Photon Focus MV1-D1312I CameraLink, MV1-D1312 CameraLink User Manual

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User Manual

MV1-D1312(I) CameraLink

Series

CMOS Area Scan Camera

MAN041 09/2010 V2.5

All information provided in this manual is believed to be accurate and reliable. No responsibility is assumed by Photonfocus AG for its use. Photonfocus AG reserves the right to make changes to this information without notice. Reproduction of this manual in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited without prior permission having been obtained from Photonfocus AG.

Contents

1 Preface 7

1.1 About Photonfocus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.2 Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.3 Sales Ofﬁces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.4 Further information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.5 Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2 How to get started (CameraLink®) 9

3 Product Speciﬁcation 13

3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.2 Feature Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

3.3 Technical Speciﬁcation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3.4 Frame Grabber relevant Conﬁguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

3.4.1 3 Tap Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4 Functionality 23

4.1 Image Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.1.1 Readout Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.1.2 Readout Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4.1.3 Exposure Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

4.1.4 Maximum Frame Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

4.2 Pixel Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4.2.1 Linear Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4.2.2 LinLog®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4.3 Reduction of Image Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

4.3.1 Region of Interest (ROI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

4.3.2 ROI conﬁguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4.3.3 Calculation of the maximum frame rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4.3.4 Multiple Regions of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

4.3.5 Decimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

4.4 Trigger and Strobe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

4.4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

4.4.2 Trigger Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

4.4.3 Exposure Time Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

4.4.4 Trigger Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

4.4.5 Burst Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

4.4.6 Software Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

4.4.7 Strobe Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

4.5 Data Path Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

4.6 Image Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

4.6.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

CONTENTS 3

CONTENTS

4.6.2 Offset Correction (FPN, Hot Pixels) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

4.6.3 Gain Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

4.6.4 Corrected Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

4.7 Digital Gain and Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

4.8 Grey Level Transformation (LUT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

4.8.1 Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

4.8.2 Gamma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

4.8.3 User-deﬁned Look-up Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

4.8.4 Region LUT and LUT Enable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

4.9 Convolver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

4.9.1 Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

4.9.2 Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

4.9.3 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

4.10 Crosshairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

4.10.1 Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

4.11 Image Information and Status Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

4.11.1 Counters and Average Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

4.11.2 Status Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

4.12 Test Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

4.12.1 Ramp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

4.12.2 LFSR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

4.12.3 Troubleshooting using the LFSR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

4.13 Conﬁguration Interface (CameraLink®) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

5 Hardware Interface 79

5.1 Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

5.1.1 CameraLink®Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

5.1.2 Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

5.1.3 Trigger and Strobe Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

5.1.4 Status Indicator (CameraLink®cameras) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

5.2 CameraLink®Data Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

6 The PFRemote Control Tool 83

6.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

6.2 PFRemote and PFLib . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

6.3 Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

6.4 Installation Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

6.5 Graphical User Interface (GUI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

6.5.1 Port Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

6.5.2 Ports, Device Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

6.5.3 Main Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

6.6 Device Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

7 Graphical User Interface (GUI) 87

7.1 MV1-D1312(I)-40, MV1-D1312(I)-80, MV1-D1312(I)-160 and MV1-D1312-240 . . . . . 87

7.1.1 Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

7.1.2 Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

7.1.3 Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

7.1.4 Data Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

7.1.5 Data Output (MV-D1312-240 only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

7.1.6 LUT (Look-Up-Table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

7.1.7 LinLog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

7.1.8 Convolver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

7.1.9 Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

7.1.10 Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

8 Mechanical and Optical Considerations 103

8.1 Mechanical Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

8.1.1 MV1 cameras with CameraLink®Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

8.1.2 Board Level cameras with CameraLink®Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

8.2 Optical Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

8.2.1 Cleaning the Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

8.3 Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

9 Warranty 109

9.1 Warranty Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

9.2 Warranty Claim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

10 References 111

A Pinouts 113

A.1 Power Supply Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

A.2 CameraLink®Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

B Revision History 117

CONTENTS 5

CONTENTS

Preface

1.1 About Photonfocus

The Swiss company Photonfocus is one of the leading specialists in the development of CMOS image sensors and corresponding industrial cameras for machine vision, security & surveillance and automotive markets. Photonfocus is dedicated to making the latest generation of CMOS technology commercially available. Active Pixel Sensor (APS) and global shutter technologies enable high speed and high dynamic range (120 dB) applications, while avoiding disadvantages like image lag, blooming and smear. Photonfocus has proven that the image quality of modern CMOS sensors is now appropriate for demanding applications. Photonfocus’ product range is complemented by custom design solutions in the area of camera electronics and CMOS image sensors. Photonfocus is ISO 9001 certiﬁed. All products are produced with the latest techniques in order to ensure the highest degree of quality.

1.2 Contact

Photonfocus AG, Bahnhofplatz 10, CH-8853 Lachen SZ, Switzerland

Sales Phone: +41 55 451 07 45 Email: sales@photonfocus.com

Support Phone: +41 55 451 01 37 Email: support@photonfocus.com

Table 1.1: Photonfocus Contact

1.3 Sales Ofﬁces

Photonfocus products are available through an extensive international distribution network and through our key account managers. Details of the distributor nearest you and contacts to our key account managers can be found at www.photonfocus.com.

1.4 Further information

Photonfocus reserves the right to make changes to its products and documentation without notice. Photonfocus products are neither intended nor certiﬁed for use in life support systems or in other critical systems. The use of Photonfocus products in such applications is prohibited.

Photonfocus is a trademark and LinLog®is a registered trademark of Photonfocus AG. CameraLink®and GigE Vision®are a registered mark of the Automated Imaging Association. Product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

1 Preface

Reproduction of this manual in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited without prior permission having been obtained from Photonfocus AG.

Photonfocus can not be held responsible for any technical or typographical errors.

1.5 Legend

In this documentation the reader’s attention is drawn to the following icons:

Important note

Alerts and additional information

Attention, critical warning

✎

Notiﬁcation, user guide

How to get started (CameraLink®)

1. Install a suitable frame grabber in your PC.

To ﬁnd a compliant frame grabber, please see the frame grabber compatibility list at www.photonfocus.com.

2. Install the frame grabber software.

✎

Without installed frame grabber software the camera conﬁguration tool PFRemote will not be able to communicate with the camera. Please follow the instructions of the frame grabber supplier.

3. Remove the camera from its packaging. Please make sure the following items are included with your camera:

• Power supply connector (7-pole power plug)

• Camera body cap

If any items are missing or damaged, please contact your dealership.

4. Remove the camera body cap from the camera and mount a suitable lens.

When removing the camera body cap or when changing the lens, the camera should always be held with the opening facing downwards to prevent dust or debris falling onto the CMOS sensor.

Figure 2.1: Camera with protective cap and lens.

Do not touch the sensor surface. Protect the image sensor from particles and dirt!

2 How to get started (CameraLink®)

The sensor has no cover glass, therefore dust on the sensor surface may resemble to clusters or extended regions of dead pixel.

To choose a lens, see the Lens Finder in the ’Support’ area at www.photonfocus.com.

5. Connect the camera to the frame grabber with a suitable CameraLink®cable (see Fig. 2.2). CameraLink®cables can be purchased from Photonfocus directly (www.photonfocus.com). Please note that Photonfocus provides appropriate solutions for your advanced vision applications.

Figure 2.2: Camera with frame grabber, power supply and cable.

Do not connect or disconnect the CameraLink®cable while camera power is on! For more information about CameraLink®see Section 4.13.

6. Connect a suitable power supply to the provided 7-pole power plug. For the connector assembly see Fig. A.1. The pinout of the connector is shown in Appendix A.

Check the correct supply voltage and polarity! Do not exceed the maximum operating voltage of +12V DC (± 10%).

7. Connect the power supply to the camera (see Fig. 2.2).

✎

The status LED on the rear of the camera will light red for a short moment, and then ﬂash green. For more information see Section 5.1.4.

8. Download the camera software PFRemote to your computer.

You can ﬁnd the latest version of PFRemote on the support page at www.photonfocus.com.

9. Install the camera software PFRemote. Please follow the instructions of the PFRemote setup wizard.

Figure 2.3: Screen shot PFremote setup wizard

10. Start the camera software PFRemote and choose the communication port.

Figure 2.4: PFRemote start window

11. Check the status LED on the rear of the camera.

✎

The status LED lights green when an image is being produced, and it is red when serial communication is active. For more information see Section 5.1.4.

12. You may display images using the software that is provided by the frame grabber manufacturer.

2 How to get started (CameraLink®)

Product Speciﬁcation

3.1 Introduction

The MV1-D1312(I) and BL1-D1312(I) CMOS camera series are built around the monochrome A1312(I) CMOS image sensor from Photonfocus, that provides a resolution of 1312 x 1082 pixels at a wide range of spectral sensitivity. It is aimed at standard applications in industrial image processing. The MV1-D1312(I) and BL1-D1312(I) CMOS camera series are identicaly with the exception of the camera housing. For the sake of readability the simultaneous use of MV1 and BL1 is omitted. All speciﬁcation apply to both camera series. The principal advantages are:

• Resolution of 1312 x 1082 pixels (1248 x 1082 for MV1-D1312-240).

• Wide spectral sensitivity from 320 nm to 1030 nm.

• Enhanced near infrared (NIR) sensitivity with the A1312I CMOS image sensor.

• High quantum efﬁciency (> 50%).

• High pixel ﬁll factor (> 60%).

• Superior signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

• Low power consumption at high speeds.

• Very high resistance to blooming.

• High dynamic range of up to 120 dB.

• Ideal for high speed applications: Global shutter.

• Greyscale resolution of up to 12 bit (8 bit for MV1-D1312-240).

• On camera shading correction.

• 3x3 Convolver for image pre-processing included on camera.

• Up to 512 regions of interest (MROI).

• 2 look-up tables (12-to-8 bit) on user-deﬁned image region (Region-LUT).

• Crosshairs overlay on the image.

• Image information and camera settings inside the image (status line).

• Software provided for setting and storage of camera parameters.

• The camera has a digital CameraLink®interface.

• The compact size of 60 x 60 x 45 mm3makes the MV1-D1312(I) CMOS cameras the perfect solution for applications in which space is at a premium.

The general speciﬁcation and features of the camera are listed in the following sections.

This manual applies only to MV1-D1312(I) cameras with revision 2.0 or higher. The camera revision information is displayed as uC Revision in the Info tab of the PFRemote application.

3 Product Speciﬁcation

3.2 Feature Overview

Characteristics MV1-D1312(I) Series

Interfaces CameraLink®base conﬁguration

Camera Control PFRemote (Windows GUI) or programming library

Conﬁguration Interface CLSERIAL (9’600 baud or 57’600 baud, user selectable)

Trigger Modes Interface Trigger / External opto isolated trigger input

Image pre-processing Shading Correction (Offset and Gain)

3x3 Convolver included on camera

2 look-up tables (12-to-8 bit) on user-deﬁned image region (Region-LUT)

Features Greyscale resolution 12 bit / 10 bit / 8 bit (MV1-D1312-240: 8 bit only)

Region of Interest (ROI)

Up to 512 regions of interest (MROI)

Test pattern (LFSR and grey level ramp)

Image information and camera settings inside the image (status line)

Crosshairs overlay on the image

High blooming resistance

Opto isolated trigger input and opto isolated strobe output

Table 3.1: Feature overview (see Chapter 4 for more information)

Figure 3.1: MV1-D1312(I) CMOS camera series with C-mount lens.

3.3 Technical Speciﬁcation

Technical Parameters MV1-D1312(I) Series

Technology CMOS active pixel (APS)

Scanning system Progressive scan

Optical format / diagonal 1” (13.6 mm diagonal) @ maximum resolution

2/3” (11.6 mm diagonal) @ 1024 x 1024 resolution

Resolution 1312 x 1082 pixels (1248 x 1082 for MV1-D1312(I)-240)

Pixel size 8 µm x 8 µm

Active optical area 10.48 mm x 8.64 mm (maximum)

Random noise < 0.3 DN @ 8 bit1)(TBD for MV1-D1312(I)-240)

Fixed pattern noise (FPN) 3.4 DN @ 8 bit / correction OFF1)(TBD for MV1-D1312(I)-240)

Fixed pattern noise (FPN) < 1DN @ 8 bit / correction ON

1)2)

(TBD for MV1-D1312(I)-240)

Dark current MV1-D1312 0.65 fA / pixel @ 27 °C

Dark current MV1-D1312I 0.79 fA / pixel @ 27 °C

Full well capacity ~ 100 ke

−

Spectral range MV1-D1312 350 nm ... 980 nm (see Fig. 3.2)

Spectral range MV1-D1312I 350 nm ... 1100 nm (see Fig. 3.3)

Responsivity MV1-D1312 295 x103DN/(J/m2) @ 670 nm / 8 bit

Responsivity MV1-D1312I 305 x103DN/(J/m2) @ 850 nm / 8 bit

Quantum Efﬁciency > 50 %

Optical ﬁll factor > 60 %

Dynamic range 60 dB in linear mode, 120 dB with LinLog

Colour format Monochrome

Characteristic curve Linear, LinLog

Shutter mode Global shutter

Greyscale resolution 12 bit / 10 bit / 8 bit (MV1-D1312-240: 8 bit only)

Table 3.2: General speciﬁcation of the MV1-D1312(I) camera series (Footnotes:1)Indicated values are typical values.2)Indicated values are subject to conﬁrmation.3)If operated above 1000 nm, the image will be

unsharp.)

