Imperx Cheetah Series User manual

IMPERX
Cheetah KAC CMOS CAMERA
User Manual
with CoaXPress®Interface
The Cheetah series of CMOS cameras offer the C4080 model and C2880 model with
the CoaXPress(CXP) output standard. The C4080 and C2880 are ruggedized
cameras featuring advanced ON Semiconductor KAC sensors, industrial-grade
components, superior processing power for producing high-resolution images at fast
frame rates, and wide dynamic range. The cameras provide exceptional durability and
performance in the most demanding applications.
Document Version 1.0

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About Imperx, Inc.
IMPERX, Inc. is a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance, high quality
digital cameras, frame grabbers, and accessories for industrial, commercial, military, and
aerospace imaging applications including flat panel inspection, biometrics, aerial mapping,
surveillance, traffic management, semiconductors and electronics, scientific & medical
Imaging, printing, homeland security, space exploration, and other imaging and machine
vision applications.
Fortune 100 companies, federal and state government agencies, domestic and foreign
defense agencies, academic institutions, and other customers worldwide use IMPERX
products.
Imperx, Inc. | 6421 Congress Ave. | Boca Raton, FL, 33487
US Phone: [phone]

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Warranty
IMPERX warrants performance of its products and related software to the specifications
applicable at the time of sale in accordance with IMPERX’s standard warranty, which is 2
(two) years parts and labor. FOR GLASSLESS CAMERAS THE CCD OR CMOS IS NOT
COVERED BY THE WARRANTY.
Do not open the housing of the camera. Warranty voids if the housing has been open or
tampered.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This camera has been tested and complies with the limits of Class A digital device,
pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules.
Copyright © 2017 IMPERX Inc. All rights reserved. All information provided in this manual
is believed to be accurate and reliable. No responsibility is assumed by IMPERX for its use.
IMPERX reserves the right to make changes to this information without notice.
Redistribution of this manual in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited without
obtaining prior permission from IMPERX. IMPERX reserves the right to make changes to
its products or to discontinue any product or service without notice and advises its
customers to obtain the latest version of relevant information to verify, before placing
orders, that the information being relied on is current.
IMPERX PRODUCTS ARE NOT DESIGNED, INTENDED, AUTHORIZED, OR WARRANTED TO BE
SUITABLE FOR USE IN LIFE-SUPPORT APPLICATIONS, DEVICES OR SYSTEMS OR OTHER
CRITICAL APPLICATIONS, WHERE MALFUNCTION OF THESE PRODUCTS CAN REASONABLY
BE EXPECTED TO RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY. IMPERX CUSTOMERS USING OR SELLING
THESE PRODUCTS FOR USE IN SUCH APPLICATIONS DO SO AT THEIR OWN RISK AND
AGREE TO FULLY INDEMNIFY IMPERX FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM SUCH
IMPROPER USE OR SALE.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 About the Cheetah Camera ...........................................................................................7
1.1 General ........................................................................................................ 7
1.1.1 Key Features .......................................................................................8
1.2 Cheetah Specifications ................................................................................8
1.2.1 General Information ...........................................................................8
1.2.2 Spectral Sensitivity Curves................................................................12
1.3 Technical Specifications............................................................................. 14
1.4 Ordering Information ................................................................................16
1.4.1 Technical Support .............................................................................16
2 Hardware ....................................................................................................................17
2.1 CoaXPress Output......................................................................................17
2.2 CXP Camera Power and Data Connector...................................................17
2.2.1 I/O Connector Pins............................................................................ 18
2.2.1 LED Status Indicators ........................................................................18
2.3 Mechanical, Optical, Environmental .........................................................19
2.3.1 Mechanical .......................................................................................19
2.3.2 Optical............................................................................................... 23
2.3.3 Environmental .................................................................................. 23
3 GenICam API Configurator ..........................................................................................24
3.1 Overview ...................................................................................................24
3.2 Camera Configuration Memory.................................................................24
3.2.1 Parameter Flash................................................................................24
3.3 Starting up the Camera .............................................................................24
3.4 Configuring the CXP Camera .....................................................................25
3.4.1 Device Control ..................................................................................26
3.4.2 Version Info ...................................................................................... 27
3.4.3 Image Format Control.......................................................................29
3.4.4 Acquisition Control ...........................................................................31
3.4.5 Gain Control......................................................................................33
3.4.6 Data Correction.................................................................................34
3.4.7 White Balance...................................................................................35
3.4.8 Strobe ...............................................................................................36
3.4.9 Pulse Generator ................................................................................38
3.4.10 Wide Dynamic Range......................................................................39
3.4.11 Transport Layer Control..................................................................41
3.4.12 User Set Control..............................................................................45
3.4.13 Special Features..............................................................................46
4 Camera Features .........................................................................................................47
4.1 Global / Rolling Shutter .............................................................................47
4.2 ADC Digitization.........................................................................................47
4.3 Frame Time Control...................................................................................47
4.3.1 Internal Line and Frame Time Control ..............................................47
4.3.2 Camera Output Control .................................................................... 48
4.4 Area of Interest ......................................................................................... 49
4.4.1 Overview........................................................................................... 49
4.4.2 AOI Horizontal and Vertical Window................................................49
4.4.3 Factors Impacting AOI Frame Rate ...................................................49

