The latest advancements in imaging technology from Truesense Imaging (TSI) have introduced two new CCD image sensors—the 1080p KAI-02170 Interline CCD sensor and the 4-megapixel KAI-04070 Interline CCD sensor—designed to deliver superior image quality for demanding machine vision applications. These sensors are paired with Adimec’s OPAL series cameras, specifically the OPAL-2070 and OPAL-4070 models, which incorporate larger pixel sizes to enhance key performance metrics such as light sensitivity, dynamic range, smear rejection, and blooming suppression.

Understanding Blooming and Smear: Key Challenges in Imaging

Blooming

Blooming occurs when a CCD pixel reaches its charge capacity limit, causing excess charge to spill into adjacent pixels. This phenomenon distorts the image by corrupting data from bright spots in the scene. The full well capacity—a measure of how much charge a pixel can hold before saturating—directly influences blooming. Larger pixels have higher full well capacities because they can store more charge before spillover occurs, making them ideal for applications requiring high accuracy or capturing challenging scenes with intense light sources.

Smear

Smear is generated in the vertical shift registers (VCCD) of interline transfer CCDs (IL-CCD), typically triggered by bright spots in an image. It can stem from stray electrons diffusing into the VCCD, photons reaching unintended areas through internal reflections or light shield inefficiencies, or scattered photons entering the system via multiple reflections. The performance of modern IL-CCD sensors is heavily dependent on the effectiveness of their light shields, with attenuation being wavelength-dependent (longer wavelengths > 700nm exhibit significantly reduced smear rejection).

Key Improvements in TSI’s New CCD Sensors

The newest generation of Truesense Imaging CCD sensors features a larger pixel size—7.4 µm x 7.4 µm versus the previous generation’s 5.5 µm x 5.5 µm—which enables several advantages:

  • Increased Full Well Capacity: From 20,000 electrons to 44,000 electrons, reducing blooming and improving dynamic range even with comparable read noise levels.
  • Enhanced Smear Performance: Further refinements in sensor design lead to better smear rejection, critical for high-precision metrology applications like phase-shift interferometry.

These improvements make the new sensors particularly well-suited for outdoor environments (e.g., capturing reflections from sunlight or metallic objects) and demanding measurement tasks where pixel accuracy is paramount. However, older-generation sensors remain ideal for many standard machine vision applications—choosing the “best” solution always depends on specific imaging conditions and requirements.

For further details on these cameras or guidance in selecting the optimal model, please reach out to us or explore our free ePaper resources.

Last Updated: 2025-09-04 19:45:35