3.3 Technical Speciﬁcation 15

3 Product Speciﬁcation

MV1-D1312(I)-40 MV1-D1312(I)-80 MV1-D1312(I)-160

Exposure Time 10 µs ... 1.68 s 10 µs ... 0.84 s 10 µs ... 0.42 s

Exposure time increment 100 ns 50 ns 25 ns

Frame rate3)( T

int

= 10 µs) 27 fps 54 fps 108 fps

Pixel clock frequency 40 MHz 40 MHz 80 MHz

Pixel clock cycle 25 ns 25 ns 12.5 ns

Camera taps 1 2 2

Read out mode sequential or simultaneous

Table 3.3: Model-speciﬁc parameters (Footnote :3)Maximum frame rate @ full resolution)

MV1-D1312(I)-240

Exposure Time 10 µs ... 0.28 s

Exposure time increment 16.7 ns

Frame rate3)( T

int

= 10 µs) 170 fps

Pixel clock frequency 80 MHz

Pixel clock cycle 12.5 ns

Camera taps 3

Read out mode sequential or simultaneous

Table 3.4: Model-speciﬁc parameters (Footnote :3)Maximum frame rate @ full resolution)

MV1-D1312(I)-40 MV1-D1312(I)-80 MV1-D1312(I)-160

Operating temperature 0°C ... 50°C

Camera power supply +12 V DC (± 10 %)

Trigger signal input range +5 .. +15 V DC

Max. power consumption < 2.5 W < 3.0 W < 3.3 W

Lens mount C-Mount (CS-Mount optional)

Dimensions 60 x 60 x 45 mm

Mass 265 g

Conformity CE / RoHS / WEE

Table 3.5: Physical characteristics and operating ranges

Fig. 3.2 shows the quantum efﬁciency and the responsivity of the A1312 CMOS sensor, displayed as a function of wavelength. For more information on photometric and radiometric measurements see the Photonfocus application notes AN006 and AN008 available in the support area of our website www.photonfocus.com.

MV1-D1312(I)-240

Operating temperature 0°C ... 50°C

Camera power supply +12 V DC (± 10 %)

Trigger signal input range +5 .. +15 V DC

Max. power consumption < 4.7 W

Lens mount C-Mount (CS-Mount optional)

Dimensions 60 x 60 x 45 mm

Mass 265 g

Conformity CE / RoHS / WEE

Table 3.6: Physical characteristics and operating ranges

800

1000

1200

40%

50%

60%

/J/m²]

Efficiency

QE Responsivity

200

400

600

10%

20%

30%

200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100

Responsivity [

Quantu

Wavelength [nm]

Figure 3.2: Spectral response of the A1312 CMOS image sensor (standard) in the MV1-D1312 camera series

Fig. 3.3 shows the quantum efﬁciency and the responsivity of the A1312I CMOS sensor, displayed as a function of wavelength. The enhancement in the NIR quantum efﬁciency could be used to realize applications in the 900 to 1064 nm region.

3.3 Technical Speciﬁcation 17

3 Product Speciﬁcation

800

1000

1200

40%

50%

60%

/J/m²]

Efficiency

QE Responsivity

200

400

600

10%

20%

30%

200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100

Responsivity [

Quantu

Wavelength [nm]

Figure 3.3: Spectral response of the A1312I image sensor (NIR enhanced) in the MV1-D1312I camera series

3.4 Frame Grabber relevant Conﬁguration

The parameters and settings, which are essential to conﬁgure the frame grabber are shown in the following table. The timing diagrams of the camera are given in Section 4.1.2.

MV1-D1312(I)-40 MV1-D1312(I)-80 MV1-D1312(I)-160

Pixel Clock per Tap 40 MHz 40 MHz 80 MHz

Number of Taps 1 2 2

Greyscale resolution 12 bit / 10 bit / 8 bit 12 bit / 10 bit / 8 bit 12 bit / 10 bit / 8 bit

Line pause 36 clock cycles 18 clock cycles 18 clock cycles

CC1 EXSYNC EXSYNC EXSYNC

CC2 not used not used not used

CC3 not used not used not used

CC4 not used not used not used

Table 3.7: Summary of parameters needed for frame grabber conﬁguration

CameraLink®port and bit assignments are compliant with the CameraLink®standard (see [CL]). Table 3.9 summarizes the tap conﬁgurations for the MV1-D1312(I)-40 cameras. Table 3.10 shows the tap conﬁgurations for the MV1-D1312(I)-80 and MV1-D1312(I)-160 cameras. Table

3.11 shows the tap conﬁgurations for the MV1-D1312(I)-240 and cameras.

MV1-D1312(I)-240

Pixel Clock per Tap 80 MHz

Number of Taps 3

Greyscale resolution 8 bit

Line pause 12 clock cycles

CC1 EXSYNC

CC2 not used

CC3 not used

CC4 not used

Table 3.8: Summary of parameters needed for frame grabber conﬁguration

Bit Tap 0 Tap 0 Tap 0

8 Bit 10 Bit 12 Bit

0 (LSB) A0 A0 A0

1 A1 A1 A1

2 A2 A2 A2

3 A3 A3 A3

4 A4 A4 A4

5 A5 A5 A5

6 A6 A6 A6

7 (MSB of 8 Bit) A7 A7 A7

8 - B0 B0

9 (MSB of 10 Bit) - B1 B1

10 - - B2

11 (MSB of 12 Bit) - - B3

Table 3.9: CameraLink®1 Tap port and bit assignments for the MV1-D1312(I)-40 camera

3.4 Frame Grabber relevant Conﬁguration 19

3 Product Speciﬁcation

Bit Tap 0 Tap 1 Tap 0 Tap 1 Tap 0 Tap 1

8 Bit 8 Bit 10 Bit 10 Bit 12 Bit 12 Bit

0 (LSB) A0 B0 A0 C0 A0 C0

1 A1 B1 A1 C1 A1 C1

2 A2 B2 A2 C2 A2 C2

3 A3 B3 A3 C3 A3 C3

4 A4 B4 A4 C4 A4 C4

5 A5 B5 A5 C5 A5 C5

6 A6 B6 A6 C6 A6 C6

7 (MSB of 8 Bit) A7 B7 A7 C7 A7 C7

8 - - B0 B4 B0 B4

9 (MSB of 10 Bit) - - B1 B5 B1 B5

10 - - - - B2 B6

11 (MSB of 12 Bit) - - - - B3 B7

Table 3.10: CameraLink®2 Tap port and bit assignments for the MV1-D1312(I)-80 camera and for the MV1D1312(I)-160 camera

Bit Tap 0 Tap 1 Tap 2

0 (LSB) A0 B0 C0

1 A1 B1 C1

2 A2 B2 C2

3 A3 B3 C3

4 A4 B4 C4

5 A5 B5 C5

6 A6 B6 C6

7 A7 B7 C7

Table 3.11: CameraLink®3 Tap port and bit assignments for the MV1-D1312(I)-240 camera

3.4.1 3 Tap Mode

The MV1-D1312(i)-240 cameras comply with the 8bit monochrome 3-tap CameraLink®base standard. The ﬁrst pixel in the image is located at tap 0, the second at tap 1 and the third is located at tap 2. At the time of writing, no framegrabber visualization GUI supports this mode. It is however possible and easy to write applications using this 3 tap mode when the 24-bit RGB mode is used instead. In this conﬁguration the red channel is tap 0 (or pixel 0), the green channel is tap 1 (or pixel 1) and the blue channel is tap2 (or pixel 2).

If the 24-bit RGB mode is used, the framegrabber’s image width must be set 3 times smaller than the camera’s image width. The MV1-D1312(i)-240 cameras send 3 pixel data per CameraLink®clock cycle in parallel. The framegrabber in 24-bit RGB mode however processes these 3 pixels as one RGB pixel.

In the RGB mode the memory management of a 24bit colour image has to be considered. Blue is usually stored at address 0, green at address 1 and red at address 2 and so on in this order. Since the blue channel in the camera link standard is located at tap 2 (pixel 2) and the red channel at tap 0 (pixel 0), pixel 0 & 2 would be stored in the wrong order in the memory. The MV1-D1312(I)-240 cameras provide a “BGR” mode. This swaps pixels 0 & 2 at the camera link interface and the pixels then have the proper order in the memory. In this conﬁguration an image can be grabbed in 24-bit RGB mode and the RGB buffer can be read out as an 8-bit monochrome buffer without the need of copying the pixel data.

Ask Photonfocus support ( <support@photonfocus.com>) if you have problem using the 3-tap mode.

3.4 Frame Grabber relevant Conﬁguration 21

3 Product Speciﬁcation

Functionality

This chapter serves as an overview of the camera conﬁguration modes and explains camera features. The goal is to describe what can be done with the camera. The setup of the MV1-D1312(I) series cameras is explained in later chapters.

4.1 Image Acquisition

4.1.1 Readout Modes

The MV1-D1312(I) CMOS cameras provide two different readout modes:

Sequential readout Frame time is the sum of exposure time and readout time. Exposure time

of the next image can only start if the readout time of the current image is ﬁnished.

Simultaneous readout (interleave) The frame time is determined by the maximum of the

exposure time or of the readout time, which ever of both is the longer one. Exposure time of the next image can start during the readout time of the current image.

Readout Mode MV1-D1312(I) Series

Sequential readout available

Simultaneous readout available

Table 4.1: Readout mode of MV1-D1312 Series camera

The following ﬁgure illustrates the effect on the frame rate when using either the sequential readout mode or the simultaneous readout mode (interleave exposure).

E x p o s u r e t i m e

F r a m e r a t e ( f p s )

S i m u l t a n e o u s r e a d o u t m o d e

S e q u e n t i a l r e a d o u t m o d e

f p s = 1 / r e a d o u t t i m e

f p s = 1 / e x p o s u r e t i m e

f p s = 1 / ( r e a d o u t t i m e + e x p o s u r e t i m e )

e x p o s u r e t i m e < r e a d o u t t i m e

e x p o s u r e t i m e > r e a d o u t t i m e

e x p o s u r e t i m e = r e a d o u t t i m e

Figure 4.1: Frame rate in sequential readout mode and simultaneous readout mode

Sequential readout mode For the calculation of the frame rate only a single formula applies:

frames per second equal to the inverse of the sum of exposure time and readout time.

4 Functionality

Simultaneous readout mode (exposure time < readout time) The frame rate is given by the

readout time. Frames per second equal to the inverse of the readout time.

Simultaneous readout mode (exposure time > readout time) The frame rate is given by the

exposure time. Frames per second equal to the inverse of the exposure time.

The simultaneous readout mode allows higher frame rate. However, if the exposure time greatly exceeds the readout time, then the effect on the frame rate is neglectable.

In simultaneous readout mode image output faces minor limitations. The overall linear sensor reponse is partially restricted in the lower grey scale region.

When changing readout mode from sequential to simultaneous readout mode or vice versa, new settings of the BlackLevelOffset and of the image correction are required.

Sequential readout

By default the camera continuously delivers images as fast as possible ("Free-running mode") in the sequential readout mode. Exposure time of the next image can only start if the readout time of the current image is ﬁnished.

e x p o s u r e r e a d o u t

e x p o s u r e

r e a d o u t

Figure 4.2: Timing in free-running sequential readout mode

When the acquisition of an image needs to be synchronised to an external event, an external trigger can be used (refer to Section 4.4). In this mode, the camera is idle until it gets a signal to capture an image.

e x p o s u r e r e a d o u t

i d l e e x p o s u r e

e x t e r n a l t r i g g e r

Figure 4.3: Timing in triggered sequential readout mode

Simultaneous readout (interleave exposure)

e x p o s u r e n i d l e

i d l e

r e a d o u t n

e x p o s u r e n + 1

r e a d o u t n + 1

f r a m e t i m e

r e a d o u t n - 1

Figure 4.4: Timing in free-running simultaneous readout mode (readout time> exposure time)

e x p o s u r e n

i d l e

r e a d o u t n

e x p o s u r e n + 1

f r a m e t i m e

r e a d o u t n - 1

i d l e

e x p o s u r e n - 1

Figure 4.5: Timing in free-running simultaneous readout mode (readout time< exposure time)

Figure 4.6: Timing in triggered simultaneous readout mode

4.1.2 Readout Timing

Sequential readout timing

By default, the camera is in free running mode and delivers images without any external control signals. The sensor is operated in sequential readout mode, which means that the sensor is read out after the exposure time. Then the sensor is reset, a new exposure starts and the readout of the image information begins again. The data is output on the rising edge of the pixel clock. The signals FRAME_VALID (FVAL) and LINE_VALID (LVAL) mask valid image information. The signal SHUTTER indicates the active exposure period of the sensor and is shown for clarity only.

Simultaneous readout timing

To achieve highest possible frame rates, the camera must be set to "Free-running mode" with simultaneous readout. The camera continuously delivers images as fast as possible. Exposure time of the next image can start during the readout time of the current image. The data is output on the rising edge of the pixel clock. The signals FRAME_VALID (FVAL) and LINE_VALID (LVAL) mask valid image information. The signal SHUTTER indicates the active integration phase of the sensor and is shown for clarity only.

4.1 Image Acquisition 25

4 Functionality

P C L K

S H U T T E R

F V A L

L V A L

D V A L

D A T A

L i n e p a u s e

L i n e p a u s e L i n e p a u s e

F i r s t L i n e L a s t L i n e

E x p o s u r e T i m e

F r a m e T i m e

C P R E

Figure 4.7: Timing diagram of sequential readout mode

P C L K

S H U T T E R

F V A L

L V A L

D V A L

D A T A

L i n e p a u s e

L i n e p a u s e L i n e p a u s e

F i r s t L i n e L a s t L i n e

E x p o s u r e T i m e

F r a m e T i m e

C P R E

E x p o s u r e T i m e

C P R E

Figure 4.8: Timing diagram of simultaneous readout mode (readout time > exposure time)

P C L K

S H U T T E R

F V A L

L V A L

D V A L

D A T A

L i n e p a u s e

L i n e p a u s e L i n e p a u s e

F i r s t L i n e L a s t L i n e

F r a m e T i m e

C P R E

E x p o s u r e T i m e

C P R E

Figure 4.9: Timing diagram simultaneous readout mode (readout time < exposure time)

4.1 Image Acquisition 27

4 Functionality

Frame time Frame time is the inverse of the frame rate.

