Moravian Instruments G4-9000 User manual

G4 CCD Camera
User's Guide

Version 3.1
Modified on December 11th, 2016
All information furnished by Moravian Instruments is believed to be
accurate. Moravian Instruments reserves the ri ht to chan e any information
contained herein without notice.
G4 CCD cameras are not authorized for and should not be used within Life
Support Systems without the specific written consent of the Moravian
Instruments. Product warranty is limited to repair or replacement of
defective components and does not cover injury or property or other
consequential dama es.
Copyri ht © 2000-2016, Moravian Instruments
Moravian Instruments
Masarykova 1148
763 02 Zlín
Czech Republic
tel./fax: [phone]
www: http://www. xccd.com/
e-mail: info@ xccd.com

Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................4
G4 Camera Overview...............................................................................6
CCD and Camera Electronics...................................................................8
CCD Chip............................................................................................9
Model G4-9000...........................................................................10
Model G4-16000.........................................................................10
Camera Electronics...........................................................................10
Model G4-9000...........................................................................11
Model G4-16000.........................................................................11
Coolin and power supply......................................................................12
Power Supply....................................................................................13
Mechanical Specifications......................................................................15
Camera head dimensions..................................................................16
Telescope adapters............................................................................17
Camera Maintenance..............................................................................20
Desiccant exchan e...........................................................................20
Chan in the silica- el................................................................21
Chan in the Telescope Adapter......................................................23
Power Supply Fuse............................................................................23

Introduction
Thank you for choosin the Moravian Instruments CCD camera. G4 series of
CCD cameras were developed for ima in under extremely low-li ht
conditions in astronomy, microscopy and similar areas. Desi n of this series
inherits from G2 and G3 cameras, with which they share precise electronics
providin uniform frames without artifacts and extremely low read noise
limited only by CCD detector itself. Also the robust construction, rich software
support and easy manipulation are the same. However, G4 camera head is lar e
enou h to contain detector up to 37×37 mm.
Internal filter wheel is not available for G4 cameras, because a filter wheel
capable to carry 50×50 mm square filters is too bi .
There are external Filter wheels with 5 or 7 positions for 50×50 mm square
filters are available for G4 cameras.
The G4 cameras are desi ned to work in cooperation with a host Personal
Computer (PC). As opposite to di ital still cameras, which are operated
independently on the computer, the scientific slow-scan, cooled cameras
usually require computer for operation control, ima e download, processin
and stora e etc. To operate the camera, you need a computer which:
1. Is compatible with a PC standard.
2. Runs a modern 32 or 64-bit Windows operatin system.
Drivers for 32-bit and 64-bit Linux systems are also provided, but
camera control and ima e processin software, supplied with the
camera, requires Windows operatin system.
3. Provides at last one free USB port.
G4 cameras are desi ned to operate with USB 2.0 hi h-speed
(480 Mbps) hosts. Althou h they are fully backward compatible with
USB 1.1 full-speed (12 Mbps) hosts, ima e download time can be
somewhat lon er if USB 1.1 connection is used.
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A simple and cheap device called USB hub can expand number of
available USB port. Typical USB hub occupies one computer USB
port and offers four free ports. Make sure the USB hub is USB 2.0
hi h-speed compatible.
But keep on mind that if more USB devices connected to one hub need
to communicate with a host PC, USB hub shares its sin le up link line
to the host PC. Althou h G4 cameras can operate throu h a USB hub,
it can ne atively affect the camera performance, like download time
etc. It is recommended to connect other USB devices throu h USB
hub (e. . the mouse) and to provide the camera a direct USB
connection to the host PC.
4. Alternatively it is possible to use the Gx Camera Ethernet Adapter.
This device can connect up to four Gx cameras of any type (not only
G4, but also G0, G1, G2 and G3) and offers 1 Gbps and 10/100 Mbps
Ethernet interface for direct connection to the host PC. Because the PC
then uses TCP/IP protocol to communicate with the cameras, it is
possible to insert e. . WiFi brid e or other networkin device to the
communication path.
The G4 cameras need an external power supply to operate. It is not possible to
run the camera from the power lines provided by the USB cable, which is
common for webcams or very simple ima ers. G4 CCD cameras inte rate
hi hly efficient CCD chip coolin , shutter and possibly filter wheel, so their
power requirements si nificantly exceed USB line power capabilities. On the
other side separate power source eliminates problems with volta e drop on lon
USB cables or with drawin of laptop batteries etc.
Also note the camera must be connected to some optical system (e. . the
telescope) to capture ima es. The camera is desi ned for lon exposures,
necessary to acquire the li ht from faint objects. If you plan to use the camera
with the telescope, make sure the whole telescope/mount setup is capable to
track the tar et object smoothly durin the exposure.
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G4 Camera Overview
G4 cameras do not allow usa e of internal filter wheel as they require lar e
50×50 mm filters. External filter wheel is then the only option for G4 camera.
There are two sizes of the external filter wheel available for the G4 cameras:
●Medium size wheel for 5 square filters 50×50 mm
●Lar e size wheel for 7 square filters 50×50 mm
Components of G4 Camera system include:
1. G4 camera head.
2. Medium size external filter wheel with 5 positions.
3. Lar e size external filter wheel with 7 positions.
4. G0 Guider camera.
5. G1 Guider camera.
6. Off-axis uider adapter with M68×1 thread.
7. Thick spacer. Camera without internal filter wheel and this spacer has
the same back focal distance as camera with external filter wheel.
8. M68×1 thread adapter for lar e focusers.
9. Gx Camera Ethernet Adapter allows connection of up to 4 Gx cameras
of any type on the one side and 1 Gbps Ethernet on the other side. This
adapter allows access to connected Gx cameras usin routable TCP/IP
protocol over practically unlimited distance.
10. The whole system is controlled from a host PC.
6

