by Kevin Smith on February 23, 2012
CCD sensor technology is usually used for high quality imaging, and it is mostly used by professionals, although there are CCD sensors available at lower prices that amateurs can buy to shoot high quality images for their personal use. The CCD sensors come in two forms, and one of them is the linear CCD sensor, while the other is the matrix sensor. The linear CCD sensor is most often used within a wide range of applications: scanners, satellite imaging, or multifunctional printers. The linear CCD sensor brings good performance and image quality, so if you are interested in purchasing such a product, this article is for you.
Linear CCD sensor composition
A linear CCD sensor is made out of photodiode arrays, consisting of active photosites for detection of RGB signals along with another channel for luminance. This combination gives top-notch images. This kind of design of photosites in a linear CCD sensor is called a quadric-linear color array design (RGB and L). Almost every linear CCD sensor has low noise design which means that it can reproduce images in a stunning high quality.
The technology behind linear CCD sensors
The linear CCD sensor works very much like the matrix CCD sensor – it converts light to digital data in a way that the light is being held on the sensor like a small electrical charge which is then processed through a register into voltage and finally into digital signals. The register of these devices is usually stronger than the register of matrix devices since the linear CCD sensor acquires much more speed and the input lag has to be minimal. The linear CCD sensor has very sensitive photodiode arrays and this delivers high quality results with little noise.
Where are they used?
The most common uses for a linear CCD sensor are in various scanning devices, multifunctional printers, satellite imaging, as well as copy machines. One more use of a linear CCD sensor is in machine vision, a process which enables automatic inspection, control of ongoing processes which are too fast for the human eye or robot guides in industry. Another field the linear CCD sensor is used in is computer vision as well, and this discipline includes navigational systems, information organization, automatic inspection, object modeling and detecting events. Every barcode scanner you use, or most hospital examinations involve some kind of a linear sensor which helps make the daily life easier in many ways. The early use of these sensors involved photocopiers and fax machines in offices, and therefore they were optimized for speed only, not so much for quality. The quality problem is mere history today, because the linear sensors have rapidly developed and they deliver the speed, but the quality too. If you want to have high quality images, we recommend that you purchase a product that has a linear sensor integrated in order to get the best quality images.
by Kevin Smith on February 21, 2012
As you may know, the human eye is unable to see most wavelengths, and can only detect wavelengths from 390 to 800 nanometers. In the same time, the typical camcorder or digital camera sees from 400 to 800 nanometers of wavelengths, so we can say that normal cameras “see” the same things as the human eye. Of course, there are cameras that can see what we can’t see, such as infrared cameras. Above the visible range of 800 nanometers to 2500 nanometers is a region called near infrared, or NIR, for short. Cameras with an infrared CCD sensor have a reduced sensitivity above 1100 nanometers; the practical use of the camera is from 325 to 1100 nanometers. Thus, cameras that supposedly have an infrared CCD sensor are actually near infrared cameras (NIR cameras). The infrared CCD sensor is found in most of the cameras that are sold under the IR label. So, if you have ever wanted to see what is going on while it is dark, we recommend that you buy one of the infrared cameras which will give you cat eye vision and even more!
Differences between NIR and IR cameras
NIR cameras use an infrared CCD sensor which works best from 800 until 1100 nanometers, while the IR cameras use special kind of sensors which can detect heat, and they don’t use the CCD nor the CMOS sensors that are usually used in the commercial cameras. The infrared CCD sensor can’t function normally in the infrared spectrum because it doesn’t react well to the extremes like that, and therefore the infrared CCD sensor isn’t an option for this part of the spectrum.
Uses of infrared CCD sensors
The infrared CCD sensor has many uses, some of which include military, traffic and medical uses. In military, the infrared CCD sensor is used for tracking for tactical missile systems, threat warning from above, night vision and aerial scouting missions. In traffic, the infrared CCD sensor is used in the Infra Red Traffic Logger (TIRTL) which represents a traffic sensor used for counting traffic, speed readings, and it can be used for tracking red lights or heavy and overweight vehicles. In medicine these kinds of sensors are used for identifications of various defects or blemishes that can’t be seen within the normal spectrum.
Home uses of IR CCD sensors
The most common use for an infrared CCD sensor camera is home surveillance, or the surveillance of businesses or any other area that is in need of constant surveillance. The infrared CCD sensor can catch minimal amounts of light and convert them to digital signals – the better the infrared CCD sensor, the higher the price of the camera. The more megapixels the camera has, the more light it can catch, and this depends on the size of the sensor – bigger sensors give more light. So, if you want to have your home secured and supervised even when it is dark out there, we recommend purchasing one of the infrared cameras.
by Kevin Smith on February 19, 2012
With many uses for a camera these days, more and more people wonder what camera is the best. Upon starting their research, they stumble upon many different terms like the shutter, the image sensor, number of pixels, aspect ratio and many more. Most of these terms you are familiar with, but many people still do not know much about image sensors. As you start researching them, you may discover that image sensors come in two main types, called the CCD sensors and CMOS sensors. CMOS sensors (complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) can be usually found in your everyday cameras, while CCD sensor technology (charge-coupled devices) can be found in the more professional cameras. However, CCD sensor technology has become a bit cheaper over the years, and is therefore available to more people. One of the best traits of CCD sensor technology is the fact that it delivers extremely high quality images.
A short history of the CCD sensor
CCD sensor technology came into being in the late sixties of the twentieth century in the labs of AT&T Bell Labs. They listed several possible uses for their new invention, and one of them was an imaging device. As years passed, many companies became interested in the device, so they started development programs on it, and so the CCD sensor technology started its quick development. In 2006 Boyle and Smith, the inventors of the CCD sensor technology, were awarded the National Academy of Engineering Charles Stark Draper Prize and in 2009 they were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for their work.
How does CCD sensor technology work?
CCD sensor technology converts light into digital data, and the process involving the CCD sensor chip being exposed to light. The chip holds this light in form of an electrical charge in each photo sensor. The charges get converted to voltage and then into digital information. The CCD sensor technology delivers high quality images with minimal noise or distortion because every single pixel is processed separately, so the other pixels are focused on reacting to the light exposure. We hope that you now understand a bit more on CCD sensor technology and how does it work, because many of us use it every day, but we don’t quite understand what it does and how it does it.
Where it’s used?
CCD sensor technology is usually used by professionals, or so it was until some years back. The main disadvantage of CCD sensor technology a few years back was its cost. The alternative to CCD sensors, CMOS sensors, has a lower cost because they are made through a simpler and less costly process. They also have a disadvantageous side to them, though – images recorded with such sensors have a lower quality and they don’t perform very well for images taken in low light conditions. In conclusion, however, CCD sensor technology has cut down production cost a little so that these sensors are available to a wider public now.