Quantum Scientific Imaging QSI 520s Monochrome Cooled Interline CCD Camera with 2 Megapixel KAI-2020M Image Sensor with Microlens Technology, Mechanical Shutter

The QSI 520s camera employs a Kodak KAI-2020M 2 megapixel interline transfer CCD image sensor with microlens technology. The KAI-2020M sensor has a photoactive array of 1600W x 1200H pixels. It has excellent quantum efficiency between 350nm and 1000nm with significant enhancement at the blue end of the spectrum. Low dark current and high pixel charge capacity result in a dynamic range exceeding 74db. The sensor employs a vertical overflow drain that provides both antiblooming protection and a fast electronic shutter. Micro lenses cover the surface of the CCD to focus the light into each pixel to increase optical response.

The QSI 520s camera incorporates the optional internal mechanical shutter in the 'mid-size' camera body configuration. When operating with an interline transfer CCD, a mechanical shutter is not used to actually make the exposure. This is still the responsibility of the electronic shutter. The mechanical shutter is employed to cover the CCD and simplify the creation of Dark and Bias frames for subsequent image processing. The electronic shutter built into the KAI-2020 CCD image sensor controls exposures. Shutter timing is very precise and can range from as short as 100 microseconds up to 240 minutes. The very fast acting shutter is possible due to two key features of the interline transfer architecture. Small enough to practically hide behind a CD-ROM, the medium format QSI 500 Series family sets new standards for full-featured, high performance scientific CCD cameras.