surface Spectroscopy Mounting face to image plane is factory preset to an optical distance of 0 894 0 010 22 71 mm 0 25 mm F Mount Mounting face to image plane is factory preset to an optical distance of 1 831 0 010 46 50 mm 0 25 mm C Mount Mounting face to image plane is factory preset to an optical ...

Page 199: ...tion or even approach it Generally it takes a few milliseconds for an intensifier to recover from a single gate event if the charge output is significant Good linearity is observed when the light intensity is low and the signal is built up over a large number of exposures or over a long exposure Poor linearity is observed when one attempts to get large signal amplitude from a single short exposure...

Page 200: ...ure Control on page 68 Readout Noise 1 1 5 counts RMS in gated operation 100 kHz A D Converters Standard 16 bit 80 MHz readout rate One or two converters depending on the CCD Linearity better than 1 Readout noise Dependent on the pixel rate and CCD type Input TRIGGER IN Rear Panel BNC This is the main trigger input to timing generator Used for triggering by an external source When external trigger...

Page 201: ...ut Control on page 87 for complete information about these signals AUX Out DC coupled programmable delay trigger output to synchronize external devices with PI MAX3 The delay is from T0 0 01 ns 1 0 s Monitor TTL signal to monitor actual gate timing A 1 1 AUX I O Connector Pinout Figure A 2 illustrates a typical AUX I O cable Refer to Table A 2 for BNC connector usage and identification Figure A 2 ...

Page 202: ...rotected input Pre Trigger is an optional signal that may be used to terminate the continuous cleans instruction operation In ordinary operation there is a one clean cycle jitter between the trigger and the finish of cleaning i e the clean cycle in process must be completed A rising edge will cause a pre trigger NOTE The camera must already be in Acquire mode before the pre trigger is sent to the ...

Page 203: ...tem chassis ground Any external circuitry intended to interface with the trigger control signals must reference this ground connection 19 NOT USED 20 GND System chassis ground Any external circuitry intended to interface with the trigger control signals must reference this ground connection 21 General Purpose Input 2 Via 1 k Reserved 22 General Purpose Input 1 Via 1 k Reserved 23 SyncMASTER2 Via 1...

Page 204: ... turned on too soon a fault logic state is established that causes the overload alarm to sound continuously A 1 3 Environmental Requirements Storage temperature 55 C Operating temperature 30 C T 25 C Supplemental Cooling Water Flow Rate 1 3 liters per minute NOTE Circulating water will enhance cooling performance but is not required Relative humidity 80 non condensing 24 NOT USED 25 GND System cha...

Page 205: ...nings in the side panels flows past the warm electronics and is drawn out the rear by the fan It is important that there be an adequate airflow for proper functioning As long as both the intake ventilation openings and the fan exhaust opening are not obstructed the power supply will remain quite cool A 2 Internal Pulser The PI MAX3 incorporates an internal gate pulse generator and high voltage pow...

Page 206: ...s Figure A 4 QE Curve Gen II Intensifier Figure A 5 QE Curve Gen III Filmless Intensifier Quantum Efficiency Wavelength nm 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 RB Slow Gate RB Fast Gate SB Slow Gate SB Fast Gate HQ QWHQVLÀHUV UV 4411 0129_0123 Quantum Efficiency Wavelength nm 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 HBf HQf Unigen I...

Page 207: ...ose fittings If a Teledyne Princeton Instruments CoolCUBEII circulator is ordered with the camera hoses are supplied with appropriate CoolCUBEII connectors NOTE Part numbers for the hose reducer fitting and CoolCUBEII fitting are McMaster MCM 5624K11 1 4 ID and 5624K12 3 8 ID McMaster MCM 91355K32 3 8 1 4 Reducer and CPC NS6D17006 3 8 Quick Disconnect respectively Coolant 50 50 ethylene glycol and...