Illustration 1: Schematic diagram of G4 camera system components
7

CCD and Camera Electronics
G4 series of CCD cameras are manufactured with “Full Frame” CCD sensors
manufactured by OnSemi (formerly Kodak)
Almost all Full Frame CCD detector area is exposed to li ht. This is why these
detectors provide hi h quantum efficiency. Modern FF CCD detectors are
suitable also for scientific applications, even if equipped with so-called Anti
Bloomin Gate (ABG – a ate, which prohibits bloomin of the char e to
nei hborin pixels when ima e is over-exposed) with linear enou h response to
li ht within the full dynamic ran e.
Illustration 2: “Full Frame” CCD schematic diagram
8

G4 camera models:
Model G4-9000 G4-16000
CCD chip KAF-09000 KAF-16803
Resolution 3056×3056 4096×4096
Pixel size 12×12 µm 9×9 µm
CCD a ea 36.8×36.8 mm 36.9×36.9 mm
ABG Yes Yes
Colo mask No No
CCD Chip
Quantum efficiency (sensitivity) of CCD detectors used in G4 cameras depends
on the particular camera model.
Illustration : Quantum efficiency of CCD detectors used in G and G4 cameras
9

Inherent dark current of these detectors is quite low compared to other CCD
detectors, suitable for scientific applications, which results into very ood
si nal/noise ratio.
Model G4-9
G4-9000 uses 9 MPx CCD OnSemi KAF-09000.
Resolution 3056×3056 pixels
Pixel size 12×12 µm
Imaging a ea 36,8×36,8 mm
Full well capacity Approx. 110 000 e-
Da k cu ent 0,5 e-/s/pixel at 0°C
Da k signal doubling 7 °C
Model G4-16
G4-16000 uses 16 MPx CCD OnSemi KAF-16803.
Resolution 4096×4096 pixels
Pixel size 9×9 µm
Imaging a ea 36,9×36,9 mm
Full well capacity Approx. 100 000 e-
Da k cu ent 0,3 e-/s/pixel at 0°C
Da k signal doubling 6,3 °C
Camera Electronics
16-bit A/D converter with correlated double samplin ensures hi h dynamic
ran e and CCD chip-limited readout noise. Fast USB interface ensures ima e
download time within seconds.
Maximum len th of sin le USB cable is 5 m. This len th can be extended to
10 m by usin sin le USB hub or active USB extender cable. Up to 5 hubs or
active extenders can be used in one connection.
Gx Camera Ethernet Adapter device allows connection of up to four Gx
cameras of any type throu h Ethernet interface and TCP/IP network. Because
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TCP/IP protocol can be routed, the distance between camera and host PC can
be virtually unlimited.
ADC esolution 16 bits
Sampling method Correlated double samplin
Read modes Preview
Low-noise
Ho izontal binning 1 to 4 pixels
Ve tical binning 1 to 4 pixels
Sub-f ame eadout Arbitrary sub-frame
Compute inte face USB 2.0 hi h-speed
USB 1.1 full-speed compatible
Binnin can be combined independently on both axes.
Ima e download time and system read noise depends on the CCD chip used in
particular camera model.
Model G4-9
Gain 1.5 e-/ADU (1×1 binnin )
1.7 e-/ADU (other binnin s)
System ead noise 10 e- (Low noise)
11 e- (Preview)
Full f ame download 15.7 s (Low noise)
10.9 s (Preview)
Model G4-16
Gain 1.6 e-/ADU (all binnin s)
System ead noise 11 e- (Low noise)
12 e- (Preview)
Full f ame download 27.8 s (Low noise)
19.2 s (Preview)
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Cooling and power supply
Re ulated two-sta e thermo-electric coolin is capable to cool the CCD chip up
to 45 °C below ambient temperature. The Peltier hot side is cooled by a fans.
The CCD chip temperature is re ulated with ±0.1 °C precision. Hi h
temperature drop and precision re ulation ensure very low dark current for lon
exposures and allow ima e proper calibration.
The camera head contains two temperature sensors – the first sensor measures
directly the temperature of the CCD chip. The second one measures the
temperature of the air coolin the Peltier hot side.
The coolin performance depends on the environmental conditions and also on
the power supply. If the power supply volta e drops below 12 V, the maximum
temperature drop is lower.
CCD chip cooling Thermoelectric (Peltier modules)
TEC modules Two sta es
Maximal ∆T45 °C below ambient
Regulated ∆T42 °C below ambient (~85% coolin )
Regulation p ecision ±0.1 °C
Hot side cooling Forced air coolin (two fans)
Optional heat exchan er for liquid coolant
Maximum temperature difference between CCD and ambient air may achieve
45 °C when the coolin runs at 100% power. However, temperature cannot be
re ulated in such case, camera has no room for lowerin the CCD temperature
when the ambient temperature rises. The 42 °C temperature drop can be
achieved with coolin runnin at approx. 85% power, which provides enou h
room for re ulation.
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Power Supply
