Balor sCMOS
Balor is Andor’s game-changing, very large area sCMOS camera platform for Astronomy, the perfect solution for Large Sky Surveys that measure photometric and astrometric variability across timescales ranging from milliseconds to tens of seconds.
16.9 Megapixel / 70mm sensor – large sky surveys
54 fps full frame – fast solar dynamics/fast moving objects
Low read noise – detect weak signal/small objects
Extended Dynamic Range – across range of object brightness/sizes
Minimal down time - vacuum longevity and quality: no moisture.
Overview
Balor is Andor’s game-changing, very large area sCMOS camera platform for Astronomy. It launches with the Balor 17-12 model, featuring an enhanced FoV 16.9 Megapixel, 70mm diagonal sensor, coupled with fast, low noise readout capability. Balor is ideal for measuring photometric and astrometric variability from milliseconds to tens of seconds timescales.
Balor is the largest commercially available sCMOS camera, designed for ‘dynamic astronomy’ applications such as Orbital Debris tracking, Solar Astronomy, Solar System Object detection, Exoplanet Discovery, Atmospheric Studies and Fast Time Resolution Astrophysics. Balor lends itself particularly well to the ‘atmospheric freezing’ techniques of Speckle/Lucky Imaging, enabling resolution enhancement of ground-based astronomy over a much larger field of view than is readily achievable through use of adaptive optics.
Features
49.5 x 49.2 mm sensor - Very large field of view from 16.9 Megapixel, 12 µm pixel pitch sensor.
18.5 millisecond readout - Readout a 4k x 4k sensor 2500x faster than a CCD. Spend time capturing scarce photons instead!
Up to 54 fps - Unique solution for a range of high time-resolution observing challenges, without compromising noise or FOV.
Extended Dynamic Range and > 99.7% Linearity - Superb quantitative accuracy across a wide range of magnitudes within a single image.
Readout noise ~ 2.9 e- - Exceptionally low noise, even at max frame rate, suited to short exposure, low light observational challenges.
80 000 e- well depth - High well depth for quantification of bright signals.
Ultravac™ - Critical for sustained vacuum integrity and to maintain unequalled cooling and QE performance, year after year.
CoaXPress as standard - 4 Lane CXP-6 interface enabling the highest frame rates over distances up to 30 m.
Rolling and Global shutter supported - Maximum exposure and readout flexibility across all applications. Global Shutter for snapshot capture of fast moving/changing events.
No mechanical shutter - Balor requires no mechanical shutter, thus avoids the downtime associated with shutter replacements
IRIG-B GPS timestamp - Image GPS timestamp with 10 ns resolution for syncing across multiple instruments and multiple observation sites.
Fully Enclosed Casing (optional) - Reduced thermal bloom from Liquid Cooled Only variant; minimal effect on nearby optics and enclosed environmental temperature.
Specifications
Key Specifications
Active Pixels
4128 x 4104
Sensor Size
49.5 mm x 49.2 mm (70 mm diagonal)
Pixel Size
12 x 12 µm
Read Noise
2.9 e- (median)
Maximum frame rate
54 fps (full array)
Maximum Quantum Efficiency
61%
Dark current at -30°C
0.03 e-/pix/sec
Readout modes
Rolling Shutter
Pixel well depth
80,000 e-
Linearity
> 99.7%
Photon Response Non-Uniformity (PRNU)
< 0.5% (@ half well depth)
Data range
16 bit
Interface
CoaXpress (4 Lane CXP-6)
商品属性 [Active pixels ] 4128 x 4104 [Pixel Size] 12 x 12 µm