Page 208: ... SP3 or later Windows Vista 32 bit or Windows 7 32 bit LightField Windows Vista 64 bit or Windows 7 64 bit 2 GHz Pentium 4 1 GB RAM CD ROM Drive One unused PCI card slot 32 bit PCI 2 3 compliant 32 bit 33 66 MHz bus Super VGA monitor and graphics card supporting at least 65535 colors with at least 128 MB of memory Memory requirement is dependent on desired display resolution Hard disk with a minim...

Page 209: ...OPTICAL DISTANCE OF 0 690 0 010 17 53 AIR EXHAUST AIR INTAKE MOUNTING FACE SEE NOTE 1 88 9 3 50 233 6 74 7 2 94 0 03 0 8 9 20 INTENSIFIER DEPENDENT 38 3 26 3 1 51 1 04 1 10 27 9 1 4 20 THREAD 2X 0 129 3 3 HOLES M6x1 0 THREAD 1 4 20 THREAD 225 0 2 00 mm 0 71 25 4 1 00 50 0 9 00 mm 0 20 5 1 23 1mm AIR INTAKE SEE NOTE 1 1 00 32 THREAD C MOUNT STANDARD CATHODE COOLING INPUT 114 3 4 50 114 3 4 50 1 94 ...

Page 210: ...80 INCREMENTS REMOVABLE EXTENDER BRACKET AIR INTAKE CATHODE COOLING INPUT NIKON F MOUNT ADAPTER SEE NOTES 1AND 2 4 50 114 3 4 50 114 3 1 94 49 3 AIR EXHAUST AIR INTAKE MOUNTING FACE SEE NOTE 1 9 20 0 03 233 6 0 8 2 65 2 18 INTENSIFIER DEPENDENT 67 2 55 3 3 50 88 9 2 94 74 7 1 10 27 9 2X 0 129 3 3 HOLES 1 4 20 THREAD 1 4 20 THREAD M6x1 0 THREAD 1 00 25 4 50 0mm 2 00 225 0mm 9 00 0 71 23 1mm 0 20 5 ...

Page 211: ...ACKET 2X 0 129 3 3 HOLES 1 4 20 THREAD M6x1 0 THREAD 1 4 20 THREAD 1 00 25 4 50 0mm 2 00 225 0mm 9 00 0 71 23 1mm 0 20 5 1 AIR EXHAUST AIR INTAKE MOUNTING FACE SEE NOTE 1 9 20 0 03 233 6 0 8 1 71 1 24 INTENSIFIER DEPENDENT 43 4 31 5 4 25 108 0 2 60 66 0 0 06 1 5 1 10 27 9 AIR INTAKE CATHODE COOLING INPUT 3X 10 32 THREAD ON 3 88 BOLT CIRCLE SEE NOTE 2 3X 0 20 5 2 RADIAL SLOT ON 3 60 BOLT CIRCLE SEE...

Page 212: ...tem Manual Issue 2 B 2 PI MAX3 Power Supply Figure B 4 Outline Drawing PI MAX3 Power Supply 0 1 06 4 02 2 16 0 2 15 4 29 0 18 POWER CONNECTOR RED LED GREEN LED LINE CORD INPUT POWER ON OFF SWITCH 0 9 82 4411 0129_0128 ...

Page 213: ...6 159 1 6 80 172 7 0 1 30 33 0 3 00 76 2 5 00 127 0 8 00 203 2 0 80 20 3 7 20 182 9 NO SPILL QUICK DISCONNECT SHUT OFF FITTINGS POWER ON OFF SWITCH RESERVOIR CAP TO BE REMOVED TO REPLENISH COOLANT REFER TO OWNERS MANUAL FOR PROPER COOLANT REFILL PROCEDURE 2 45 62 2 0 6 12 155 3 1 83 46 4 3 89 98 9 0 0 68 17 3 1 77 45 0 3 69 93 7 DO NOT COVER VENTILATION HOLES 0 2 00 50 8 4 97 126 3 0 5 70 144 7 EX...