Exposure time Period during which the pixels are integrating the incoming light.

PCLK Pixel clock on CameraLink®interface.

SHUTTER Internal signal, shown only for clarity. Is ’high’ during the exposure

time.

FVAL (Frame Valid) Is ’high’ while the data of one complete frame are transferred.

LVAL (Line Valid) Is ’high’ while the data of one line are transferred. Example: To transfer

an image with 640x480 pixels, there are 480 LVAL within one FVAL active high period. One LVAL lasts 640 pixel clock cycles.

DVAL (Data Valid) Is ’high’ while data are valid.

DATA Transferred pixel values. Example: For a 100x100 pixel image, there are

100 values transferred within one LVAL active high period, or 100*100 values within one FVAL period.

Line pause Delay before the ﬁrst line and after every following line when reading

out the image data.

Table 4.2: Explanation of control and data signals used in the timing diagram

These terms will be used also in the timing diagrams of Section 4.4.

4.1.3 Exposure Control

The exposure time deﬁnes the period during which the image sensor integrates the incoming light. Refer to Table 3.3 for the allowed exposure time range.

4.1.4 Maximum Frame Rate

The maximum frame rate depends on the exposure time and the size of the image (see Section

4.3.)

4.2 Pixel Response

4.2.1 Linear Response

The camera offers a linear response between input light signal and output grey level. This can be modiﬁed by the use of LinLog®as described in the following sections. In addition, a linear digital gain may be applied, as follows. Please see Table 3.2 for more model-dependent information.

Black Level Adjustment

The black level is the average image value at no light intensity. It can be adjusted by the software by changing the black level offset. Thus, the overall image gets brighter or darker. Use a histogram to control the settings of the black level.

4.2.2 LinLog

Overview

The LinLog®technology from Photonfocus allows a logarithmic compression of high light intensities inside the pixel. In contrast to the classical non-integrating logarithmic pixel, the LinLog®pixel is an integrating pixel with global shutter and the possibility to control the transition between linear and logarithmic mode. In situations involving high intrascene contrast, a compression of the upper grey level region can be achieved with the LinLog®technology. At low intensities each pixel shows a linear response. At high intensities the response changes to logarithmic compression (see Fig. 4.10). The transition region between linear and logarithmic response can be smoothly adjusted by software and is continuously differentiable and monotonic.

G r e y V a l u e

L i g h t I n t e n s i t y

0 %

1 0 0 %

L i n e a r R e s p o n s e

S a t u r a t i o n

W e a k c o m p r e s s i o n

V a l u e 2

S t r o n g c o m p r e s s i o n

V a l u e 1

R e s u l t i n g L i n l o g R e s p o n s e

Figure 4.10: Resulting LinLog2 response curve

LinLog®is controlled by up to 4 parameters (Time1, Time2, Value1 and Value2). Value1 and Value2 correspond to the LinLog®voltage that is applied to the sensor. The higher the parameters Value1 and Value2 respectively, the stronger the compression for the high light intensities. Time1

4.2 Pixel Response 29

4 Functionality

and Time2 are normalised to the exposure time. They can be set to a maximum value of 1000, which corresponds to the exposure time. Examples in the following sections illustrate the LinLog®feature.

LinLog1

In the simplest way the pixels are operated with a constant LinLog®voltage which deﬁnes the knee point of the transition.This procedure has the drawback that the linear response curve changes directly to a logarithmic curve leading to a poor grey resolution in the logarithmic region (see Fig. 4.12).

V a l u e 1

e x p

L i n L o g

= V a l u e 2

T i m e 1 = T i m e 2 = m a x . = 1 0 0 0

Figure 4.11: Constant LinLog voltage in the Linlog1 mode

100

150

200

250

300

Typical LinLog1 Response Curve − Varying Parameter Value1

Illumination Intensity

Output grey level (8 bit) [DN]

V1 = 15 V1 = 16

V1 = 17 V1 = 18 V1 = 19

Time1=1000, Time2=1000, Value2=Value1

Figure 4.12: Response curve for different LinLog settings in LinLog1 mode

LinLog2

To get more grey resolution in the LinLog®mode, the LinLog2 procedure was developed. In LinLog2 mode a switching between two different logarithmic compressions occurs during the exposure time (see Fig. 4.13). The exposure starts with strong compression with a high LinLog®voltage (Value1). At Time1 the LinLog®voltage is switched to a lower voltage resulting in a weaker compression. This procedure gives a LinLog®response curve with more grey resolution. Fig. 4.14 and Fig. 4.15 show how the response curve is controlled by the three parameters Value1, Value2 and the LinLog®time Time1.

Settings in LinLog2 mode, enable a ﬁne tuning of the slope in the logarithmic region.

V a l u e 1

V a l u e 2

T i m e 1

e x p

L i n L o g

T i m e 2 = m a x . = 1 0 0 0

T i m e 1

Figure 4.13: Voltage switching in the Linlog2 mode

100

150

200

250

300

Typical LinLog2 Response Curve − Varying Parameter Time1

Illumination Intensity

Output grey level (8 bit) [DN]

T1 = 840 T1 = 920 T1 = 960

T1 = 980 T1 = 999

Time2=1000, Value1=19, Value2=14

Figure 4.14: Response curve for different LinLog settings in LinLog2 mode

4.2 Pixel Response 31

4 Functionality

100

120

140

160

180

200

Typical LinLog2 Response Curve − Varying Parameter Time1

Illumination Intensity

Output grey level (8 bit) [DN]

T1 = 880 T1 = 900 T1 = 920 T1 = 940 T1 = 960 T1 = 980 T1 = 1000

Time2=1000, Value1=19, Value2=18

Figure 4.15: Response curve for different LinLog settings in LinLog2 mode

LinLog3

To enable more ﬂexibility the LinLog3 mode with 4 parameters was introduced. Fig. 4.16 shows the timing diagram for the LinLog3 mode and the control parameters.

L i n L o g

V a l u e 1

V a l u e 2

e x p

T i m e 2

T i m e 1

T i m e 1 T i m e 2

e x p

V a l u e 3 = C o n s t a n t = 0

Figure 4.16: Voltage switching in the LinLog3 mode

100

150

200

250

300

Typical LinLog2 Response Curve − Varying Parameter Time2

Illumination Intensity

Output grey level (8 bit) [DN]

T2 = 950 T2 = 960 T2 = 970 T2 = 980

T2 = 990

Time1=850, Value1=19, Value2=18

Figure 4.17: Response curve for different LinLog settings in LinLog3 mode

4.2 Pixel Response 33

4 Functionality

4.3 Reduction of Image Size

With Photonfocus cameras there are several possibilities to focus on the interesting parts of an image, thus reducing the data rate and increasing the frame rate. The most commonly used feature is Region of Interest (ROI).

4.3.1 Region of Interest (ROI)

Some applications do not need full image resolution (e.g. 1312 x 1082 pixels). By reducing the image size to a certain region of interest (ROI), the frame rate can be drastically increased. A region of interest can be almost any rectangular window and is speciﬁed by its position within the full frame and its width (W) and height (H). Fig. 4.18, Fig. 4.19, Fig. 4.20 and Fig. 4.21 how possible conﬁgurations for the region of interest, and Table 4.3 and Table 4.4 present numerical examples of how the frame rate can be increased by reducing the ROI.

Both reductions in x- and y-direction result in a higher frame rate.

The minimum width of the region of interest depends on the model of the MV1D1312(I) camera series. For more details please consult Table 4.5 and Table 4.6.

The minimum width must be positioned symmetrically towards the vertical center line of the sensor as shown in Fig. 4.18, Fig. 4.19, Fig. 4.20 and Fig. 4.21). A list of possible settings of the ROI for each camera model is given in Table 4.6.

³ 1 4 4

P i x e l

³ 1 4 4

P i x e l

³ 1 4 4

P i x e l

+ m o d u l o 3 2 P i x e l

³ 1 4 4

P i x e l + m o d u l o 3 2 P i x e l

a )

b )

Figure 4.18: Possible conﬁguration of the region of interest for the MV1-D1312(I)-40 CMOS camera

✎

It is recommended to re-adjust the settings of the shading correction each time a new region of interest is selected.

³ 2 0 8

P i x e l

2 0 8 P i x e l

³ 2 0 8

P i x e l

+ m o d u l o 3 2 P i x e l

³ 2 0 8

P i x e l + m o d u l o 3 2 P i x e l

a )

b )

Figure 4.19: Possible conﬁguration of the region of interest with MV1-D1312(I)-80 CMOS camera

2 7 2 p i x e l

+ m o d u l o 3 2 p i x e l

2 7 2 p i x e l + m o d u l o 3 2 p i x e l

a )

b )

Figure 4.20: Possible conﬁguration of the region of interest with MV1-D1312(I)-160 CMOS camera

Any region of interest may NOT be placed outside of the center of the sensor. Examples shown in Fig. 4.22 illustrate conﬁgurations of the ROI that are NOT allowed.

4.3 Reduction of Image Size 35

4 Functionality

³ 2 4 0

P i x e l

³ 2 4 0

P i x e l

³ 2 4 0

P i x e l

+ m o d u l o 9 6 P i x e l

³ 2 4 0

P i x e l + m o d u l o 9 6 P i x e l

a )

b )

Figure 4.21: Possible conﬁguration of the region of interest with MV1-D1312(I)-240 CMOS camera

a )

b )

Figure 4.22: ROI conﬁguration examples that are NOT allowed

ROI Dimension [Standard] MV1-D1312(I)-40 MV1-D1312(I)-80 MV1-D1312(I)-160

1312 x 1082 (full resolution) 27 fps 54 fps 108 fps

1248 x 1082 28 fps 56 fps 113 fps

1280 x 1024 (SXGA) 29 fps 58 fps 117 fps

1280 x 768 (WXGA) 39 fps 78 fps 156 fps

800 x 600 (SVGA) 78 fps 157 fps 310 fps

640 x 480 (VGA) 121 fps 241 fps 472 fps

288 x 1 10245 fps not allowed ROI setting not allowed ROI setting

480 x 1 9765 fps 10593 fps not allowed ROI setting

544 x 1 9615 fps 10498 fps 11022 fps

544 x 1082 63 fps 125 fps 249 fps

480 x 1082 70 fps 141 fps not allowed ROI setting

1312 x 544 54 fps 107 fps 214 fps

1248 x 544 56 fps 112 fps 224 fps

1312 x 256 114 fps 227 fps 445 fps

1248 x 256 119 fps 238 fps 466 fps

544 x 544 125 fps 248 fps 485 fps

480 x 480 158 fps 314 fps not allowed ROI setting

1024 x 1024 36 fps 72 fps 145 fps

1056 x 1056 34 fps 68 fps 136 fps

1312 x 1 8116 fps 9541 fps 10460 fps

1248 x 1 8223 fps 9615 fps 10504 fps

Table 4.3: Frame rates of different ROI settings (exposure time 10 µs; correction on, and sequential readout mode).

4.3 Reduction of Image Size 37

4 Functionality

ROI Dimension [Standard] MV1-D1312(I)-240

1312 x 1082 (full resolution) not allowed ROI setting

1248 x 1082 170 fps

1280 x 1024 (SXGA) not allowed ROI setting

1280 x 768 (WXGA) not allowed ROI setting

800 x 600 (SVGA) not allowed ROI setting

640 x 480 (VGA) not allowed ROI setting

288 x 1 not allowed ROI setting

480 x 1 11225 fps

544 x 1 not allowed ROI setting

544 x 1082 not allowed ROI setting

480 x 1082 414 fps

1312 x 544 not allowed ROI setting

1248 x 544 333 fps

1312 x 256 not allowed ROI setting

1248 x 256 686 fps

544 x 544 not allowed ROI setting

480 x 480 893 fps

1024 x 1024 not allowed ROI setting

1056 x 1056 204 fps

1312 x 1 not allowed ROI setting

1248 x 1 10836 fps

Table 4.4: Frame rates of different ROI settings (exposure time 10 µs; correction on, and sequential readout mode).

4.3.2 ROI conﬁguration

In the MV1-D1312(I) camera series the following two restrictions have to be respected for the ROI conﬁguration:

• The minimum width (w) of the ROI is camera model dependent, consisting of 288 pixel in the MV1-D1312(I)-40 camera, of 416 pixel in the MV1-D1312(I)-80 camera, of 544 pixel in the MV1-D1312(I)-160 camera and of 480 pixel in the MV1-D1312(I)-240 camera.

• The region of interest must overlap a minimum number of pixels centered to the left and to the right of the vertical middle line of the sensor (ovl).

For any camera model of the MV1-D1312(I) camera series the allowed ranges for the ROI settings can be deduced by the following formula:

min

= max(0, 656 + ovl − w)

max

= min(656 − ovl, 1312 − w) .

where "ovl" is the overlap over the middle line and "w" is the width of the region of interest.

Any ROI settings in x-direction exceeding the minimum ROI width must be modulo 32.

MV1-D1312(I)-40 MV1-D1312(I)-80 MV1-D1312(I)-160 MV1-D1312(I)-240

ROI width (w) 288 ... 1312 416 ... 1312 544 ... 1312 480 ... 1248

overlap (ovl) 144 208 272 240

width condition modulo 32 modulo 32 modulo 32 modulo 96

Table 4.5: Summary of the ROI conﬁguration restrictions for the MV1-D1312(I) camera series indicating the minimum ROI width (w) and the required number of pixel overlap (ovl) over the sensor middle line

The settings of the region of interest in x-direction are restricted to modulo 32 (see Table 4.6 and Table 4.7).

There are no restrictions for the settings of the region of interest in y-direction.

