376 DCx camera
© 2010 Thorlabs
9.8.2
Digital output (flash/strobe)
The digital output can be set statically by software or depending on the exposure time. The output
consists of an opto coupler circuit which can either open or close for applied DC voltage.
A flash strobe can be directly controlled by the camera output or via a separate flash strobe
controller unit.
In the exposure dependent mode, delay and duration of the flash can be specified by software.
Figure 71 Flash Strobe time flow in freerun mode
Figure 72 Flash Strobe time flow in triggered mode
9.9
Sensor formats
The size of digital camera sensors is usually specified in inch. However the specified value does not
describe the actual size of the active sensor area. This specification of sensor size dates back to
former tube systems. The curvature of the imaging surface of the camera tube causes a distortion
during display. This reduces the usable display area of a 1” tube to a rectangle with a diagonal of 16
mm.
Dimensional specifications were taken over from tube systems with the introduction of
semiconductor sensor technology. For this reason, a sensor where the diagonal of the area is 16
mm is specified as a 1 inch sensor.
The size of each single sensor cell (pixel) depends on the size of the active sensor area and
resolution. Fewer pixels at a certain sensor size, or a larger sensor area at a certain resolution, will
lead to a greater photosensitivity of the sensor.