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Page 215: ...ve Width ADC Rate Speed ADC Resolution Bit Depth Continuous Cleans Clean Until Trigger Controller Gain Analog Gain Custom Chip Custom Sensor Custom Timing Custom Timing Disabled Closed Shutter Always Closed Shutter Disabled Open Shutter Always Open Shutter Dual Trigger Mode Shift Per Trigger Easy Bin Sensor Readout Region expander functions Edge Trigger Trigger Determined By External Sync Readout ...

Page 216: ... Right Margin Pre Dummy Rows Parallel to Shift Register Active Area Top Margin Pre Dummy Shift Register Columns Active Area Left Margin PreOpen Shutter Open Before Trigger Shutter Readout Port Quality Shutter Close Compensation Time Closing Delay Shutter Control Shutter Mode Shutter Open Compensation Time Opening Delay Single Trigger Mode DIF Readout Per Trigger Skip Serial Register Clean deselect...

Page 217: ...lways Closed Shutter Disabled Closed Shutter Always Open Shutter Disabled Open Shutter Analog Gain Controller Gain Bit Depth ADC Resolution Clean Cycle Height Number of Strips per Clean Clean Serial Register Skip Serial Register Clean deselected Clean Until Trigger Continuous Cleans Closing Delay Shutter Close Compensation Time Custom Sensor Custom Chip Custom Timing Custom Timing Final Section Co...

Page 218: ...r DIF Sensor Readout Region expander functions Easy Bin Shift Per Trigger DIF Dual Trigger Mode DIF Shutter Mode Shutter Control Speed ADC Rate Temperature Setpoint Target Temperature Trigger Determined By Edge Trigger Trigger Response Timing Mode Table C 2 LightField to WinSpec 32 Cross Reference Sheet 2 of 2 LightField Term WinSpec 32 Term ...

Page 219: ...er Bracket Kit Mounted to PI MAX3 Perform the following procedure to secure the plate to the camera 1 Remove the extender bracket and three 3 6 32x flat head screws from the bag 2 Turn the camera upside down 3 With the rear of the camera facing you place the tongue of the bracket into the cutout under the now topmost edge The text on the bracket should be visible REMOVABLE EXTENDER BRACKET 1 4 20 ...

Page 220: ...t side up and secure it to the laboratory table If using one or more mounting holes at the bottom front of the camera tighten the fastener s there before tightening down the fastener s at the extender bracket NOTE The table mounting holes in the plate are elongated to allow for tolerance variations ...

Page 221: ...ts and slide the lens into the mount Then turn the lens counterclockwise until a click is heard The click means that the lens is now locked in place Removing either type lens is equally simple In the case of a C mount lens rotate the lens counterclockwise until it is free of the mount In the case of an F mount lens press the locking lever on the mount while rotating the lens clockwise until it com...

Page 222: ...e to install a barrier between the camera and operator to prevent any accidental contact There are no special constraints on nose down operation Again however good operating practice might make it advisable to take steps to prevent accidental contact from unduly stressing the mounting components CAUTION Always begin with the lens stopped all the way down largest f stop number to minimize the risk ...

Page 223: ...crewdriver with magnetic top See Figure F 1 Figure F 1 Screwdriver with Reversible Flat and Phillips Tips A PI MAX3 with spectroscopy mount adapter to Teledyne Acton Research spectrograph quick start sheet F 1 2 PI MAX3 25 mm Tube Among the items in the accessory kit shipped with a 25 mm PI MAX3 are Two adapter kits F mount Spectroscopy mount One of these adapters will have been factory installed ...

Page 224: ...the following procedure to change from one adapter to another 1 Using the supplied screwdriver remove the four 4 Phillips head screws that secure the adapter to the front of the PI MAX3 NOTE If the Phillips end of the screwdriver is not available pull the driver shaft out of the handle flip the shaft and insert the flat end into the handle See Figure F 2 Table F 1 Adapter Kit Information Kit Part ...

Page 225: ... would be shipped with the adapter mounted to the face of the camera and the 2 739 ID o ring lightly coated with vacuum grease would already be in the groove between the face of the camera and the spectrograph adapter The 2 614 ID o ring lightly coated with vacuum grease is installed in the groove on the face of the spectrograph adapter Figure F 3 illustrates where the two different o rings are in...