4.3.3 Calculation of the maximum frame rate

The frame rate mainly depends on the exposure time and readout time. The frame rate is the inverse of the frame time. fps =

frame

Calculation of the frame time (sequential mode)

4.3 Reduction of Image Size 39

4 Functionality

Width ROI-X (MV1-D1312(I)-40) ROI-X (MV1-D1312(I)-80) ROI-X (MV1-D1312(I)-160)

288 512 not available not available

320 480 ... 512 not available not available

352 448 ... 512 not available not available

384 416 ... 512 not available not available

416 384 ... 512 448 not available

448 352 ... 512 416 ... 448 not available

480 320 ... 520 384 ... 448 not available

512 288 ... 512 352 ... 448 not available

544 256 ...512 320 ... 448 384

576 224 ... 512 288 ... 448 352 ... 384

608 192 ... 512 256 ... 448 320 ... 352

640 160 ... 512 224 ... 448 288 ... 384

672 128 ... 512 192 ... 448 256 ... 384

704 96 ... 512 160 ... 448 224 ... 384

736 64 ... 512 128 ... 448 192 ... 384

768 32 ... 512 96 ... 448 160 ... 384

800 0 ... 512 64 ... 448 128 ... 384

832 0 ... 480 32 ... 448 96 ... 384

864 0 ... 448 0 ... 448 64 ... 384

896 0 ... 416 0 ... 416 32 ... 384

... ... ... ...

1248 0 ... 64 0 ... 64 0 ... 64

1312 0 0 0

Table 4.6: Some possible ROI-X settings (MV1-D1312(I)-40, -80, -160)

frame

≥ t

exp

+ t

Typical values of the readout time troare given in table Table 4.8. Calculation of the frame time (simultaneous mode)

The calculation of the frame time in simultaneous read out mode requires more detailed data input and is skipped here for the purpose of clarity.

A frame rate calculator for calculating the maximum frame rate is available in the support area of the Photonfocus website.

An overview of resulting frame rates in different exposure time settings is given in table Table

4.9.

Width ROI-X (MV1-D1312(I)-240)

288 not available

320 not available

352 not available

384 not available

416 not available

448 not available

480 416

512 not available

544 not available

576 320 ... 416

608 not available

640 not available

672 224 ... 416

704 not available

736 not available

768 128 ... 416

800 not available

832 not available

864 32 ... 384

896 not available

... ...

1248 0

1312 not available

Table 4.7: Some possible ROI-X settings (MV1-D1312(I)-240)

ROI Dimension MV1-D1312(I)-40 MV1-D1312(I)-80 MV1-D1312(I)-160 MV1-D1312(I)-240

1312 x 1082 tro= 36.46 ms tro= 18.23 ms tro= 9.12 ms ROI not allowed

1248 x 1082 tro= 34.73 ms tro= 17.37 ms tro= 8.68 ms tro= 5.79 ms

1024 x 512 tro= 13.57 ms tro= 6.78 ms tro= 3.39 ms ROI not allowed

1056 x 512 tro= 13.98 ms tro= 6.99 ms tro= 3.49 ms tro= 2.33 ms

1024 x 256 tro= 6.78 ms tro= 3.39 ms tro= 1.70 ms ROI not allowed

1056 x 256 tro= 6.99 ms tro= 3.49 ms tro= 1.75 ms tro= 1.16 ms

Table 4.8: Read out time at different ROI settings for the MV1-D1312(I) CMOS camera series in sequential read out mode.

4.3 Reduction of Image Size 41

4 Functionality

Exposure time MV1-D1312(I)-40 MV1-D1312(I)-80 MV1-D1312(I)-160 MV1-D1312(I)-240

10 µs 27 / 27 fps 54 / 54 fps 108 / 108 fps 170 / 170 fps

100 µs 27 / 27 fps 54 / 54 fps 107 / 108 fps 167 / 169 fps

500 µs 27 / 27 fps 53 / 54 fps 103 / 108 fps 157 / 169 fps

1 ms 26 / 27 fps 51 / 54 fps 98 / 108 fps 145 / 169 fps

2 ms 26 / 27 fps 49 / 54 fps 89 / 108 fps 127 / 169 fps

5 ms 24 / 27 fps 42 / 54 fps 70 / 108 fps 92 / 169 fps

10 ms 21 / 27 fps 35 / 54 fps 52 / 99 fps 63 / 99 fps

12 ms 20 / 27 fps 33 / 54 fps 47 / 82 fps 56 / 82 fps

Table 4.9: Frame rates of different exposure times, [sequential readout mode / simultaneous readout mode ], resolution 1312 x 1082 pixel (MV1-D1312(I)-240: 1248 x 1082), FPN correction on.

4.3.4 Multiple Regions of Interest

The MV1-D1312(I) camera series can handle up to 512 different regions of interest. This feature can be used to reduce the image data and increase the frame rate. An application example for using multiple regions of interest (MROI) is a laser triangulation system with several laser lines. The multiple ROIs are joined together and form a single image, which is transferred to the frame grabber. An individual MROI region is deﬁned by its starting value in y-direction and its height. The starting value in horizontal direction and the width is the same for all MROI regions and is deﬁned by the ROI settings. The maximum frame rate in MROI mode depends on the number of rows and columns being read out. Overlapping ROIs are allowed. See Section 4.3.3 for information on the calculation of the maximum frame rate. Fig. 4.23 compares ROI and MROI: the setups (visualized on the image sensor area) are displayed in the upper half of the drawing. The lower half shows the dimensions of the resulting image. On the left-hand side an example of ROI is shown and on the right-hand side an example of MROI. It can be readily seen that resulting image with MROI is smaller than the resulting image with ROI only and the former will result in an increase in image frame rate. Fig. 4.24 shows another MROI drawing illustrating the effect of MROI on the image content. Fig. 4.25 shows an example from hyperspectral imaging where the presence of spectral lines at known regions need to be inspected. By using MROI only a 656x54 region need to be readout and a frame rate of 4300 fps can be achieved. Without using MROI the resulting frame rate would be 216 fps for a 656x1082 ROI.

M R O I 0

M R O I 1

M R O I 2

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

R O I

M R O I 0

M R O I 1

M R O I 2

R O I

Figure 4.23: Multiple Regions of Interest

Figure 4.24: Multiple Regions of Interest with 5 ROIs

4.3 Reduction of Image Size 43

4 Functionality

6 5 6 p i x e l

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

2 0 p i x e l

2 6 p i x e l

2 p i x e l

1 p i x e l

C h e m i c a l A g e n t

B C

Figure 4.25: Multiple Regions of Interest in hyperspectral imaging

4.3.5 Decimation

Decimation reduces the number of pixels in y-direction. Decimation can also be used together with ROI or MROI. Decimation in y-direction transfers every nthrow only and directly results in reduced read-out time and higher frame rate respectively. Fig. 4.26 shows decimation on the full image. The rows that will be read out are marked by red lines. Row 0 is read out and then every nthrow.

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

Figure 4.26: Decimation in full image

Fig. 4.27 shows decimation on a ROI. The row speciﬁed by the Window.Y setting is ﬁrst read out and then every nthrow until the end of the ROI.

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

R O I

Figure 4.27: Decimation and ROI

Fig. 4.28 shows decimation and MROI. For every MROI region m, the ﬁrst row read out is the row speciﬁed by the MROI<m>.Y setting and then every nthrow until the end of MROI region m.

4.3 Reduction of Image Size 45

4 Functionality

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

M R O I 0

R O I

M R O I 2

M R O I 1

Figure 4.28: Decimation and MROI

The image in Fig. 4.29 on the right-hand side shows the result of decimation 3 of the image on the left-hand side.

Figure 4.29: Image example of decimation 3

An example of a high-speed measurement of the elongation of an injection needle is given in Fig. 4.30. In this application the height information is less important than the width information. Applying decimation 2 on the original image on the left-hand side doubles the resulting frame to about 7800 fps.

Figure 4.30: Example of decimation 2 on image of injection needle

4.3 Reduction of Image Size 47

4 Functionality

4.4 Trigger and Strobe

4.4.1 Introduction

The start of the exposure of the camera’s image sensor is controlled by the trigger. The trigger can either be generated internally by the camera (free running trigger mode) or by an external device (external trigger mode). This section refers to the external trigger mode if not otherwise speciﬁed. In external trigger mode, the trigger can be applied through the CameraLink®interface (interface trigger) or directly by the power supply connector of the camera (I/O Trigger) (see Section 4.4.2). The trigger signal can be conﬁgured to be active high or active low. When the frequency of the incoming triggers is higher than the maximal frame rate of the current camera settings, then some trigger pulses will be missed. A missed trigger counter counts these events. This counter can be read out by the user. The exposure time in external trigger mode can be deﬁned by the setting of the exposure time register (camera controlled exposure mode) or by the width of the incoming trigger pulse (trigger controlled exposure mode) (see Section 4.4.3). An external trigger pulse starts the exposure of one image. In Burst Trigger Mode however, a trigger pulse starts the exposure of a user deﬁned number of images (see Section 4.4.5). The start of the exposure is shortly after the active edge of the incoming trigger. An additional trigger delay can be applied that delays the start of the exposure by a user deﬁned time (see Section 4.4.4). This often used to start the exposure after the trigger to a ﬂash lighting source.

4.4.2 Trigger Source

The trigger signal can be conﬁgured to be active high or active low. One of the following trigger sources can be used:

Free running The trigger is generated internally by the camera. Exposure starts immediately

after the camera is ready and the maximal possible frame rate is attained, if Constant Frame Rate mode is disabled. In Constant Frame Rate mode, exposure starts after a user-speciﬁed time (Frame Time) has elapsed from the previous exposure start and therefore the frame rate is set to a user deﬁned value.

Interface Trigger In the interface trigger mode, the trigger signal is applied to the camera by

the CameraLink®interface. Fig. 4.31 shows a diagram of the interface trigger setup. The trigger is generated by the frame grabber board and sent on the CC1 signal through the CameraLink®interface. Some frame grabbers allow the connection external trigger devices through an I/O card. A schematic diagram of this setup is shown in Fig. 4.32.

I/O Trigger In the I/O trigger mode, the trigger signal is applied directly to the camera by the

power supply connector (via an optocoupler). A setup of this mode is shown in Fig. 4.33. The electrical interface of the I/O trigger input and the strobe output is described in Section 5.1.3.

4.4.3 Exposure Time Control

Depending on the trigger mode, the exposure time can be determined either by the camera or by the trigger signal itself:

Camera-controlled Exposure time In this trigger mode the exposure time is deﬁned by the

camera. For an active high trigger signal, the camera starts the exposure with a positive trigger edge and stops it when the preprogrammed exposure time has elapsed. The exposure time is deﬁned by the software.

C a m e r a

S y s t e m P C

M a c h i n e V i s i o n

D a t a C a m e r a L i n k

P o w e r

E X S Y N C ( C C 1 ) / S o f t t r i g g e r

C a m e r a L i n k

T M

F r a m e G r a b b e r

Figure 4.31: Interface trigger source

I / O B o a r d

C a m e r a 1

S y s t e m P C

M a c h i n e V i s i o n

D a t a C a m e r a L i n k

P o w e r

T r i g g e r S o u r c e

E X S Y N C ( C C 1 ) / S o f t t r i g g e r

C a m e r a L i n k

T M

F r a m e G r a b b e r

F l a s h

C a m e r a 2

D a t a C a m e r a L i n k

E X S Y N C ( C C 1 ) / S o f t t r i g g e r

P o w e r

Figure 4.32: Interface trigger with 2 cameras and frame grabber I/O card

Trigger-controlled Exposure time In this trigger mode the exposure time is deﬁned by the

pulse width of the trigger pulse. For an active high trigger signal, the camera starts the exposure with the positive edge of the trigger signal and stops it with the negative edge.

Trigger-controlled exposure time is not available in simultaneous readout mode.

External Trigger with Camera controlled Exposure Time

In the external trigger mode with camera controlled exposure time the rising edge of the trigger pulse starts the camera states machine, which controls the sensor and optional an

4.4 Trigger and Strobe 49

4 Functionality

C a m e r a 1

F l a s h

T r i g g e r S o u r c e

T T L

S y s t e m P C

M a c h i n e V i s i o n

D a t a C a m e r a L i n k

P o w e r

C a m e r a L i n k

T M

F r a m e G r a b b e r

Figure 4.33: I/O trigger source

external strobe output. Fig. 4.34 shows the detailed timing diagram for the external trigger mode with camera controlled exposure time.

e x t e r n a l t r i g g e r p u l s e i n p u t

t r i g g e r a f t e r i s o l a t o r

t r i g g e r p u l s e i n t e r n a l c a m e r a c o n t r o l

d e l a y e d t r i g g e r f o r s h u t t e r c o n t r o l

i n t e r n a l s h u t t e r c o n t r o l

d e l a y e d t r i g g e r f o r s t r o b e c o n t r o l

i n t e r n a l s t r o b e c o n t r o l

e x t e r n a l s t r o b e p u l s e o u t p u t

d - i s o - i n p u t

j i t t e r

t r i g g e r - d e l a y

e x p o s u r e

s t r o b e - d e l a y

d - i s o - o u t p u t

s t r o b e - d u r a t i o n

t r i g g e r - o f f s e t

s t r o b e - o f f s e t

Figure 4.34: Timing diagram for the camera controlled exposure time

The rising edge of the trigger signal is detected in the camera control electronic which is implemented in an FPGA. Before the trigger signal reaches the FPGA it is isolated from the camera environment to allow robust integration of the camera into the vision system. In the signal isolator the trigger signal is delayed by time t

d−iso−input

. This signal is clocked into the

FPGA which leads to a jitter of t

jitter

. The pulse can be delayed by the time t

trigger−delay

which can be conﬁgured by a user deﬁned value via camera software. The trigger offset delay t

trigger−oﬀset

results then from the synchronous design of the FPGA state machines. The

exposure time t

exposure

is controlled with an internal exposure time controller.

