XenICs has released its high-end, power PC-based, high-speed imaging system Cheetah, which is an InGaAs focal-plane array camera that covers the standard SWIR (short-wave infrared) wavelength area 0.9 to 1.7µm - with all control and communications circuitry in one housing.
Cheetah offers a high resolution of 640 x 512 pixels at a maximum full frame rate of 1,730Hz. In a reduced region-of-interest mode, more than 100,000fps is feasible.
The Cheetah features a 640 x 512 pixel InGaAs array. This InGaAs detector features a new XenICs ROIC (read-out integrated circuit) optimised for high speed with 16 outputs and a 40MHz pixel rate. The Cheetah camera includes a graphical user interface that provides direct access to various camera settings, such as exposure time, region-of-interest and gain.
A fast and easy non-uniformity correction (two-point) procedure is also available. The camera's power PC allows for a data interface based on the TCP/IP Gigabit Ethernet protocol and more advanced correction procedures. Alternatively, a CameraLink data interface is also foreseen by the company.
The Cheetah camera can be operated in two modes:
1. Stand-alone, using the on-board memory (up to 16 GB) for extremely fast data acquisition. At 1,730 full frames per second, recording time is limited to 15 seconds;
2. Continuous streaming, using a PC and the CameraLink interface for continuous data streaming (frame rate is limited by the CameraLink interface speed).
The Cheetah digital camera is equipped with 14-bit ADCs and is operated from a single 12 V/5 A power supply (included in the delivery). A C-mount fixture allows the use of all standard optical lenses. A medium-speed version of the Cheetah (400fps maximum) will also be available.