The 12 V DC power supply enables camera operation from arbitrary power
source includin batteries, wall adapters etc. Universal 100-240 V AC/50-
60 Hz, 60 W “brick” adapter is supplied with the camera. Althou h the camera
power consumption does not exceed 55 W, the 60 W power supply ensures
noise-free operation.
Came a head supply 12 V DC
Came a head powe consumption 14 W without coolin
52 W maximum coolin
Adapte input voltage 100-240 V AC/50-60 Hz
Adapte output voltage 12 V DC/5 A
Adapte maximum powe 60 W
Powe supply connecto 5.5 / 2.5 mm
1. Power consumption is measured on the AC side of the supplied 12 V
AC/DC power supply. Camera consumes less ener y from 12 V power
supply than state here.
2. The camera contains its own power supplies inside, so it can be
powered by unre ulated 12 V DC power source – the input volta e
can be anywhere between 10 and 14 V. However, some parameters
(like coolin efficiency) can de rade if the supply drops below 12 V.
3. G4 camera measures its input volta e and provides it to the control
software. Input volta e is displayed in the Coolin tab of the CCD
Camera control tool in the SIPS. This feature is important especially if
you power the camera from batteries.
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Illustration 4: 12 V DC/5 A power supply adapter for
G and G4 CCD Camera
Warnin :
The power connector on the camera head uses center-plus pin. Althou h all
modern power supplies use this confi uration, always make sure the polarity is
correct if you use own power source.
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Mechanical Specifications
Compact and robust camera head measures only 154×154×65 mm (approx.
6×6×2.6 inches). The head is CNC-machined from hi h-quality aluminum and
black anodized. The head itself contains USB-B (device) connector and
12 V DC power plu , no other parts (CPU box, USB interface, etc.), except a
“brick” power supply, are necessary. Inte rated mechanical shutter allows
streak-free ima e readout, as well as automatic dark frame exposures, which
are necessary for unattended, robotic setups. Inte rated filter wheel contains
5 positions for standard 2-inch filter cells with M48×0.75 thread. There are
three M3 threaded holes around each filter position, which allow fixin of
filters without cells (only a lass) up to 51 mm diameter.
Mechanical shutte Yes, blade shutter
Sho test exposu e time 0.2 s
Longest exposu e time Limited by chip saturation only
Head dimensions 154×154×65 mm (G3, G4 without filter wheel)
154×154×77.5 mm (G3 with internal filter wheel)
Back focal distance 16,5 mm (G4 without filter wheel)
33.5 mm (G4 with external filter wheel)
Came a head weight 1.6 k (G4 without filter wheel)
2.5 k (G4 with “M” external filter wheel)
2.8 k (G4 with “L” external filter wheel)
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Camera head dimensions
Illustration 5: G4 camera head front view
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Illustration 6: G4 camera with internal filter wheel side view
Telescope adapters
The G4 cameras are supplied with standard M68×1 threaded adapter. The
adapter itself is 14 mm thick and it contains 8 mm of the M68 thread. So the
back focus distance is:
•30.5 mm if the adapter is used on camera without filter wheel
•47.5 mm if the adapter is used on camera with external filter wheel
It is also possible to use two-piece variant of the M68×1 adapter. The first part,
attached to the camera head, offers 4.5 mm lon outer thread M68×1. The
second part is a 12 mm thick nut with inner M68×1 thread, screwed to the outer
thread. So the user can choose to use outer thread (without a nut) or 7.5 mm of
inner M68×1 thread (when the nut is screwed in). The back focal distance is of
course lon er in the second case.
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Illustration 7: M68×1 adapter for G4
camera with a nut
Another option for G4 camera is Canon EOS lens adapter, all other standards
(2” barrel, T-thread, …) cause vi nettin in the case of G4 cameras, because
the detectors used measure 52 mm dia onally.
M68×1 adapte Adapter with inner M68×1
thread
Two-piece M68×1
adapte
Adapter with both inner and
outer M68×1 thread
Canon EOS lens
adapte
Standard Canon EOS bayonet
adapter
The EOS adapter ensures the 44 mm back focal distance when used with the
external filter wheel. If it is used on the camera without filter wheel, a spacer
must be used between the camera head and the adapter.
Because of camera mass, the EOS adapter is not suitable for attachin of
camera to the telescope or lens. Bayonet attachments use rin -shaped sprin ,
18