The trigger pulse from the internal camera control starts also the strobe control state machines. The strobe can be delayed by t

strobe−delay

with an internal counter which can be

controlled by the customer via software settings. The strobe offset delay t

strobe−delay

results then from the synchronous design of the FPGA state machines. A second counter determines the strobe duration t

strobe−duration

(strobe-duration). For a robust system design the strobe output is also isolated from the camera electronic which leads to an additional delay of t

d−iso−output

. Table 4.10, Table 4.11, Table 4.12 and Table 4.13 gives an overview over the

minimum and maximum values of the parameters.

External Trigger with Pulsewidth controlled Exposure Time

In the external trigger mode with Pulsewidth controlled exposure time the rising edge of the trigger pulse starts the camera states machine, which controls the sensor. The falling edge of the trigger pulse stops the image acquisition. Additionally the optional external strobe output is controlled by the rising edge of the trigger pulse. Timing diagram Fig. 4.35 shows the detailed timing for the external trigger mode with pulse width controlled exposure time.

e x t e r n a l t r i g g e r p u l s e i n p u t

t r i g g e r a f t e r i s o l a t o r

t r i g g e r p u l s e r i s i n g e d g e c a m e r a c o n t r o l

d e l a y e d t r i g g e r r i s i n g e d g e f o r s h u t t e r s e t

i n t e r n a l s h u t t e r c o n t r o l

d e l a y e d t r i g g e r f o r s t r o b e c o n t r o l

i n t e r n a l s t r o b e c o n t r o l

e x t e r n a l s t r o b e p u l s e o u t p u t

d - i s o - i n p u t

j i t t e r

t r i g g e r - d e l a y

e x p o s u r e

s t r o b e - d e l a y

d - i s o - o u t p u t

s t r o b e - d u r a t i o n

t r i g g e r p u l s e f a l l i n g e d g e c a m e r a c o n t r o l

d e l a y e d t r i g g e r f a l l i n g e d g e s h u t t e r r e s e t

j i t t e r

t r i g g e r - d e l a y

e x p o s u r e

t r i g g e r - o f f s e t

s t r o b e - o f f s e t

Figure 4.35: Timing diagram for the Pulsewidth controlled exposure time

The timing of the rising edge of the trigger pulse until to the start of exposure and strobe is equal to the timing of the camera controlled exposure time (see Section 4.4.3). In this mode however the end of the exposure is controlled by the falling edge of the trigger Pulsewidth: The falling edge of the trigger pulse is delayed by the time t

d−iso−input

which is results from the

signal isolator. This signal is clocked into the FPGA which leads to a jitter of t

jitter

. The pulse is

4.4 Trigger and Strobe 51

4 Functionality

then delayed by t

trigger−delay

by the user deﬁned value which can be conﬁgured via camera

software. After the trigger offset time t

trigger−oﬀset

the exposure is stopped.

4.4.4 Trigger Delay

The trigger delay is a programmable delay in milliseconds between the incoming trigger edge and the start of the exposure. This feature may be required to synchronize to external strobe with the exposure of the camera.

4.4.5 Burst Trigger

The camera includes a burst trigger engine. When enabled, it starts a predeﬁned number of acquisitions after one single trigger pulse. The time between two acquisitions and the number of acquisitions can be conﬁgured by a user deﬁned value via the camera software. The burst trigger feature works only in the mode "Camera controlled Exposure Time". The burst trigger signal can be conﬁgured to be active high or active low. When the frequency of the incoming burst triggers is higher than the duration of the programmed burst sequence, then some trigger pulses will be missed. A missed burst trigger counter counts these events. This counter can be read out by the user.

e x t e r n a l t r i g g e r p u l s e i n p u t

t r i g g e r a f t e r i s o l a t o r

t r i g g e r p u l s e i n t e r n a l c a m e r a c o n t r o l

d e l a y e d t r i g g e r f o r s h u t t e r c o n t r o l

i n t e r n a l s h u t t e r c o n t r o l

d e l a y e d t r i g g e r f o r s t r o b e c o n t r o l

i n t e r n a l s t r o b e c o n t r o l

e x t e r n a l s t r o b e p u l s e o u t p u t

d - i s o - i n p u t

j i t t e r

t r i g g e r - d e l a y

e x p o s u r e

s t r o b e - d e l a y

d - i s o - o u t p u t

s t r o b e - d u r a t i o n

t r i g g e r - o f f s e t

s t r o b e - o f f s e t

d e l a y e d t r i g g e r f o r b u r s t t r i g g e r e n g i n e

b u r s t - t r i g g e r - d e l a y

b u r s t - p e r i o d - t i m e

Figure 4.36: Timing diagram for the burst trigger mode

The timing diagram of the burst trigger mode is shown in Fig. 4.36. The timing of the "external trigger pulse input" until to the "trigger pulse internal camera control" is equal to

the timing in the section Fig. 4.35. This trigger pulse then starts after a user conﬁgurable burst trigger delay time t

burst−trigger−delay

the internal burst engine, which generates n internal triggers for the shutter- and the strobe-control. A user conﬁgurable value deﬁnes the time t

burst−period−time

between two acquisitions.

MV1-D1312(I)-40 MV1-D1312(I)-40

Timing Parameter Minimum Maximum

d−iso−input

45 ns 60 ns

jitter

0 100 ns

trigger−delay

0 1.68 s

burst−trigger−delay

0 1.68 s

burst−period−time

depends on camera settings 1.68 s

trigger−oﬀset

(non burst mode) 400 ns 400 ns

trigger−oﬀset

(burst mode) 500 ns 500 ns

exposure

10 µs 1.68 s

strobe−delay

0 1.68 s

strobe−oﬀset

(non burst mode) 400 ns 400 ns

strobe−oﬀset

(burst mode) 500 ns 500 ns

strobe−duration

200 ns 1.68 s

d−iso−output

45 ns 60 ns

trigger−pulsewidth

200 ns n/a

Number of bursts n 1 30000

Table 4.10: Summary of timing parameters relevant in the external trigger mode using camera (MV1D1312(I)-40)

4.4.6 Software Trigger

The software trigger enables to emulate an external trigger pulse by the camera software through the serial data interface. It works with both burst mode enabled and disabled. As soon as it is performed via the camera software, it will start the image acquisition(s), depending on the usage of the burst mode and the burst conﬁguration. The trigger mode must be set to Interface Trigger or I/O Trigger.

4.4.7 Strobe Output

The strobe output is an opto-isolated output located on the power supply connector that can be used to trigger a strobe. The strobe output can be used both in free-running and in trigger mode. There is a programmable delay available to adjust the strobe pulse to your application.

The strobe output needs a separate power supply. Please see Section Section

5.1.3 and Figure Fig. 4.32 and Fig. 4.33 for more information.

4.4 Trigger and Strobe 53

4 Functionality

MV1-D1312(I)-80 MV1-D1312(I)-80

Timing Parameter Minimum Maximum

d−iso−input

45 ns 60 ns

jitter

0 50 ns

trigger−delay

0 0.84 s

burst−trigger−delay

0 0.84 s

burst−period−time

depends on camera settings 0.84 s

trigger−oﬀset

(non burst mode) 200 ns 200 ns

trigger−oﬀset

(burst mode) 250 ns 250 ns

exposure

10 µs 0.84 s

strobe−delay

600 ns 0.84 s

strobe−oﬀset

(non burst mode) 200 ns 200 ns

strobe−oﬀset

(burst mode) 250 ns 250 ns

strobe−duration

200 ns 0.84 s

d−iso−output

45 ns 60 ns

trigger−pulsewidth

200 ns n/a

Number of bursts n 1 30000

Table 4.11: Summary of timing parameters relevant in the external trigger mode using camera (MV1D1312(I)-80)

MV1-D1312(I)-160 MV1-D1312(I)-160

Timing Parameter Minimum

Maximum

d−iso−input

45 ns 60 ns

jitter

0 25 ns

trigger−delay

0 0.42 s

burst−trigger−delay

0 0.42 s

burst−period−time

depends on camera settings 0.42 s

trigger−oﬀset

(non burst mode) 100 ns 100 ns

trigger−oﬀset

(burst mode) 125 ns 125 ns

exposure

10 µs 0.42 s

strobe−delay

0 0.42 s

strobe−oﬀset

(non burst mode) 100 ns 100 ns

strobe−oﬀset

(burst mode) 125 ns 125 ns

strobe−duration

200 ns 0.42 s

d−iso−output

45 ns 60 ns

trigger−pulsewidth

200 ns n/a

Number of bursts n 1 30000

Table 4.12: Summary of timing parameters relevant in the external trigger mode using camera (MV1D1312(I)-160)

MV1-D1312(I)-240 MV1-D1312(I)-240

Timing Parameter Minimum Maximum

d−iso−input

45 ns 60 ns

jitter

0 16.7 ns

trigger−delay

0 0.28 s

burst−trigger−delay

0 0.28 s

burst−period−time

depends on camera settings 0.28 s

trigger−oﬀset

(non burst mode) 66.7 ns 66.7 ns

trigger−oﬀset

(burst mode) 83.3 ns 83.3 ns

exposure

10 µs 0.28 s

strobe−delay

0 0.28 s

strobe−oﬀset

(non burst mode) 66.7 ns 66.7 ns

strobe−oﬀset

(burst mode) 83.3 ns 83.3 ns

strobe−duration

200 ns 0.28 s

d−iso−output

45 ns 60 ns

trigger−pulsewidth

200 ns n/a

Number of bursts n 1 30000

Table 4.13: Summary of timing parameters relevant in the external trigger mode using camera (MV1D1312(I)-240)

4.4 Trigger and Strobe 55

4 Functionality

4.5 Data Path Overview

The data path is the path of the image from the output of the image sensor to the output of the camera. The sequence of blocks is shown in ﬁgure Fig. 4.37.

I m a g e S e n s o r

F P N C o r r e c t i o n

D i g i t a l O f f s e t

D i g i t a l G a i n

L o o k - u p t a b l e ( L U T )

3 x 3 C o n v o l v e r

C r o s s h a i r s i n s e r t i o n

S t a t u s l i n e i n s e r t i o n

T e s t i m a g e s i n s e r t i o n

A p p l y d a t a r e s o l u t i o n

I m a g e o u t p u t

Figure 4.37: camera data path

4.6 Image Correction

4.6.1 Overview

The camera possesses image pre-processing features, that compensate for non-uniformities caused by the sensor, the lens or the illumination. This method of improving the image quality is generally known as ’Shading Correction’ or ’Flat Field Correction’ and consists of a combination of offset correction, gain correction and pixel interpolation.

Since the correction is performed in hardware, there is no performance limitation of the cameras for high frame rates.

The offset correction subtracts a conﬁgurable positive or negative value from the live image and thus reduces the ﬁxed pattern noise of the CMOS sensor. In addition, hot pixels can be removed by interpolation. The gain correction can be used to ﬂatten uneven illumination or to compensate shading effects of a lens. Both offset and gain correction work on a pixel-per-pixel basis, i.e. every pixel is corrected separately. For the correction, a black reference and a grey reference image are required. Then, the correction values are determined automatically in the camera.

Do not set any reference images when gain or LUT is enabled! Read the following sections very carefully.

Correction values of both reference images can be saved into the internal ﬂash memory, but this overwrites the factory presets. Then the reference images that are delivered by factory cannot be restored anymore.

4.6.2 Offset Correction (FPN, Hot Pixels)

The offset correction is based on a black reference image, which is taken at no illumination (e.g. lens aperture completely closed). The black reference image contains the ﬁxed-pattern noise of the sensor, which can be subtracted from the live images in order to minimise the static noise.

Offset correction algorithm

After conﬁguring the camera with a black reference image, the camera is ready to apply the offset correction:

1. Determine the average value of the black reference image.

2. Subtract the black reference image from the average value.

3. Mark pixels that have a grey level higher than 1008 DN (@ 12 bit) as hot pixels.

4. Store the result in the camera as the offset correction matrix.

5. During image acquisition, subtract the correction matrix from the acquired image and

interpolate the hot pixels (see Section 4.6.2).

4.6 Image Correction 57

4 Functionality

3 1

4 32

2 4 14

b l a c k r e f e r e n c e i m a g e

- 1

- 2

- 1

- 2

- 2 - 2

a v e r a g e

o f b l a c k

r e f e r e n c e

p i c t u r e

o f f s e t c o r r e c t i o n m a t r i x

Figure 4.38: Schematic presentation of the offset correction algorithm

How to Obtain a Black Reference Image

In order to improve the image quality, the black reference image must meet certain demands.

The detailed procedure to set the black reference image is described in Section

7.1.9.

• The black reference image must be obtained at no illumination, e.g. with lens aperture closed or closed lens opening.

• It may be necessary to adjust the black level offset of the camera. In the histogram of the black reference image, ideally there are no grey levels at value 0 DN after adjustment of the black level offset. All pixels that are saturated black (0 DN) will not be properly corrected (see Fig. 4.39). The peak in the histogram should be well below the hot pixel threshold of 1008 DN @ 12 bit.

• Camera settings may inﬂuence the grey level. Therefore, for best results the camera settings of the black reference image must be identical with the camera settings of the image to be corrected.

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

Histogram of the uncorrected black reference image

Grey level, 12 Bit [DN]

Relative number of pixels [−]

black level offset ok black level offset too low

Figure 4.39: Histogram of a proper black reference image for offset correction

Hot pixel correction

Every pixel that exceeds a certain threshold in the black reference image is marked as a hot pixel. If the hot pixel correction is switched on, the camera replaces the value of a hot pixel by an average of its neighbour pixels (see Fig. 4.40).

h o t

p i x e l

n - 1

n + 1

n - 1

+ p

n + 1

Figure 4.40: Hot pixel interpolation

4.6.3 Gain Correction

The gain correction is based on a grey reference image, which is taken at uniform illumination to give an image with a mid grey level.