Page 226: ...er A spare set of o rings may be supplied If you need to use one of these spares be sure to lightly coat it with vacuum grease before putting it in place Lightly coating the o rings with vacuum grease helps to insure air tight seals between the camera and adapter and between the adapter and the spectrograph s sliding tube F 6 Optical Distance from Mounting Face to Image Plane Each adapter has a pr...

Page 227: ...o slowly move the detector in and out of focus and adjusting for optimum while watching a live display on the monitor followed by rotating the detector and again adjusting for optimum The following procedure which describes the focusing operation with a Teledyne Acton Research SP 2300i spectrograph can be easily adapted to other spectrographs For IsoPlane SCT 320 related focusing information refer...

Page 228: ... as follows Long focal length spectrographs e g Teledyne Acton Research SP 2300i The mounting adapter includes a tube that slides inside another tube to move the detector in or out as required to achieve optimum focus Short focal length spectrographs There is generally a focusing mechanism on the spectrograph itself which when adjusted will move the optics as required to achieve proper focus No fo...

Page 229: ...nd a PI MAX3 is to be used with this IsoPlane the shutter must either be removed from the IsoPlane or controlled by a Teledyne Acton Research SHC EXT external shutter control box if one is available Refer to the IsoPlane manual for shutter removal instructions Perform the following procedure to focus a PI MAX3 when mounted on an IsoPlane SCT 320 spectrograph 1 Mount a Teledyne Acton Research light...

Page 230: ... will go from broad to narrow and back to broad Leave the detector rotation set for the narrowest achievable line NOTE With LightField you can use the Align Spectrometer function 12 Alternatively take an image display the horizontal and vertical cursor bars and compare the vertical bar to the line shape on the screen Rotate the detector until the line shape on the screen is parallel with the verti...

Page 231: ...a PI MAX3 to a Teledyne Acton Research series spectrograph CAUTION Adapter parts are machined to provide a tight fit It may be necessary to rotate the detector back and forth when inserting the sliding tube into the spectrograph Forcing the tube into the spectrometer could permanently damage the tube and the spectrometer opening 4411 0129_0135 5 32 HEX WRENCH 3 32 HEX WRENCH 5 16 OPEN END WRENCH I...

Page 232: ...ghten hex head screws Leave about thread exposed 7 Mount tube to camera align baffle with bottom top of camera and tighten mounting screws 8 Gently rotate while inserting 9 Tighten setscrew 10 Tighten setscrew 4411 0129_0138 4411 0129_0139 4411 0129_0140 4411 0129_0141 4411 0129_0142 4411 0129_0143 4411 0129_0144 4411 0129_0145 ...

Page 233: ...NOTE Spectrometer parts are machined to provide a tight fit It is necessary to rotate the detector back and forth when inserting the sliding tube into the spectrometer Forcing the tube into the spectrometer could permanently damage the tube and the spectrometer opening Table G 1 Required Hardware PI MAX3 to Teledyne Acton Research with C Mount Adapter Item Qty P N Description 1 1 8401 071 01 Adapt...

Page 234: ...tube in the spectrograph and remove the tube If there is a spacer plate installed on the sliding tube remove it 3 Place the flat side of the adapter plate against the face of the detector 4 Insert the threaded C mount adapter through the center hole in the plate and screw the adapter into the detector s C mount 5 Using three 3 long button head screws secure the sliding tube to the adapter plate 6 ...

Page 235: ...e The text should be right side up readable on the back of the detector 4 Tighten the three screws using a 5 16 open end wrench NOTES 1 Rotational alignment of the detector with the spectrograph optics is done by loosening and subsequently tightening the screws at the mounting plate corners The holes are slotted to allow about 4 of rotation 2 If the IsoPlane was ordered with an internal shutter an...

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Page 237: ... be driven from an external trigger or from the internal oscillator CCD Array Dimensions and Pixel Size Arrays that are square or nearly square are typically used for imaging applications while rectangular arrays are typically used in spectroscopy applications The smaller the pixel size the better the resolution but the pixel full well capacity smaller Conversely the larger the pixel size the poor...