which is not stron enou h to ensure proper position of the camera relative to
the optical axis. This adapter should be used to attach smaller and li hter lenses
to the camera instead.
Adapters are attached to the camera body usin four M3 (3 mm metric) screws.
Threaded holes on the camera body are placed on the corners of 52 mm square.
Custom adapters can be made upon request.
G2 and G3 cameras use smaller 44 mm threaded hole square on the camera
head for mountin adapters, so adapters for G2/G3 series and G4 series are not
compatible.
19

Camera Maintenance
The G4 camera is a precision optical and mechanical instrument, so it should be
handled with care. Camera should be protected from moisture and dust. Always
cover the telescope adapter when the camera is removed from the telescope or
put the whole camera into protective plastic ba .
Desiccant exchange
The G4 camera coolin is desi ned to be resistant to humidity inside the CCD
chamber. When the temperature decreases, the copper cold fin er crosses
freezin point earlier than the CCD chip itself, so the water vapor inside the
CCD chamber freezes on the cold fin er surface first. Althou h this mechanism
works very reliably in majority of cases, it has some limitations, especially
when the humidity level inside the CCD chamber is hi h or the chip is cooled
to very low temperatures.
This is why a cylindrical container, filled with silica- el desiccant, is placed
inside the camera head. This cylindrical chamber is attached to the insulated
cooled CCD chamber itself.
Warnin :
Hi h level of moisture in the CCD chip chamber can cause camera malfunction
or even dama e to the CCD chip. Even if the frost does not create on the
detector when the CCD is cooled below freezin point, the moisture can be still
present. It is necessary to keep the CCD chamber interior dry by the re ular
exchan e of the silica- el. The frequency of necessary silica- el exchan es
depends on the camera usa e. If the camera is used re ularly, it is necessary to
dry the CCD chamber every few months.
It is possible dry the wet silica- el by bakin it in the oven (not the microwave
one!) to dry it a ain. Dry the silica- el for at last one or two hours at 120 °C.
Exceedin the 120 °C limit can dama e the silica- el and limit its ability to
absorb moisture.
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