Gain correction is not a trivial feature. The quality of the grey reference image is crucial for proper gain correction.

Gain correction algorithm

After conﬁguring the camera with a black and grey reference image, the camera is ready to apply the gain correction:

1. Determine the average value of the grey reference image.

2. Subtract the offset correction matrix from the grey reference image.

3. Divide the average value by the offset corrected grey reference image.

4. Pixels that have a grey level higher than a certain threshold are marked as hot pixels.

5. Store the result in the camera as the gain correction matrix.

6. During image acquisition, multiply the gain correction matrix from the offset-corrected acquired image and interpolate the hot pixels (see Section 4.6.2).

Gain correction is not a trivial feature. The quality of the grey reference image is crucial for proper gain correction.

4.6 Image Correction 59

4 Functionality

1 0

7 9

4 32

9 6 84

1 0

g r a y r e f e r e n c e p i c t u r e

a v e r a g e

o f g r a y

r e f e r e n c e

p i c t u r e

)

1 . 2

0 . 9

1 . 2

- 2

0 . 9 1

- 1

0 . 8

1 . 3

0 . 8

- 2

- 2 - 2

- 1

- 2

- 1

- 2

- 2 - 2

)

o f f s e t c o r r e c t i o n m a t r i x

g a i n c o r r e c t i o n m a t r i x

Figure 4.41: Schematic presentation of the gain correction algorithm

Gain correction always needs an offset correction matrix. Thus, the offset correction always has to be performed before the gain correction.

How to Obtain a Grey Reference Image

In order to improve the image quality, the grey reference image must meet certain demands.

The detailed procedure to set the grey reference image is described in Section

7.1.9.

• The grey reference image must be obtained at uniform illumination.

Use a high quality light source that delivers uniform illumination. Standard illumination will not be appropriate.

• When looking at the histogram of the grey reference image, ideally there are no grey levels at full scale (4095 DN @ 12 bit). All pixels that are saturated white will not be properly corrected (see Fig. 4.42).

• Camera settings may inﬂuence the grey level. Therefore, the camera settings of the grey reference image must be identical with the camera settings of the image to be corrected.

4.6.4 Corrected Image

Offset, gain and hot pixel correction can be switched on separately. The following conﬁgurations are possible:

• No correction

• Offset correction only

• Offset and hot pixel correction

• Hot pixel correction only

• Offset and gain correction

• Offset, gain and hot pixel correction

2400 2600 2800 3000 3200 3400 3600 3800 4000 4200

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

Histogram of the uncorrected grey reference image

Grey level, 12 Bit [DN]

Relative number of pixels [−]

grey reference image ok grey reference image too bright

Figure 4.42: Proper grey reference image for gain correction

5 6

4 37

7 4 64

c u r r e n t i m a g e

)

5 4

4 37

7 4 64

)

- 1

- 2

- 1

- 2

- 2 - 2

o f f s e t c o r r e c t i o n m a t r i x

1 . 2

0 . 9

1 . 2

- 2

0 . 9

- 1

0 . 8

1 . 3

0 . 8

- 2 - 2 - 2

g a i n c o r r e c t i o n m a t r i x

c o r r e c t e d i m a g e

)

Figure 4.43: Schematic presentation of the corrected image using gain correction algorithm

In addition, the black reference image and grey reference image that are currently stored in the camera RAM can be output. Table 4.14 shows the minimum and maximum values of the correction matrices, i.e. the range that the offset and gain algorithm can correct.

Minimum Maximum

Offset correction -1023 DN @ 12 bit +1023 DN @ 12 bit

Gain correction 0.42 2.67

Table 4.14: Offset and gain correction ranges

4.6 Image Correction 61

4 Functionality

4.7 Digital Gain and Offset

Gain x1, x2, x4 and x8 are digital ampliﬁcations, which means that the digital image data are multiplied in the camera module by a factor 1, 2, 4 or 8, respectively. It is implemented as a binary shift of the image data, which means that there will be missing codes in the output image as the LSB’s of the gray values are set to ’0’. E.g. for gain x2, the output value is shifted by 1 and bit 0 is set to ’0’. A user-deﬁned value can be subtracted from the gray value in the digital offset block. This feature is not available in Gain x1 mode. If digital gain is applied and if the brightness of the image is too big then the output image might be saturated. By subtracting an offset from the input of the gain block it is possible to avoid the saturation.

4.8 Grey Level Transformation (LUT)

Grey level transformation is remapping of the grey level values of an input image to new values. The look-up table (LUT) is used to convert the greyscale value of each pixel in an image into another grey value. It is typically used to implement a transfer curve for contrast expansion. The camera performs a 12-to-8-bit mapping, so that 4096 input grey levels can be mapped to 256 output grey levels. The use of the three available modes is explained in the next sections. Two LUT and a Region-LUT feature are available in the MV1-D1312 camera series (see Section 4.8.4).

For MV1-D1312-240 camera series, bits 0 & 1 of the LUT input are ﬁxed to 0.

The output grey level resolution of the look-up table (independent of gain, gamma or user-deﬁnded mode) is always 8 bit.

There are 2 predeﬁned functions, which generate a look-up table and transfer it to the camera. For other transfer functions the user can deﬁne his own LUT ﬁle.

Some commonly used transfer curves are shown in Fig. 4.44. Line a denotes a negative or inverse transformation, line b enhances the image contrast between grey values x0 and x1. Line c shows brightness thresholding and the result is an image with only black and white grey levels. and line d applies a gamma correction (see also Section 4.8.2).

4.8.1 Gain

The ’Gain’ mode performs a digital, linear ampliﬁcation with clamping (see Fig. 4.45). It is conﬁgurable in the range from 1.0 to 4.0 (e.g. 1.234).

y = f ( x )

m a x

Figure 4.44: Commonly used LUT transfer curves

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

100

150

200

250

300

Grey level transformation − Gain: y = (255/1023) ⋅ a ⋅ x

x: grey level input value (10 bit) [DN]

y: grey level output value (8 bit) [DN]

a = 1.0 a = 2.0 a = 3.0 a = 4.0

Figure 4.45: Applying a linear gain with clamping to an image

4.8 Grey Level Transformation (LUT) 63

4 Functionality

4.8.2 Gamma

The ’Gamma’ mode performs an exponential ampliﬁcation, conﬁgurable in the range from 0.4 to 4.0. Gamma > 1.0 results in an attenuation of the image (see Fig. 4.46), gamma < 1.0 results in an ampliﬁcation (see Fig. 4.47). Gamma correction is often used for tone mapping and better display of results on monitor screens.

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

100

150

200

250

300

Grey level transformation − Gamma: y = (255 / 1023γ) ⋅ xγ (γ ≥ 1)

x: grey level input value (10 bit) [DN]

y: grey level output value (8 bit) [DN]

γ = 1.0 γ = 1.2 γ = 1.5 γ = 1.8 γ = 2.5 γ = 4.0

Figure 4.46: Applying gamma correction to an image (gamma > 1)

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

100

150

200

250

300

Grey level transformation − Gamma: y = (255 / 1023γ) ⋅ xγ (γ ≤ 1)

x: grey level input value (10 bit) [DN]

y: grey level output value (8 bit) [DN]

γ = 1.0 γ = 0.9 γ = 0.8 γ = 0.6 γ = 0.4

Figure 4.47: Applying gamma correction to an image (gamma < 1)

4.8.3 User-deﬁned Look-up Table

In the ’User’ mode, the mapping of input to output grey levels can be conﬁgured arbitrarily by the user. There is an example ﬁle in the PFRemote folder. LUT ﬁles can easily be generated with a standard spreadsheet tool. The ﬁle has to be stored as tab delimited text ﬁle.

U s e r L U T

y = f ( x )

1 2 b i t

8 b i t

Figure 4.48: Data path through LUT

4.8.4 Region LUT and LUT Enable

Two LUTs and a Region-LUT feature are available in the MV1-D1312(I) camera series. Both LUTs can be enabled independently (see 4.15). LUT 0 superseds LUT1. When Region-LUT feature is enabled, then the LUTs are only active in a user deﬁned region. Examples are shown in Fig. 4.49 and Fig. 4.50. Fig. 4.49 shows an example of overlapping Region-LUTs. LUT 0, LUT 1 and Region LUT are enabled. LUT 0 is active in region 0 ((x00, x01), (y00, y01)) and it supersedes LUT 1 in the overlapping region. LUT 1 is active in region 1 ((x10, x11), (y10, y11)). Fig. 4.50 shows an example of keyhole inspection in a laser welding application. LUT 0 and LUT 1 are used to enhance the contrast by applying optimized transfer curves to the individual regions. LUT 0 is used for keyhole inspection. LUT 1 is optimized for seam ﬁnding. Fig. 4.51 shows the application of the Region-LUT to a camera image. The original image without image processing is shown on the left-hand side. The result of the application of the Region-LUT is shown on the right-hand side. One Region-LUT was applied on a small region on the lower part of the image where the brightness has been increased.

Enable LUT 0 Enable LUT 1 Enable Region LUT Description

- - - LUT are disabled.

X don’t care - LUT 0 is active on whole image.

- X - LUT 1 is active on whole image.

X - X LUT 0 active in Region 0.

X X X LUT 0 active in Region 0 and LUT 1 active

in Region 1. LUT 0 supersedes LUT1.

Table 4.15: LUT Enable and Region LUT

4.8 Grey Level Transformation (LUT) 65

4 Functionality

L U T 0

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

L U T 1

x 0 0 x 1 0 x 0 1 x 1 1

y 1 0 y 0 0

y 0 1

y 1 1

Figure 4.49: Overlapping Region-LUT example

L U T 0

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

L U T 1

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

L U T 1

L U T 0

Figure 4.50: Region-LUT in keyhole inspection

Figure 4.51: Region-LUT example with camera image; left: original image; right: gain 4 region in the are of the date print of the bottle

4.8 Grey Level Transformation (LUT) 67

4 Functionality

4.9 Convolver

4.9.1 Functionality

The "Convolver" is a discrete 2D-convolution ﬁlter with a 3x3 convolution kernel. The kernel coefﬁcients can be user-deﬁned. The M x N discrete 2D-convolution p

out

(x,y) of pixel pin(x,y) with convolution kernel h, scale s

and offset o is deﬁned in Fig. 4.52.

Figure 4.52: Convolution formula

4.9.2 Settings

The following settings for the parameters are available:

Offset Offset value o (see Fig. 4.52). Range: -4096 ... 4095

Scale Scaling divisor s (see Fig. 4.52). Range: 1 ... 4095

Coefﬁcients Coefﬁcients of convolution kernel h (see Fig. 4.52). Range: -4096 ... 4095.

Assignment to coefﬁcient properties is shown in Fig. 4.53.

Figure 4.53: Convolution coefﬁcients assignment

4.9.3 Examples

Fig. 4.54 shows the result of the application of various standard convolver settings to the original image. shows the corresponding settings for every ﬁlter. A ﬁlter called Unsharp Mask is often used to enhance near infrared images. Fig. 4.56 shows examples with the corresponding settings.

Figure 4.54: 3x3 Convolution ﬁlter examples 1

Figure 4.55: 3x3 Convolution ﬁlter examples 1 settings

4.9 Convolver 69

4 Functionality

Figure 4.56: Unsharp Mask Examples

4.10 Crosshairs

4.10.1 Functionality

The crosshairs inserts a vertical and horizontal line into the image. The width of these lines is one pixel. The grey level is deﬁned by a 12 bit value (0 means black, 4095 means white). This allows to set any grey level to get the maximum contrast depending on the acquired image. The x/y position and the grey level can be set via the camera software. Figure Fig. 4.57 shows two examples of the activated crosshairs with different grey values. One with white lines and the other with black lines.

Figure 4.57: Crosshairs Example with different grey values

The x- and y-positon is absolute to the sensor pixel matrix. It is independent on the ROI, MROI or decimation conﬁgurations. Figure Fig. 4.58 shows two situations of the crosshairs conﬁguration. The same MROI settings is used in both situations. The crosshairs however is set differently. The crosshairs is not seen in the image on the right, because the x- and y-position is set outside the MROI region.

4.10 Crosshairs 71

4 Functionality

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

( x

a b s o l u t

, y

a b s o l u t

, G r e y L e v e l )

M R O I 0

M R O I 1

( 0 , 0 )

( 1 3 1 1 , 1 0 8 1 )

M R O I 0

M R O I 1

( x

a b s o l u t

, y

a b s o l u t

, G r e y L e v e l )

M R O I 0

M R O I 1

M R O I 0

M R O I 1

Figure 4.58: Crosshairs absolute position

4.11 Image Information and Status Line

There are camera properties available that give information about the acquired images, such as an image counter, average image value and the number of missed trigger signals. These properties can be queried by software. Alternatively, a status line within the image data can be switched on that contains all the available image information.

4.11.1 Counters and Average Value

Image counter The image counter provides a sequential number of every image that is output.

After camera startup, the counter counts up from 0 (counter width 24 bit). The counter can be reset by the camera control software.

Real Time counter The time counter starts at 0 after camera start, and counts real-time in units

of 1 micro-second. The time counter can be reset by the software in the SDK (Counter width 32 bit).

Missed trigger counter The missed trigger counter counts trigger pulses that were ignored by

the camera because they occurred within the exposure or read-out time of an image. In free-running mode it counts all incoming external triggers (counter width 8 bit / no wrap around).

Missed burst trigger counter The missed burst trigger counter counts trigger pulses that were

ignored by the camera in the burst trigger mode because they occurred while the camera still was processing the current burst trigger sequence.

Average image value The average image value gives the average of an image in 12 bit format

(0 .. 4095 DN), regardless of the currently used grey level resolution.

4.11.2 Status Line

If enabled, the status line replaces the last row of the image with camera status information. Every parameter is coded into ﬁelds of 4 pixels (LSB ﬁrst) and uses the lower 8 bits of the pixel value, so that the total size of a parameter ﬁeld is 32 bit (see Fig. 4.59). The assignment of the parameters to the ﬁelds is listed in 4.16.