Page 238: ... usually negligible in gated applications Exposure Time The period during which the camera allows incoming signal to integrate on the CCD array For signal to be detected and integrated on the CCD array it must both fall in a valid gate width and in a valid exposure time In Gate Mode the exposure time is determined by an internal pulse ensemble defined by the internal timing generator gating setup ...

Page 239: ...pixel Filmless Gen III Intensifier Filmless Gen III intensifier devices use GaAsP photocathodes which have no ion barrier film MCP Gen III filmless intensifiers offer ultra fast gating as well as 50 QE for the best combination of sensitivity in the visible region 780 nm and gate speed FWHM Full Width Half Maximum Time period from the mid point of the leading edge to the mid point of the trailing e...

Page 240: ...as low as 0 0001 lux Gen IV Intensifier Introduced in 1999 No ion barrier film and exhibit enhanced QE SNR dynamic range and high light level resolution Input Windows The intensifier and the CCD array both have input windows MgF2 High vacuum UV transmission between 100 nm and 200 nm Quartz Excellent transmission over 190 nm 1100 nm Clear glass BK7 Visible 400 nm 700 nm NIR 700 nm 2500 nm Anti Refl...

Page 241: ...ly 107 1 Refer to Section 8 3 MCP Bracket Pulsing on page 100 Intensifier Size 18 mm diameter and 25 mm diameter Generally speaking the larger diameter gives a larger field of view at the surface of the CCD array The coupling of the intensifier to the CCD array is also a factor in determining the field view A fiberoptic reducing taper of 1 27 1 will increase the field of view while a taper of 1 1 ...

Page 242: ...stance that fluoresces when excited by x rays an electron beam or ultraviolet radiation Phosphors usually emit green light with decay times ranging from hundreds of nanoseconds to a few milliseconds P43 offers high resolution 3 ms decay P46 offers fast decay for high repetition rate spectroscopy 2 s decay P47 offers even faster decay 0 4 s The Phosphor Decay Time inserted between the end of the ex...

Page 243: ...om into adjacent pixels Ways to deal with saturation include lowering the array temperature to reduce the dark charge component shortening the exposure time to reduce the signal component and decreasing the gain also to reduce the signal component Scan Scanning The process of reading out the contents of a CCD array Super Gen II Intensifier Gen II Intensifier devices that employ novel photocathodes...

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Page 245: ...RANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED this product against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of up to one 1 year after shipment During this period Teledyne Princeton Instruments will repair or replace at its sole option any defective parts without charge to you You must deliver the entire product to the Teledyne Princeton Instruments factory or at our option a factory authorized service center...

Page 246: ...ode burn damage which carry NO WARRANTIES EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED all image intensifier products for a period of one 1 year after shipment Refer to additional Limited One 1 year Warranty terms and conditions above which apply to this warranty Responsibility for shipping charges is as described above under our Basic Limited One 1 Year Warranty X Ray Detector Limited One Year Warranty Teledyne Princeto...

Page 247: ...tion an authorized service center 4 Before products or parts can be returned for service you must contact the Teledyne Princeton Instruments factory and receive a return authorization number RMA Products or parts returned for service without a return authorization evidenced by an RMA will be sent back freight collect 5 These warranties are effective only if purchased from the Teledyne Princeton In...

Page 248: ...ries do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts when an action may be brought or the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages so the above provisions may not apply to you 12 When contacting us for technical support or service assistance please refer to the Teledyne Princeton Instruments factory of purchase contact your authorized Teledyne Princeton Instrum...

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Page 250: ...A 1 877 474 2286 France 33 1 60 86 03 65 Germany 49 0 89 660 7793 UK Ireland 44 0 1628 472 346 Singapore 65 6408 6240 China 86 10 659 16460 Japan 81 3 5639 2741 Copyright 2019 Teledyne Princeton Instruments All Rights Reserved 02 2019 ...

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