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4.5 Subsampling ..............................................................................................51
4.5.1 Pixel Averaging .................................................................................51
4.5.2 Subsampling Decimation ..................................................................52
4.6 Exposure Control ....................................................................................... 53
4.6.1 Internal Exposure Control, Electronic Shutter.................................. 53
4.6.2 External Exposure Control ................................................................55
4.6.3 Programmable Line and Frame Time................................................56
4.7 CoaXPress Trigger Inputs...........................................................................56
4.7.1 Acquisition and Exposure Control .................................................... 57
4.7.2 Triggering Modes.............................................................................. 57
4.8 Strobes....................................................................................................... 60
4.9 Video Amplifier Gain and Offset................................................................ 61
4.9.1 Analog Domain – Manual Control ....................................................61
4.9.2 Digital Domain – Manual Control .....................................................61
4.10.11 Wide Dynamic Range Function .......................................................... 62
4.10.1 Overview......................................................................................... 62
4.10.2 Wide Dynamic Range Controls .......................................................66
4.10.3 Initial WDR Setup Recommendations.............................................69
4.10.4 WDR at Maximum Frame Rates......................................................69
4.11 Data Output Format ................................................................................70
4.11.1 Bit Depth.........................................................................................70
4.12 Pulse Generator....................................................................................... 72
4.13 I/O Control...............................................................................................72
4.13.1 Input / Output Mapping .................................................................72
4.13.2 Electrical Connectivity ....................................................................73
4.14 Test Image Patterns.................................................................................75
4.14.1 Test Image Patterns........................................................................75
4.15 White Balance and Color Conversion ......................................................75
4.15.1 White Balance Correction...............................................................75
4.16 Transfer Function Correction – User LUT ................................................76
4.16.1 Standard Gamma Correction .......................................................... 76
4.16.2 User Defined LUT ............................................................................77
4.17 Defective Pixel Correction .......................................................................77
4.17.1 Static Pixel Correction.....................................................................78
4.17.2 Dynamic Pixel Correction................................................................78
4.18 Camera Interface.....................................................................................78
4.18.1 Status LED ....................................................................................... 78
4.18.2 Temperature Monitor.....................................................................78
4.18.3 Exposure Time Monitor ..................................................................78
4.18.4 Frame Time Monitor....................................................................... 78
4.18.5 Current image size ..........................................................................79
Appendix A - Creating Tables .........................................................................................80
A.1 Creating LUT Tables...................................................................................80
A.1.1 Using an ASCII Text Editor ................................................................ 80
A.1.2 Using Microsoft Excel .......................................................................81
A.2 Creating Corrective Maps..........................................................................81

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REVISION HISTORY
Revision
Date
Reviser
Comments
1.0
10/1/2019
R.Johnston
Initial release.

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1 About the Cheetah Camera
1.1 General
The Cheetah Python series of cameras provide an imaging platform with the latest digital
technology and industrial grade components. They use CMOS imaging sensors and offer a
broad range of resolutions and frame rates. Cheetah cameras are available in both
monochrome and color.
The cameras in this manual are compatible with the CoaXPress (CXP) output interface.
Use your frame grabber’s GeniCam™ compliant capabilities to configure the camera. The
following table describes the C4080 and C2880 model cameras covered in this manual.
Model
Resolution
Type
Optics
CMOS
Model
C4080M 4000 x 3000 Mono 4/3” ON Semiconductor KAC-12040
C4080C 4000 x 3000 Color 4/3” ON Semiconductor KAC-12040
C2880M 2832 x 2128 Mono 1” ON Semiconductor KAC-06040
C2880C 2832 x 2128 Color 1” ON Semiconductor KAC-06040
Table 1: CHEETAH C4080 and C2880 cameras overview.
Cheetah CMOS cameras are advanced, high-resolution, progressive scan cameras. They
are fully programmable and field upgradeable. Programmable functions include exposure
control, frame rate control, area of interest, subsampling, pixel averaging, gain, offset,
triggering options, strobes, output control, bad pixel correction, and user-programmable
look-up tables (LUT). The cameras use ON Semiconductor area scan KAC CMOS image
sensors and feature a built-in processing engine, low noise characteristics, and optimized
thermal distribution.
The C4080 and C2880 cameras provide both rolling shutter operation and global shutter
operation. Rolling shutter operation enables the widest dynamic range. Global shutter
operation provides superior motion capture.
The cameras give you the options of controlling frame exposure time internally or with an
external pulse width. They support exposure times up to 1 second with 1 microsecond
increments in rolling shutter mode and 5 microsecond increments in global shutter mode.
You can program a custom Area of Interest (AOI) and implement subsampling or pixel
averaging. Pixel averaging is a unique feature producing reduced noise and improved
signal-to-noise ratio by blending adjacent pixel information. Analog gain is available up to
12 dB (4x) in 12-bit digitization mode and up to 18 dB (8x) in 10-bit mode. Digital gain
controls allow expansion of the low-end signal with 24dB (15.9x) of additional gain
available. Wide dynamic range enables multi-integration times within one frame period
by compressing bright areas into the available output range and extending the visible
dynamic range up to 100db (global shutter mode only) with up to three knee points.

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Built-in gamma correction and user-defined look-up tables (LUT) optimize the camera’s
dynamic range further. Applying defective pixel correction (DPC) and hot pixel correction
(HPC) can correct bad pixels that are either over-responding or under-responding. Auto-
White Balance (AWB) is available in color cameras to correct for color lighting
temperatures.
The CXP cameras have a 2-Channel CXP-6 CoaXPress output interface that includes 8-, 10-
and 12-bit data transmission, as well as camera control functionality in one cable.
1.1.1 Key Features
•Global shutter (GS) or rolling shutter (RS)
•Monochrome or color
•Large 4.7-micron pixels
•Excellent near infrared (NIR) sensitivity
•Ultra-low fixed pattern noise
•Exceptional blooming suppression
•Fast frame rates
•Extended Dynamic Range (WDR): 3 knee points, piece-wise Linear
•Color and monochrome pixel averaging (4x and 9x)
•Subsampling up to 32x
•One Area of Interest
•Analog and digital gain controls
•Offset control
•Three selectable trigger sources: external, pulse generator, or software
•Two programmable output strobes
•Auto-white balance: Auto, Manual, or Off
•Image enhancements, horizontal and vertical flip
•Two 12-bit look-up tables, one LUT pre-programmed with gamma 0.45
•Defective pixel correction, hot pixel correction
•Two programmable external inputs and two external outputs
•CoaXPress interface
•Temperature monitor
•Field upgradeable firmware, LUT, DPC, and HPC
1.2 Cheetah Specifications
1.2.1 General Information
A CMOS camera is an electronic device for converting light into an electrical signal. The
camera contains a light sensitive element CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide
Semiconductor) where an electronic representation of the image is formed. The CMOS
image sensor consists of a two-dimensional array of sensitive elements called silicon
photodiodes, also known as pixels. The photons falling on the CMOS surface create
photoelectrons within the pixels, where the number of photoelectrons is linearly
proportional to the light level. Although the number of electrons collected in each pixel is
linearly proportional to the light level and exposure time, the number of electrons varies
with the wavelength of the incident light.

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1.2.1.1 Global and Rolling Operations
Cheetah C4080 and C2880 cameras support both global and rolling shutter readout
modes.
In Global Shutter (GS) mode, every pixel starts and stops integration at the same time.
This mode provides superb clean capture of moving scenes without the need for a
mechanical shutter. In GS mode, all pixel data is stored in light shielded regions within
each pixel and held there until readout (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Global Shutter Description.
In Rolling Shutter (RS) mode, each line of the image sensor is captured at a slightly different
time. This can cause distortions in the image if an object is moving very quickly and the
integration time is short with respect to the frame readout time. In rolling shutter mode,
pixels in a row are cleared of charge, allowed to integrate for the required exposure time, and
then read out of the entire line. The resetting of each line ripples through the array and each
line is exposed with a slight time delay (equal to the line readout time) relative to the previous
line. In RS mode, the global shutter transistor in each pixel provides noise reduction.
Figure 2: Rolling Shutter Description.

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1.2.1.2 A/D architecture and Blooming Suppression
The ON Semiconductor KAC-12040 and KAC-06040 image sensors have an analog-to-digital
(A/D) converter on each column and built-in correction circuits that automatically
compensate and correct for fixed pattern noise within the image array. With an A/D
converter on each column of the imaging array, digitization occurs within each line time
rather than within a readout pixel time, which improves noise performance. Two rows are
read out simultaneously (one from the top of the array and one from the bottom of the
array) and, in this manual, this is referred to as “one line.” While the camera has 3000 rows
in the active image area, there are only 1500 lines read out and while the C2880 camera
has 2128 rows, only 1014 lines are read out. The total number of rows including overhead
readout of the C4080 camera is 3136 (1568 lines) and the C2880 camera is 2292 rows (1146
lines) The camera takes care of all the details of re-ordering the lines within frame grabber
memory.
The A/D converter architecture allows the user to select between 10 or 12-bit digitization.
The Cheetah C4080 supports both 10 and 12-bit digitization. In 12-bit digitization mode, the
A/D conversion time is longer than the minimum chip readout time and this reduces
maximum frame rates. In 10-bit digitization the A/D conversion time is reduced increasing
the maximum frame rate. The image sensor provides up to eight LVDS readout banks and
the time to readout one line from the image sensor is less than the time necessary to output
the data using CoaXPress. The camera compensates for this mismatch in data output rates
by adding additional delay at the end of each line.
Each pixel within the imaging array has extremely robust anti-blooming suppression
eliminating classic ‘black sun’ artifacts present in other CMOS imaging arrays. The CMOS
readout architecture also eliminates column smearing often seen in traditional CCD image
sensors under extremely bright exposure conditions.
The time interval required for all the pixels, from the entire imager, to be clocked out of
the CMOS is called a frame. To generate a color image a set of color filters (Red, Green,
and Blue) arranged in a “Bayer” pattern, are placed over the pixels. The starting color is
Green. The following illustrations show the CMOS image sensor architecture and the
camera’s spectral response.