The status line is available in all camera modes.

4 8 1 2 1 6 2 0

P r e a m b l e

F i e l d 0

0P i x e l :

1 2 3 5 6 7 9 1 0 1 1 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 1 2 2 2 3

L S B

M S B

F F 0 0 A A 5 5

F i e l d 1 F i e l d 2 F i e l d 3 F i e l d 4

L S B L S B L S B L S B L S B

M S B M S B M S B M S B M S B

Figure 4.59: Status line parameters replace the last row of the image

4.11 Image Information and Status Line 73

4 Functionality

Start pixel index Parameter width [bit] Parameter Description

0 32 Preamble: 0x55AA00FF

4 24 Image Counter (see Section 4.11.1)

8 32 Real Time Counter (see Section 4.11.1)

12 8 Missed Trigger Counter (see Section 4.11.1)

16 12 Image Average Value (see Section 4.11.1)

20 24 Integration Time in units of clock cycles (see Table 3.3)

24 16 Burst Trigger Number

28 8 Missed Burst Trigger Counter

32 11 Horizontal start position of ROI (Window.X)

36 11 Horizontal end position of ROI

(= Window.X + Window.W - 1)

40 11 Vertical start position of ROI (Window.Y).

In MROI-mode this parameter is 0.

44 11 Vertical end position of ROI (Window.Y + Window.H - 1).

In MROI-mode this parameter is the total height - 1.

48 2 Trigger Source

52 2 Digital Gain

56 2 Digital Offset

60 16 Camera Type Code (see 4.17)

64 32 Camera Serial Number

Table 4.16: Assignment of status line ﬁelds

Camera Model Camera Type Code

MV1-D1312-40-CL-12 / BL1-D1312-40-CL-12 210

MV1-D1312-80-CL-12 / BL1-D1312-80-CL-12 211

MV1-D1312-160-CL-12 / BL1-D1312-160-CL-12 212

MV1-D1312-240-CL-8 / BL1-D1312-240-CL-8 216

MV1-D1312I-40-CL-12 / BL1-D1312I-40-CL-12 230

MV1-D1312I-80-CL-12 / BL1-D1312I-80-CL-12 231

MV1-D1312I-160-CL-12 / BL1-D1312I-160-CL-12 232

MV1-D1312I-240-CL-8 / BL1-D1312I-240-CL-8 236

Table 4.17: Type codes of MV1-D1312 and BL1-D1312 cameras series

4.12 Test Images

Test images are generated in the camera FPGA, independent of the image sensor. They can be used to check the transmission path from the camera to the frame grabber. Independent from the conﬁgured grey level resolution, every possible grey level appears the same number of times in a test image. Therefore, the histogram of the received image must be ﬂat.

A test image is a useful tool to ﬁnd data transmission errors that are caused most often by a defective cable between camera and frame grabber.

The analysis of the test images with a histogram tool gives the correct result at a resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels only.

4.12.1 Ramp

Depending on the conﬁgured grey level resolution, the ramp test image outputs a constant pattern with increasing grey level from the left to the right side (see Fig. 4.60).

Figure 4.60: Ramp test images: 8 bit output (left), 10 bit output (middle),12 (right)

4.12.2 LFSR

The LFSR (linear feedback shift register) test image outputs a constant pattern with a pseudo-random grey level sequence containing every possible grey level that is repeated for every row. The LFSR test pattern was chosen because it leads to a very high data toggling rate, which stresses the interface electronic and the cable connection. In the histogram you can see that the number of pixels of all grey values are the same. Please refer to application note [AN026] for the calculation and the values of the LFSR test image.

4.12.3 Troubleshooting using the LFSR

To control the quality of your complete imaging system enable the LFSR mode, set the camera window to 1024 x 1024 pixels (x=0 and y=0) and check the histogram. If your frame grabber application does not provide a real-time histogram, store the image and use a graphic software tool to display the histogram. In the LFSR (linear feedback shift register) mode the camera generates a constant pseudo-random test pattern containing all grey levels. If the data transmission is error free, the histogram of the received LFSR test pattern will be ﬂat (Fig. 4.62). On the other hand, a non-ﬂat histogram (Fig. 4.63) indicates problems, that may be caused either by the cable, by the connectors or by the frame grabber.

4.12 Test Images 75

4 Functionality

Figure 4.61: LFSR (linear feedback shift register) test image

A possible origin of failure message can be caused by the CameraLink®cable which exceeds the maximum length. Also, CameraLink®cables may suffer either from stress due to wrong installation or from severe electromagnetic interference.

Some thinner CameraLink®cables have a predeﬁned direction. In these cables not all twisted pairs are separately shielded to meet the RS644 standard. These pairs are used for the transmission of the RX/TX and for the CC1 to CC4 low frequency control signals.

Figure 4.62: LFSR test pattern received at the frame grabber and typical histogram for error-free data transmission

Figure 4.63: LFSR test pattern received at the frame grabber and histogram containing transmission errors

CameraLink®cables contain wire pairs, which are twisted in such a way that the cable impedance matches with the LVDS driver and receiver impedance. Excess stress on the cable results in transmission errors which causes distorted images. Therefore, please do not stretch and bend a CameraLink cable.

In robots applications, the stress that is applied to the CameraLink®cable is especially high due to the fast movement of the robot arm. For such applications, special drag chain capable cables are available. Please contact the Photonfocus Support for consulting expertise. Appropriate CameraLink®cable solutions are available from Photonfocus.

4.12 Test Images 77

4 Functionality

4.13 Conﬁguration Interface (CameraLink®)

A CameraLink®camera can be controlled by the user via a RS232 compatible asynchronous serial interface. This interface is contained within the CameraLink®interface as shown in Fig.

4.64 and is physically not directly accessible. Instead, the serial communication is usually routed

through the frame grabber. For some frame grabbers it might be necessary to connect a serial cable from the frame grabber to the serial interface of the PC.

C a m e r a L i n k

C a m e r a

I m a g e d a t a , F V A L , L V A L , D V A L

P i x e l C l o c k

C C S i g n a l s

S e r i a l I n t e r f a c e

F r a m e g r a b b e r

C a m e r a L i n k

Figure 4.64: CameraLink serial interface for camera communication

Hardware Interface

5.1 Connectors

5.1.1 CameraLink®Connector

The CameraLink®cameras are interfaced to external components via

• a CameraLink®connector, which is deﬁned by the CameraLink®standard as a 26 pin, 0.5" Mini Delta-Ribbon (MDR) connector to transmit conﬁguration, image data and trigger.

• a subminiature connector for the power supply, 7-pin Binder series 712.

The connectors are located on the back of the camera. Fig. 5.1 shows the plugs and the status LED which indicates camera operation.

Figure 5.1: Rear view of the CameraLink camera

The CameraLink®interface and connector are speciﬁed in [CL]. For further details including the pinout please refer to Appendix A. This connector is used to transmit conﬁguration, image data and trigger signals.

5.1.2 Power Supply

The camera requires a single voltage input (see Table 3.5). The camera meets all performance speciﬁcations using standard switching power supplies, although well-regulated linear power supplies provide optimum performance.

It is extremely important that you apply the appropriate voltages to your camera. Incorrect voltages will damage the camera.

For further details including the pinout please refer to Appendix A.

5 Hardware Interface

5.1.3 Trigger and Strobe Signals

The power connector contains an external trigger input and a strobe output.

The trigger input is equipped with a constant current diode which limits the current of the optocoupler over a wide range of voltages. Trigger signals can thus directly get connected with the input pin and there is no need for a current limiting resistor, that depends with its value on the input voltage. The input voltage to the TRIGGER pin must not exceed +15V DC, to avoid damage to the internal ESD protection and the optocoupler!

In order to use the strobe output, the internal optocoupler must be powered with 5 .. 15 V DC. The STROBE signal is an open-collector output, therefore, the user must connect a pull-up resistor (see Table 5.1) to STROBE_VDD (5 .. 15 V DC) as shown in Fig. 5.2. This resistor should be located directly at the signal receiver.

Figure 5.2: Circuit for the trigger input signals

The maximum sink current of the STROBE pin is 8 mA. Do not connect inductive or capacitive loads, such loads may result in damage of the optocoupler! If the

application requires this, please use voltage suppressor diodes in parallel with this components to protect the optocoupler.

STROBE_VDD Pull-up Resistor

15 V > 3.9 kOhm

10 V > 2.7 kOhm

8 V > 2.2 kOhm

7 V > 1.8 kOhm

5 V > 1.0 kOhm

Table 5.1: Pull-up resistor for strobe output and different voltage levels

5.1.4 Status Indicator (CameraLink®cameras)

A dual-color LED on the back of the camera gives information about the current status of the CameraLink®cameras.

LED Green Green when an image is output. At slow frame rates, the LED blinks with the

FVAL signal. At high frame rates the LED changes to an apparently continuous green light, with intensity proportional to the ratio of readout time over frame time.

LED Red Red indicates an active serial communication with the camera.

Table 5.2: Meaning of the LED of the CameraLink®cameras

5.2 CameraLink®Data Interface

The CameraLink®standard contains signals for transferring the image data, control information and the serial communication.

Data signals: CameraLink®data signals contain the image data. In addition, handshaking

signals such as FVAL, LVAL and DVAL are transmitted over the same physical channel.

Camera control information: Camera control signals (CC-signals) can be deﬁned by the camera

manufacturer to provide certain signals to the camera. There are 4 CC-signals available and all are unidirectional with data ﬂowing from the frame grabber to the camera. For example, the external trigger is provided by a CC-signal (see Table 5.3 for the CC assignment).

CC1 EXSYNC External Trigger. May be generated either by the frame grabber itself

(software trigger) or by an external event (hardware trigger).

CC2 CTRL0 Control0. This signal is reserved for future purposes and is not used.

CC3 CTRL1 Control1. This signal is reserved for future purposes and is not used.

CC4 CTRL2 Control2. This signal is reserved for future purposes and is not used.

Table 5.3: Summary of the Camera Control (CC) signals as used by Photonfocus

Pixel clock: The pixel clock is generated on the camera and is provided to the frame grabber

for synchronisation.

5.2 CameraLink®Data Interface 81

5 Hardware Interface

Serial communication: A CameraLink®camera can be controlled by the user via a RS232

compatible asynchronous serial interface. This interface is contained within the CameraLink®interface and is physically not directly accessible. Refer to Section 4.13 for more information.

C a m e r a L i n k

C a m e r a

I m a g e d a t a , F V A L , L V A L , D V A L

P i x e l C l o c k

C C S i g n a l s

S e r i a l I n t e r f a c e

F r a m e g r a b b e r

C a m e r a L i n k

Figure 5.3: CameraLink interface system

The frame grabber needs to be conﬁgured with the proper tap and resolution settings, otherwise the image will be distorted or not displayed with the correct aspect ratio. Refer to Table 3.3 and to Section 3.4 for a summary of frame grabber relevant speciﬁcations. Fig. 5.3 shows symbolically a CameraLink®system. For more information about taps refer to the relevant application note [AN021] on the Photonfocus website.

The PFRemote Control Tool

6.1 Overview

PFRemote is a graphical conﬁguration tool for Photonfocus cameras. The latest release can be downloaded from the support area of www.photonfocus.com. All Photonfocus cameras can be either conﬁgured by PFRemote, or they can be programmed with custom software using the PFLib SDK ([PFLIB]).

6.2 PFRemote and PFLib

As shown in Fig. 6.1, the camera parameters can be controlled by PFRemote and PFLib respectively. To grab an image use the software or the SDK that was delivered with your frame grabber.

Figure 6.1: PFRemote and PFLib in context with the CameraLink frame grabber software

6.3 Operating System

The PFRemote GUI is available for Windows OS only. For Linux or QNX operating systems, we provide the necessary libraries to control the camera on request, but there is no graphical user interface available.

If you require support for Linux or QNX operating systems, you may contact us for details of support conditions.

6.4 Installation Notes

Before installing the required software with the PFInstaller, make sure that your frame grabber software is installed correctly. Several DLLs are necessary in order to be able to communicate with the cameras:

6 The PFRemote Control Tool

• PFCAM.DLL: The main DLL ﬁle that handles camera detection, switching to speciﬁc camera DLL and provides the interface for the SDK.

• ’CAMERANAME’.DLL: Speciﬁc camera DLL, e.g. mv1_d1312_160.dll.

• COMDLL.DLL: Communication DLL. This COMDLL is not necessarily CameraLink®speciﬁc, but may depend on a CameraLink®API compatible DLL, which should also be provided by your frame grabber manufacturer.

• CLALLSERIAL.DLL: Interface to CameraLink®frame grabber which supports the clallserial.dll.

• CLSER_USB.DLL: Interface to USB port.

More information about these DLLs is available in the SDK documentation [SW002].

6.5 Graphical User Interface (GUI)

PFRemote consists of a main window (Fig. 6.2) and a conﬁguration dialog. In the main window, the camera port can be opened or closed, and log messages are displayed at the bottom. The conﬁguration dialog appears as a sub window as soon as a camera port was opened successfully. In the sub window of PFRemote the user can conﬁgure the camera properties. The following sections describe the general structure of PFRemote.

6.5.1 Port Browser

On start, PFRemote displays a list of available communication ports in the main window.

Figure 6.2: PFRemote main window with PortBrowser and log messages

To open a camera on a speciﬁc port double click on the port name (e.g. USB). Alternatively

right click on the port name and choose Open & Conﬁgure.... The port is then queried for a

compatible Photonfocus camera. In the PFRemote main window, there are two menus with the following entries available:

File Menu

Clear Log: Clears the log ﬁle buffer

Quit: Exit the program

Help Menu

About: Copyright notice and version information

Help F1: Invoke the online help (PFRemote documentation)

6.5.2 Ports, Device Initialization

After starting PFRemote, the main window as shown in Fig. 6.2 will appear. In the PortBrowser in the upper left corner you will see a list of supported ports.

Depending on the conﬁguration, your port names may differ, and not every port may be functional.

If your frame grabber supports clallserial.dll version 1.1 ( CameraLink®compliant standard Oct 2001), the name of the manufacturer is shown in the PortBrowser.

If your frame grabber supports clallserial.dll version 1.0 (CameraLink®compliant standard Oct 2000), the PortBrowser shows either the name of the dll or the manufacturer name or displays "Unknown".

If your frame grabber does not support clallserial.dll, copy the clserXXXX.dll of your frame grabber in the PFRemote directory and rename it to clser.dll. The PortBrowser will then indicate this DLL as "clser.dll at PFRemote directory".

After connecting the camera, the device can be opened with a double click on the port name or by right-clicking on the port name and choosing Open & Conﬁgure. If the initialisation of the camera was successful, the conﬁguration dialog will open. The device is closed when PFRemote is closed. Alternatively, e.g. when connecting another camera or evaluation kit, the device can also be closed explicitely by right clicking on the port name and choosing Close. Make sure that the conﬁguration dialog is closed prior to closing the port.

✎

Errors, warnings or other important activities are logged in a log window at the bottom of the main window.

If the device does not open, check the following:

• Is the power LED of the camera active? Do you get an image in the display software of your frame grabber?

• Verify all cable connections and the power supply.

• Check the communication LED of the camera: do you see some activity when you try to access the camera?

6.5 Graphical User Interface (GUI) 85

6 The PFRemote Control Tool

6.5.3 Main Buttons

The buttons on the right side of the conﬁguration dialog store and reset the camera conﬁguration.

Figure 6.3: Main buttons

Reset: Reset the camera and load the default conﬁguration.

Store as defaults: Store the current conﬁguration in the camera ﬂash memory as the default

conﬁguration. After a reset, the camera will load this conﬁguration by default.

Settings ﬁle - File Load: Load a stored conﬁguration from a ﬁle.

Settings ﬁle - File Save: Save current conﬁguration to a ﬁle.

Factory Reset: Reset camera and reset the conﬁguration to the factory defaults.

6.6 Device Properties

Cameras or sensor devices are generally addressed as ’device’ in this software. These devices have properties that are accessed by a property name. These property names are translated into register accesses on the driver DLL. The property names are reﬂected in the GUI as far as practicable. A property name normally has a special mark up throughout this document, for example: ExposureTime. Some properties are grouped into a structure whose member is accessed via dot notation, e.g. Window.X (for the start X value of a region of interest). When changing a property, the property name can always be seen in the log window of the main program window.

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

7.1 MV1-D1312(I)-40, MV1-D1312(I)-80, MV1-D1312(I)-160 and

MV1-D1312-240

GUI description description This section describes the parameters of the following camera:

• MV1-D1312-40-CL, CameraLink interface

• MV1-D1312I-40-CL, CameraLink interface and NIR sensor

• MV1-D1312-80-CL, CameraLink interface

• MV1-D1312I-80-CL, CameraLink interface and NIR sensor

• MV1-D1312-160-CL, CameraLink interface

• MV1-D1312I-160-CL, CameraLink interface and NIR sensor

• MV1-D1312-240-CL, CameraLink interface

The following sections are grouped according to the tabs in the conﬁguration dialog.

Figure 7.1: MV1-D1312-160 frame rate and average value

Frame Rate [fps :] Shows the actual frame rate of the camera in frames per second.

Update: To update the value of the frame rate, click on this button.

Average Value: Greyscale average of the actual image. This value is in 12bit (0...4095).

Update: To update the value of the average, click on this button.

7 Graphical User Interface (GUI)

7.1.1 Exposure

This tab contains exposure settings.

Figure 7.2: MV1-D1312-160 exposure panel

Exposure

Exposure time [ms :] Conﬁgure the exposure time in milliseconds.

Constant Frame Rate: When the Constant Frame Rate (CFR) is switched on, the frame rate

(number of frames per second) can be varied from almost 0 up to the maximum frame rate. Thus, fewer images can be acquired than would otherwise be possible. When Constant Frame Rate is switched off, the camera delivers images as fast as possible, depending on the exposure time and the read-out time.

Frame time [ms :] Conﬁgure the frame time in milliseconds. Only available if Constant Frame

Rate is enabled. The minimum frame time depends on the exposure time and readout time.

Simultaneous readout (Interleave)

The simultaneous readout mode allows higher frame rate.

Simultaneous readout (Interleave): Enable the simultaneous readout mode.

Combination of property Trigger.Interleave and property LinLog.Mode is not available! Combination of property Trigger.Interleave and property

Trigger.LevelControlled is not available! Combination of property Trigger.Interleave and property Trigger.EnBurstTrigger is not available!

7.1.2 Window

This tab contains the settings for the region of interest.

Figure 7.3: MV1-D1312-160 window panel

Region of Interest

The region of interest (ROI) is deﬁned as a rectangle (X, Y), (W, H) where

X: X - coordinate, starting from 0 in the upper left corner.

Y: Y - coordinate, starting from 0 in the upper left corner.

W: Window width (in steps of 32 pixel).

H: Window height.

Set to max ROI: Set Window to maximal ROI (X=0; Y=0; W=1312; H=1082).

Window width is only available in steps of 32 pixel.

Decimation

Decimation reduces the number of pixels in y-direction. Decimation can also be used together with a ROI or MROI. Decimation in y-direction transfers every n-th row only and directly results in reduced read-out time and higher frame rate respectively.

Decimation Y: Decimation value for y-direction. Example: Value = 4 reads every fourth row

only.

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7 Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Crosshairs

Crosshairs is a cross inside the image. The crosshairs value is overlapped the original image data. The position of the crosshairs can be conﬁgured. The unit of the grey value is always 12 bit.

Enable Crosshairs: Enable crosshairs.

X: Vertical line position of crosshairs.

Y: Horizontal line position of crosshairs

Value [12bit :] Crosshairs grey value in 12bit.

Multi - ROI

This camera can handle up to 512 different regions of interest. The multiple ROIs are joined together and form a single image, which is transferred to the frame grabber. An ROI is deﬁned by its starting value in y-direction and its height. The width and the horizontal offset are speciﬁed by X and W settings. The maximum frame rate in MROI mode depends on the number of rows and columns being read out. Overlapping ROIs are allowed.

Enable MROI: Enable MROI. If MROI is enabled, the ROI and MROI settings cannot be changed.

Load File...: Load a user deﬁned MROI-ﬁle into the camera. There is an exmaple ﬁle in the

PFRemote directory.

Save File...: Save the current MROI settings to a *.txt ﬁle.

H tot: Shows the sum of all MROIs as the total image height.

7.1.3 Trigger

This tab contains trigger and strobe settings.

Figure 7.4: MV1-D1312-160 trigger panel

Trigger

Trigger Source:

Free running: The camera continuously delivers images with a certain conﬁgurable frame rate.

Interface Trigger: The Trigger signal is applied to the camera by the CameraLink frame grabber

or the USB interface respectively.

I/O Trigger: The trigger signal is applied directly to the camera on the power supply connector.

Exposure time deﬁned by:

Camera: The exposure time is deﬁned by the property ExposureTime.

Trigger Pulse Width: The exposure time is deﬁned by the pulse width of the trigger signal

(level-controlled exposure).

This property disables LinLog, Burst trigger and simultaneous readout mode.

Exposure time deﬁned by "Trigger Pulse Width" is also known as Level controlled trigger.

Further trigger settings:

7.1 MV1-D1312(I)-40, MV1-D1312(I)-80, MV1-D1312(I)-160 and MV1-D1312-240 91

7 Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Trigger Delay: Programmable delay in milliseconds between the incoming trigger edge and

the start of the exposure.

Trigger signal active low: Deﬁne the trigger signal to be active high (default) or active low.

Burst Trigger

An external trigger event start a predeﬁned number of acquisition. The period time between the acquisitions can be conﬁgured.

Enable Burst Trigger: Delay in milliseconds from the input trigger edge to the rising edge of

the strobe output signal.

Number of Burst Triggers: Set the number of burst

Burst Trigger Period [ms :] Set the time between the burst in milliseconds.

Burst Trigger Delay [ms :] Set the delay of the burst trigger in milliseconds.

Strobe

The camera generates a strobe output signal that can be used to trigger a strobe. The delay, pulse width and polarity can be deﬁned by software. To turn off strobe output, set StrobePulseWidth to 0.

Strobe Delay [ms :] Delay in milliseconds from the input trigger edge to the rising edge of the

strobe output signal.

Strobe Pulse Width [ms :] The pulse width of the strobe trigger in milliseconds.

Strobe signal active low: Deﬁne the strobe output to be active high (default) or active low.

7.1.4 Data Output

This tab contains image data settings.

Figure 7.5: MV1-D1312-160 data output panel

Output Mode

Output Mode:

Normal: Normal mode.

LFSR: Test image. Linear feedback shift register (pseudo-random image). The pattern depends

on the grey level resolution.

Ramp: Test image. Values of pixel are incremented by 1, starting at each row. The pattern

depends on the grey level resolution.

Resolution:

8 Bit: Grey level resolution of 8 bit.

10 Bit: Grey level resolution of 10 bit.

12 Bit: Grey level resolution of 12 bit.

Digital Gain:

1x: No digital gain, normal mode.

2x: Digital gain 2.

4x: Digital gain 4.

8x: Digital gain 8.

Digital Offset: Substracts an offset from the data. Only available in gain mode.

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7 Graphical User Interface (GUI)

7.1.5 Data Output (MV-D1312-240 only)

This tab contains image data settings.

Figure 7.6: MV1-D1312-240 data output panel

Output Mode

Output Mode:

Normal: Normal mode.

LFSR: Test image. Linear feedback shift register (pseudo-random image). The pattern depends

on the grey level resolution.

Ramp: Test image. Values of pixel are incremented by 1, starting at each row. The pattern

depends on the grey level resolution.

Digital Gain:

1x: No digital gain, normal mode.

2x: Digital gain 2.

4x: Digital gain 4.

8x: Digital gain 8.

Digital Offset: Substracts an offset from the data. Only available in gain mode.

Enable BGR

Enable BGR: Swap Tap0 and Tap2, if the frame grabber is conﬁgured in RBG mode.

7.1.6 LUT (Look-Up-Table)

This tab contains LUT settings.

Figure 7.7: MV1-D1312-160 LUT panel

Grey level transformation is remapping of the grey level values of an input image to new values which transform the image in some way. The look-up-table (LUT) is used to convert the greyscale value of each pixel in an image into another grey value. It is typically used to implement a transfer curve for contrast expansion. This camera performs a 12-to-8-bit mapping, so that 4096 input grey levels can be mapped to 256 output grey levels (0 to 4096 and 0 to 255). This camera support 2 LUT, both are identical. The default LUTs is a gain function with value =

1. LUT0 has higher priority as LUT1.

Both LUT can be conﬁgured with the built-in Gain / Gamma functions or with a LUT-ﬁle

LUTX

Enable LUT X Enable the LUTX

Gain: Linear function. Y = 256 / 4096 * value * X; Valid range for value [1...4].

Gamma: Gamma function. Y = 256 / 4096^value * X ^ value; Valid range for value [0.4...4].

value: Enter a value. The LUT will be calculated and downloaded to the camera.

Region LUT

Both LUT can be conﬁgured with ROI vlaues. The LUT is only workind inside the the ROI values. Overlapping is possible. LUT0 has higher priority.

Enable Reagion LUT: Enable the region LUT functionality.

7.1 MV1-D1312(I)-40, MV1-D1312(I)-80, MV1-D1312(I)-160 and MV1-D1312-240 95

7 Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Region of LUTX:

X: X - coordinate of region LUT, starting from 0 in the upper left corner.

Y: Y - coordinate of region LUT, starting from 0 in the upper left corner.

W: Region LUT window width (in steps of 32 pixel).

H: Region LUT window height.

Set to max ROI: Set Region LUT window to maximal ROI (X=0; Y=0; W=1312; H=1082).

LUT Files

To load or save a LUT ﬁle

LUT Index: Select the LUT, you want to load or save a ﬁle.

File functions:

Load File...: Load a user deﬁned LUT - ﬁle into the camera (*.txt tab delimited). There is an

example in the PFRemote directory (mv1_d1312_80_lut.txt or mv1_d1312_160_lut.txt).

Save File...: Save LUT from camera into a ﬁle.

7.1.7 LinLog

This tab contains LinLog and Skimming settings.

Figure 7.8: MV1-D1312-160 linlog panel

LinLog

The LinLog technology from Photonfocus allows a logarithmic compression of high light intensities. In contrast to the classical non-integrating logarithmic pixel, the LinLog pixel is an integrating pixel with global shutter and the possibility to control the transition between linear and logarithmic mode (Section 4.2.2). There are 3 predeﬁned LinLog settings available. Alternatively, custom settings can be deﬁned in the User deﬁned Mode.

LinLog Mode: Off: LinLog is disabled. Low/Normal/High compression: Three LinLog

presettings. User deﬁned: Value1, Time1, Value2 and Time2. The Linlog times are per thousand of the exposure time. Time 800 means 80% of the exposure time.

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7 Graphical User Interface (GUI)

7.1.8 Convolver

This tab contains the Convolver settings.

Figure 7.9: MV1-D1312-160 convolver panel

Offset

Offset: Offset value o. Range: -4096 ... 4095.

Scale

Scale: Scale value s. Range: 1 ... 4095.

Coefﬁcients

Coefﬁcents: Coefﬁcients of the convolution kernel h. Range: -4096 ... 4095.

Photon Focus MV1-D1312I CameraLink, MV1-D1312 CameraLink User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual