Princeton Instruments PI-MAX4 User manual

PI-MAX4
Camera System
4411-0139
Issue 9
July 3, 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of Princeton
Instruments, a division of Roper Scientific, Inc. (“Princeton Instruments”.)
Printed in the United States of America.
Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
PVCAM is a registered trademark of Photometrics, Ltd. Corporation
Scientific Imaging ToolKit and SITK are trademarks of R Cubed Software Consultants, LLC.
IntelliCal, PICam, SuperSYNCHRO, and SyncMASTER are trademarks and IsoPlane, LightField, and PI-MAX are registered
trademarks of Roper Scientific, Inc.
Windows and Windows Vista are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
The information in this publication is believed to be accurate as of the publication release date. However, Princeton Instruments does
not assume any responsibility for any consequences including any damages resulting from the use thereof. The information contained
herein is subject to change without notice. Revision of this publication may be issued to incorporate such change.
Copyright 2012-2018 Princeton Instruments, a division of Roper Scientific, Inc.
3660 Quakerbridge Rd
Trenton, NJ 08619
TEL: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
Revision History (Sheet 1 of 2)
Issue Date List of Changes
Issue 9 July 3, 2018 Issue 9 of this document incorporates the following changes:
•Added Windows 8.1 and 10 as supported OS.
Issue 8 April 20, 2016 Issue 8 of this document incorporates the following changes:
•Removed the Declaration of Conformity.
Issue 7 March 14, 2016 Issue 7 of this document incorporates the following changes:
•Updated the following PI-MAX4: 1024i/1024f/2048f/1024x256 Outline Drawings:
—Figure B-1, Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i/1024f/2048f/1024x256 with C-
mount Adapter;
—Figure B-2, Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i/1024f/2048f/1024x256 with F-
mount Adapter;
—Figure B-3, Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i/1024f/2048f/1024x256 with
Spectroscopy-mount Adapter;
•Updated the following PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF:
—Figure B-8, Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF with C-mount Adapter;
—Figure B-9, Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF with F-mount Adapter;
—Figure B-10, Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF with Spectroscopy-mount
Adapter.
Issue 6 October 19, 2015 Issue 6 of this document incorporates the following changes:
•Updated the Declaration of Conformity for PI-MAX4.
Issue 5 September 8, 2015 Issue 5 of this document incorporates the following changes:
•Global text and graphic updates for LightField 5;
•Added Section 8.3, Time Stamping, on page 155;
•Added Section 9.4, Using Pre-Trigger, on page 162.
Issue 4 September 11, 2014 Issue 4 of this document incorporates the following changes:
•Added information about the 1024EM and 1024EM(B) cameras.

3
Issue 3 October 11, 2013 Issue 3 of this document incorporates the following changes:
•Added Section 13.3.3.3, Custom, which details the use of custom RF gating
in LightField for PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF systems;
•Added PI-MAX4: 2048f information;
•Updated Appendix A, Technical Specifications;
•Added Section A.5, CCD Specifications.
Issue 2 July 24, 2013 Issue 2 of this document incorporates the following changes:
•Added Chapter 14, PI-MAX4: EM Family, and other EM-supporting
information throughout the document;
•Updated the Declarations of Conformity.
Issue 1.B February 11, 2013 Issue 1.B of this document incorporates the following changes:
•Editorial, graphic, and global nomenclature updates.
Issue 1.A February 27, 2012 This is the initial release of this document
Revision History (Sheet 2 of 2)
Issue Date List of Changes

4PI-MAX
®4 System Manual Issue 9
This page is intentionally blank.

Table of Contents
List of Figures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 1: Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.1 PI-MAX4 System Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
1.2 Summary of PI-MAX4 Data Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
1.3 Safety Related Symbols Used in This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
1.4 Grounding and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
1.4.1 Intensifier Modes and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
1.4.2 Audible Alarm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
1.4.3 High Intensity Light Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
1.5 Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
1.6 Cleaning and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
1.6.1 Cleaning Optical Surfaces – Protective Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
1.6.2 Flushing and Refilling the CCD Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
1.7 Repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
1.8 About this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
1.8.1 Conventions Used in this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
1.8.2 Manual Organization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Chapter 2: System Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.1 System Configuration Diagrams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Chapter 3: System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1 Dangers and Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
3.2 Unpacking the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
3.3 Checking the Equipment and Parts Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
3.4 General System Requirements and Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
3.4.1 Ventilation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
3.4.2 Power Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
3.4.3 Host Computer Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
3.4.3.1 WinX Host Computer Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
3.4.3.2 LightField Host Computer Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
3.5 Mounting the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
3.5.1 Imaging Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
3.5.2 Spectroscopy Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
3.6 Application Software Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
3.6.1 WinX Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
3.6.2 LightField Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
3.7 Connect the Circulator [Liquid-Cooled Cameras Only]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
3.8 Configure Default Camera System Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
3.8.1 WinX (Versions 2.5.25.X or higher). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
3.8.2 LightField . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

6PI-MAX
®4 System Manual Issue 9
Chapter 4: First Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.1 Required Equipment and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.2 Cable Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.3 Before Turning on the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.4 Turning on the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.5 LightField First Light Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.5.1 Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.5.2 Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.5.3 Parameter Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4.5.4 Acquiring Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.5.5 Focusing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.6 WinX First Light Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.6.1 Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.6.2 Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.6.3 Configuring the Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.6.4 Initial Data Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.6.5 Focusing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Chapter 5: Gate Mode Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.1 Data Acquisition Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2 WinX System On/Off Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.3 Pre-Exposure Removal of Accumulated Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.3.1 Dark Charge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.3.2 Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.4 Phosphor Decay Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5.5 Temperature Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5.5.1 Cooling Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5.5.2 Necessary Cooling Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.5.3 Setting the Temperature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.6 Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.6.1 Exposure with an Image Intensifier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.6.1.1 Exposure Timing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.6.2 Saturation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.7 Background Subtraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.8 Readout of the Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
5.8.1 Interline CCD Readout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.8.2 Full-Frame CCD Readout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5.8.3 Binned Readout (Hardware Binning) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
5.8.3.1 CCD Type and Readout Port(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.8.3.2 LightField and Partial Frame ROI Binning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.9 Software Binning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.10 Controller Gain {Analog Gain} . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5.11 Digitization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5.12 Logic Out Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
5.13 WinX Experiment Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.13.1 Main Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.13.2 Timing Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Table of Contents 7
5.14 LightField Experiment Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
5.14.1 Common Acquisition Settings Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
5.14.2 Region of Interest Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
5.14.3 Trigger Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
5.14.4 SuperSYNCHRO Timing Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Chapter 6: LightField and Gated Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
6.1 Gating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
6.2 Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
6.2.1 Intensifier Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
6.2.2 Alarms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
6.3 Timing Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
6.4 Micro-Channel Plate (MCP) Bracket Pulsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
6.4.1 Bracket Pulsing in LIF Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
6.4.2 Bracket Pulsing in Nanosecond Pump Probe Experiments . . . . . . . . . .101
6.4.3 Limitations of Bracket Pulse Gating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
6.4.4 Impact of Bracket Pulsing on Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
6.4.5 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
6.5 Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
6.5.1 Swept Gate Experiment [Fixed Width, Variable Delay] . . . . . . . . . . . .105
6.5.1.1 Experiment Supplies the Master Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
6.5.1.2 SyncMASTER1 Supplies the Master Clock. . . . . . . . . . . . .117
6.5.2 Single Shot Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
6.5.3 Swept Gate Experiment [Variable Width, Variable Delay] . . . . . . . . . .124
6.5.4 Static Gate Experiment [Fixed Width, Fixed Delay] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Chapter 7: WinX and Gated Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
7.1 Gating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
7.2 Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
7.2.1 Intensifier Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
7.2.2 Alarms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
7.3 Timing Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
7.4 Micro-Channel Plate (MCP) Bracket Pulsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
7.4.1 Bracket Pulsing in LIF Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
7.4.2 Bracket Pulsing in Nanosecond Pump Probe Experiments . . . . . . . . . .130
7.4.3 Limitations of Bracket Pulse Gating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
7.4.4 Impact of Bracket Pulsing on Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
7.4.5 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
7.5 Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
7.5.1 Swept Gate Experiment [Fixed Width, Variable Delay] . . . . . . . . . . . .133
7.5.1.1 Experiment Supplies the Master Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
7.5.1.2 SyncMASTER1 Supplies the Master Clock. . . . . . . . . . . . .147
7.5.2 Single Shot Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
7.5.3 Swept Gate Experiment [Variable Width, Variable Delay] . . . . . . . . . .152
7.5.4 Static Gate Experiment [Fixed Width, Fixed Delay] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152

8PI-MAX
®4 System Manual Issue 9
Chapter 8: Timing Generator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
8.1 Pulse Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
8.1.1 Supported Timing Generator Trigger Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
8.2 Single Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
8.2.1 Supported Timing Generator Trigger Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
8.3 Time Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Chapter 9: LightField and Dual Image Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
9.1 Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
9.2 Interline CCD Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
9.3 Trigger Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
9.3.1 Trigger Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
9.3.2 Trigger Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
9.3.2.1 Internal Trigger Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
9.3.2.2 External Trigger Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
9.4 Using Pre-Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
9.5 Configure a Single-Trigger DIF Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
9.6 Configure a Dual-Trigger DIF Acquisition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
9.7 Tips and Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Chapter 10: WinX and Dual Image Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
10.1 Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
10.2 Interline CCD Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
10.3 Timing Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
10.4 Configure a Single Trigger DIF Experiment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
10.4.1 Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
10.4.2 Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
10.4.3 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
10.5 Configure a Dual Trigger DIF Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
10.5.1 Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
10.5.2 Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
10.5.3 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
10.6 Tips and Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Chapter 11: MCP Gating Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
11.1 Setup and Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
11.2 Gain Variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
11.3 Fluorescence Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
11.4 Cabling for MCP Gated Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Chapter 12: Picosecond Gating Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
12.1 Activating Picosecond Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
12.2 Gain and Gate Width. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
12.3 MONITOR Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
12.4 Repetition Rate Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
12.5 Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
12.6 Methods for Finding a Short Optical Pulse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Table of Contents 9
Chapter 13: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF and RF Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
13.1 Basics of RF Modulation on Intensified CCDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195
13.2 Advantages of PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196
13.3 RF Experiment Design in LightField . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
13.3.1 Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
13.3.2 Trigger Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
13.3.3 Gating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198
13.3.3.1 Repetitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198
13.3.3.2 Sequential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200
13.3.3.3 Custom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
13.3.4 Phase Modulation Sorting Add-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209
13.4 PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF Rear Panel Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
13.4.1 PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF Power Supply Rear Panel Information. . . . . . . . .214
13.5 RF Modulator Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
Chapter 14: PI-MAX4: EM Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
14.1 Electron Multiplication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217
14.1.1 Enabling EM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219
14.1.2 emICCD Gain Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220
14.1.2.1 Optimal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
14.1.2.2 Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
14.2 Kinetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224
14.2.1 Masking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224
14.2.2 Trigger Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226
14.2.3 Image/Frame Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226
14.2.4 Data Readout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228
14.2.5 Binning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228
14.2.5.1 File Storage Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
14.2.6 Configuring Kinetics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232
14.2.7 Cleaning the CCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233
14.2.8 Configuring a Kinetics Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234
14.2.8.1 Configuring the Software Parameters: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235
14.3 Photon Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236
14.3.1 Configuring Photon Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237
14.4 High Speed Camera Add-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238
14.4.1 Configuring the High Speed Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Chapter 15: Tips and Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
15.1 Overexposure Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
15.2 Signal Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
15.2.1 Time Budgets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
15.2.2 Measuring Coincidence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
15.2.3 Adjusting the Signal Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
15.2.4 Optimizing the Gate Width and Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
15.3 Lasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
15.3.1 Free Running Lasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
15.3.2 Triggered Lasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
15.3.3 Jitter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
15.4 Inhibiting the Pulser During Readout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246

10 PI-MAX®4 System Manual Issue 9
15.5 Lens Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
15.5.1 Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
15.5.2 Depth of Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
15.6 Baseline Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
15.7 Temperature Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
15.8 Intensifier Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Chapter 16: Component Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
16.1 Mount Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
16.2 Switches, Connectors, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
16.2.1 AUX I/O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
16.2.2 AUX Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
16.2.3 AUX Power [PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF only] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
16.2.4 Coolant Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
16.2.5 Error LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
16.2.6 Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
16.2.7 Gig-E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
16.2.8 I.I.T. PWR On/Off Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
16.2.9 Logic Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
16.2.10 Mon RF Out [PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF only] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
16.2.11 Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
16.2.12 Power Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
16.2.13 Ready Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
16.2.14 Thermoelectric Cooler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
16.2.15 Trigger In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
16.2.16 User RF Out [PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF only] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
16.3 Gig-E Ethernet Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
16.4 Extender Bracket Kit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
16.5 CoolCUBEII Coolant Circulator (Option). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
16.6 Spectrograph (Option). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
16.7 Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
16.8 Tubing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
16.9 Application Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
16.10 User Manuals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Chapter 17: Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
17.1 Alarm Sounds Repetitively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
17.2 Alarm Sounds Sporadically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
17.3 Baseline Signal Suddenly Changes by > 1000 ADU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
17.4 Camera Is Not Responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
17.5 Camera Stops Working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
17.6 Camera1 (or similar name) in Camera Name field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
17.7 Cooling Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
17.7.1 Temperature Lock Cannot be Achieved or Maintained. . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
17.8 Data Loss or Serial Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
17.9 Error Occurs at Computer Power Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
17.10 Ethernet Network is Not Accessible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
17.10.1 LightField Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
17.10.2 WinX Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
17.11 Excessive Readout Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
17.12 Gating Pulse Artifact Strings Displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Table of Contents 11
Appendix A: Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
A.1 Mechanical Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267
A.2 Power Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267
A.3 Environmental Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
A.4 Intensifier Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
A.5 CCD Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
A.6 AUX I/O Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
A.6.1 AUX I/O Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272
A.7 CoolCUBEII Circulator Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273
Appendix B: Outline Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
B.1 PI-MAX4: 1024i/1024f/2048f/1024x256. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275
B.2 PI-MAX4: 512 EM/512 EM(B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278
B.3 PI-MAX4 Power Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281
B.4 PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282
B.5 PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285
B.6 CoolCUBEII Circulator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .286
Appendix C: WinX/LightField Cross Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
C.1 WinX-to-LightField Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
C.2 LightField to WinX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289
Appendix D: Extender Bracket Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Appendix E: C- and F-Mount Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
E.1 C-Mount Lens Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293
E.1.1 Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293
E.1.2 Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293
E.2 F-Mount Lens Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
E.2.1 Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
E.2.2 Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
E.3 Camera Orientation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295
E.4 Focusing C- and F-Mount Lenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295
Appendix F: Spectrograph Mount Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
F.1 Mount PI-MAX4 to an Acton SpectraPro Series Spectrograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
F.1.1 Required Tools and Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
F.1.2 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
F.2 Mount a PI-MAX4 to an IsoPlane SCT-320 Spectrograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299
F.2.1 Required Tools and Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299
F.2.2 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299
F.3 Spectrograph-Camera Rotational Alignment and Focusing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300
F.3.1 Aligning and Focusing an Acton SpectraPro Series Spectrograph. . . . .300
F.3.2 Align and Focus an IsoPlane SCT-320 Spectrograph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302

12 PI-MAX®4 System Manual Issue 9
Appendix G: Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
G.1 Accessory Kits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
G.2 Adapter Kits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
G.3 Quick Start Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
G.4 Standard C-, F-, and Spectroscopy-Mount Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
G.5 Spectroscopy-Mount for IVUV and NVUV Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
G.5.1 Installation Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
G.6 Optical Distance from Mounting Face to Image Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Appendix H: Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Warranty & Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Limited Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Basic Limited One (1) Year Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Limited One (1) Year Warranty on Refurbished or Discontinued Products. . . 317
XP Vacuum Chamber Limited Lifetime Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Sealed Chamber Integrity Limited 12 Month Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Vacuum Integrity Limited 12 Month Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Image Intensifier Detector Limited One Year Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
X-Ray Detector Limited One Year Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Software Limited Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Owner's Manual and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Your Responsibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Contact Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
List of Figures
Figure 1-1: Typical PI-MAX4 System Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 1-2: Major Components of the Intensifier-CCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Figure 2-1: Typical PI-MAX4 System Diagram. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Figure 2-2: Typical PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF System Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Figure 3-1: Typical WinView/32 Setup Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Figure 3-2: Typical LightField InstallShield Wizard Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Figure 3-3: Typical CoolCUBEII Circulator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Figure 3-4: Typical WinX Camera Detection Wizard Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Figure 4-1: LightField Desktop: Available Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Figure 4-2: Camera Icon in Experiment Devices Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Figure 4-3: LightField Desktop View Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Figure 4-4: Typical SuperSYNCHRO Timing Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Figure 4-5: LightField View Area Displaying an Acquired Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Figure 4-6: Typical WinX Pulsers Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Figure 4-7: Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Trigger In Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Figure 4-8: Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Gating Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Figure 4-9: Typical Repetitive Gating Setup Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Figure 4-10: Typical Experiment Setup Dialog: Main Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Figure 4-11: Typical Experiment Setup Dialog: ADC Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Figure 4-12: Typical Experiment Setup Dialog: ROI Setup Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Figure 4-13: Sample Acquired Test Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Figure 5-1: Block Diagram: Signal Path in a Standard PI-MAX4 System. . . . . . . . 62

List of Figures 13
Figure 5-2: Clean Cycles in Internal Trigger Mode of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Figure 5-3: WinX: Phosphor Decay Delay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Figure 5-4: LightField: Phosphor Decay Delay Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Figure 5-5: Interline CCD Readout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Figure 5-6: Step 1: Non-Overlapped, Early Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Figure 5-7: Step 2: Non-Overlapped, Early Readout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Figure 5-8: Step 3: Non-Overlapped, Transfer to Output Node. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Figure 5-9: Step 4: Non-Overlapped, End of Readout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Figure 5-10: Full Frame CCD Readout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Figure 5-11: Dual Port Readout: 2 × 2 Binning of Interline CCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Figure 5-12: Dual Port Readout: LightField Setting, 2x2 Binning, Interline CCD . . .78
Figure 5-13: Single Port Readout: 2 × 2 Binning of Full Frame CCD. . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Figure 5-14: Experiment Setup: ROI Configuration Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Figure 5-15: Typical Edit Regions of Interest Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Figure 5-16: Single Port Readout: Partial Frame, 2×2 Binning, Interline CCD . . . . .81
Figure 5-17: Dual Port Readout: LightField Settings, 5×3 Binning, Interline CCD . .82
Figure 5-18: Typical PI-MAX4 Hardware Setup Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Figure 5-19: Timing Diagram: Shutter {Shutter Open}, Read Out {Reading Out},
Acquiring {Acquiring} . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Figure 5-20: Typical Experiment Setup Dialog: Main Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
Figure 5-21: Typical Experiment Setup Dialog: Timing Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Figure 5-22: Fast Mode/Slow Mode Flow Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Figure 5-23: Typical Common Acquisition Settings Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Figure 5-24: Typical Advanced Intensifier Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Figure 5-25: Typical Region of Interest Expander. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Figure 5-26: Typical Trigger Expander: Internal Trigger Source Parameters . . . . . . .93
Figure 5-27: Typical Trigger Expander: External Trigger Source Parameters . . . . . .93
Figure 5-28: SuperSYNCHRO Timing Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Figure 6-1: Timing Diagram: MCP Bracket Pulsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Figure 6-2: Timing Diagram: MCP Bracket Pulsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Figure 6-3: Typical PI-MAX4 Experiments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Figure 6-4: Block/Timing Diagram: Swept Gate Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Figure 6-5: Typical Sensor Expander. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Figure 6-6: Typical Sensor Cleaning Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Figure 6-7: Typical Reset to Default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Figure 6-8: Typical Spectrometer Expanders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Figure 6-9: Typical Regions of Interest Expander: Full Sensor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Figure 6-10: Typical Common Acquisition Settings Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Figure 6-11: Typical Analog to Digital Conversion Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Figure 6-12: Typical Trigger Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Figure 6-13: Typical Regions of Interest Expander: Full Sensor Binned . . . . . . . . .112
Figure 6-14: Trigger Expander: External Trigger Source Configuration. . . . . . . . . .113
Figure 6-15: Typical SuperSYNCHRO Timing Expander. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Figure 6-16: Typical SuperSYNCHRO Timing: SyncMASTER On. . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Figure 6-17: Typical Experiment Results: Frame Cross Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Figure 6-18: Block Diagram: SyncMASTER1 as Master Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Figure 6-19: Timing Diagram: SyncMASTER1 as Master Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Figure 6-20: Block Diagram: Single Shot Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Figure 6-21: Cleaning Cycles, Cleaning and Skipping Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Figure 6-22: Common Acquisition Settings Expander: Intensifier Gain . . . . . . . . . .120

14 PI-MAX®4 System Manual Issue 9
Figure 6-23: Typical Repetitive Gating Setup: 100 ns Width, 25 ns Delay . . . . . . . 121
Figure 6-24: Single Shot Result: Fluorescence Spot, Width = 100 ns,
Delay = 10 ns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Figure 6-25: Single Shot Result: Fluorescence Spot, Width = 100 ns,
Delay = 10 ns, Binned Vertically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Figure 6-26: Repetitive Gating Setup Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Figure 7-1: Timing Diagram: MCP Bracket Pulsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Figure 7-2: Timing Diagram: MCP Bracket Pulsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Figure 7-3: Typical PI-MAX4 Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Figure 7-4: Block/Timing Diagram: Swept Gate Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Figure 7-5: Typical Hardware Setup Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Figure 7-6: Typical WinSpec/32 Installation Sequence: Acton 300I
Spectrograph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Figure 7-7: Typical Move Spectrograph Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Figure 7-8: Typical Experiment Setup Dialog: Main Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Figure 7-9: Typical Experiment Setup Dialog: Timing Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Figure 7-10: Typical Experiment Setup Dialog: ADC Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Figure 7-11: Typical Experiment Setup Dialog: ROI Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Figure 7-12: Typical WinX Pulsers Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Figure 7-13: Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Trigger In Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Figure 7-14: Typical WinX Pulsers Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Figure 7-15: Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Trigger In Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Figure 7-16: Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Gating Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Figure 7-17: Typical Sequential Gating Setup Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Figure 7-18: Typical View Width/Delay Sequence Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Figure 7-19: Typical SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Trigger Out Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Figure 7-20: Experiment Setup: Timing Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Figure 7-21: Experiment Setup: Main Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Figure 7-22: Typical Experiment Results Shown in 3-D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Figure 7-23: Block Diagram: SyncMASTER1 as Master Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Figure 7-24: Timing Diagram: SyncMASTER1 as Master Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Figure 7-25: Block Diagram: Single Shot Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Figure 7-26: Hardware Setup Dialog: Cleans/Skips Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Figure 7-27: Experiment Setup Dialog: Main Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Figure 7-28: Typical Repetitive Gating Setup Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Figure 7-29: Single Shot Result: Fluorescence Spot, Width = 100 ns,
Delay = 10 ns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Figure 7-30: Single Shot Result: Fluorescence Spot, Width = 100 ns,
Delay = 10 ns, Binned Vertically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Figure 7-31: Repetitive Gating Setup Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Figure 8-1: Timing Diagram: Pulse Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Figure 8-2: Timing Diagram: Trigger Per Pulse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Figure 8-3: Timing Diagrams: Three Repetition Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Figure 8-4: Timing Diagram: 3 Repetition Sequence, Trigger per Pulse . . . . . . . . 155
Figure 9-1: Readout Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Figure 9-2: Common Acquisition Settings Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Figure 9-3: Trigger Expander: Internal Trigger Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Figure 9-4: Timing Diagram: Single-Trigger (Readout Per Trigger) DIF . . . . . . . 159
Figure 9-5: Timing Diagram: Dual-Trigger (Shift Per Trigger) DIF . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Figure 9-6: SuperSYNCHRO Timing Expander: DIF Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

List of Figures 15
Figure 9-7: Trigger Expander: External Trigger Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Figure 9-8: Trigger Expander. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Figure 9-9: Timing Diagram: Pre-Trigger, Single Trigger (Readout Per Trigger) .163
Figure 9-10: Timing Diagram: Pre-Trigger, Dual Trigger (ShiftPer Trigger) . . . . . .164
Figure 9-11: Timing Diagram: Pre-Trigger With Slightly Late Input Trigger. . . . . .164
Figure 9-12: Timing Diagram: Pre-Trigger With Very Late Input Trigger . . . . . . . .165
Figure 9-13: Block Diagram: Single-Trigger DIF Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
Figure 9-14: Timing Diagram: Single-Trigger DIF Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
Figure 9-15: Block Diagram: Dual-Trigger DIF Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
Figure 9-16: Timing Diagram: Dual-Trigger DIF Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Figure 10-1: Block Diagram: DIF Experiment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Figure 10-2: Timing Diagram: DIF Operation, Single Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Figure 10-3: WinX Hardware Setup Dialog: Controller/Camera Tab . . . . . . . . . . . .176
Figure 10-4: WinX Experiment Setup Dialog: Main Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176
Figure 10-5: WinX Experiment Setup Dialog: Timing Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
Figure 10-6: WinX Pulsers Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
Figure 10-7: WinX SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Gating Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Figure 10-8: WinX DIF Gating Setup Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Figure 10-9: WinX SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Trigger In Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
Figure 10-10: WinX SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Trigger Out Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
Figure 10-11: Block Diagram: DIF Experiment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Figure 10-12: Timing Diagram: DIF Operation, Dual Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181
Figure 10-13: WinX Hardware Setup Dialog: Controller/Camera Tab . . . . . . . . . . . .181
Figure 10-14: WinX Experiment Setup Dialog: Main Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
Figure 10-15: WinX Experiment Setup Dialog: Timing Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
Figure 10-16: WinX Pulsers Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
Figure 10-17: WinX SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Gating Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
Figure 10-18: WinX DIF Gating Setup Dialog: Dual Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
Figure 10-19: WinX SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Trigger In Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Figure 10-20: WinX SuperSYNCHRO Dialog: Trigger Out Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Figure 11-1: Timing Diagram: Normal Gated Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Figure 11-2: Timing Diagram: MCP Bracket Pulsing Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Figure 11-3: Timing Diagram: MCP Gated Operation for Gen II Intensifiers . . . . .188
Figure 11-4: QE Curves: Gen II Intensifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
Figure 11-5: Block Diagram: MCP Gated Operation Cabling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
Figure 11-6: Timing Diagram: MCP Gated Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
Figure 13-1: System Diagram: RF Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196
Figure 13-2: SyperSYNCHRO Timing: RF Mode Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198
Figure 13-3: Typical Edit Custom Phase Modulations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204
Figure 13-4: Add a Single Modulation Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204
Figure 13-5: Add Phase Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206
Figure 13-6: Typical Modulation Phase Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207
Figure 13-7: Typical Modulation Phase Curve with Points Shuffled . . . . . . . . . . . .208
Figure 13-8: Typical Manage Add-ins Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209
Figure 13-9: Typical Phase Modulation Sorting Add-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210
Figure 13-10: Typical Phase Modulation Sorting Add-in Button: Data Toolbar. . . . .210
Figure 13-11: Typical Sort Phases Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Figure 13-12: Typical Sort Phases Dialog: SPE File Specified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Figure 13-13: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
Figure 13-14: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF Power Supply Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214

16 PI-MAX®4 System Manual Issue 9
Figure 14-1: Block Diagram: EMCCD with Dual Output Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Figure 14-2: Typical emICCD Hardware Stackup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Figure 14-3: Enabling Electron Multiplication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Figure 14-4: Typical emICCD Gain Configuration Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Figure 14-5: Typical emICCD Gain Configuration: Optimal Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Figure 14-6: Typical Intensifier Gain Configuration: Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Figure 14-7: Typical EM Gain Configuration Parameters: Manual Mode. . . . . . . . 222
Figure 14-8: Typical EM Gain Configuration Display for EM Gain > 100 . . . . . . . 223
Figure 14-9: Configuring Readout Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Figure 14-10: Typical Full-Frame and Frame Transfer CCDs, Kinetics Masking. . . 225
Figure 14-11: Timing Diagrams: Kinetics Exposure-Shift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Figure 14-12: Timing Diagram: Kinetics Readout and Data Storage,
No Binning, 4 Row Kinetics Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Figure 14-13: Timing Diagram: Kinetics Readout and Data Storage,
2 x 1 Binning, 4 Row Kinetics Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Figure 14-14: File Storage Convention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Figure 14-15: Configuring Readout Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Figure 14-16: Configuring Trigger Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Figure 14-17: Block Diagram: Typical Kinetics Experiment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Figure 14-18: Typical Online Processes Expander: Photon Detection. . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Figure 14-19: Typical Thresholding and Clipping Configuration Parameters . . . . . . 237
Figure 14-20: Typical High Speed Camera Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Figure 14-21: Typical High Speed Camera Spectroscopy Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Figure 14-22: Typical High Speed Camera Imaging Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Figure 14-23: Typical Previous and Current Frame Rate Information. . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Figure 14-24: Typical Configuration Options: Time Stamping, Frame Tracking . . . 240
Figure 16-1: PI-MAX4 Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Figure 16-2: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Figure 17-1: Camera1 in Camera Name Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Figure 17-2: Editing Camera Name in Notepad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Figure 17-3: Updated Hardware Setup Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Figure 17-4: eBUS Driver Installation Tool Dialog for LightField . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Figure 17-5: eBUS Driver Installation Tool Dialog for WinX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Figure 17-6: Typical Diagonal Line of Gating Pulse Artifacts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Figure A-1: AUX I/O Connector Pinout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Figure A-2: AUX I/O Interface Cable (Part Number 6050-0660). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Figure B-1: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i/1024f/2048f/1024x256 with
C-mount Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Figure B-2: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i/1024f/2048f/1024x256 with
F-mount Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Figure B-3: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i/1024f/2048f/1024x256 with
Spectroscopy-mount Adapter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Figure B-4: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 512 EM/512 EM(B) with
C-mount Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Figure B-5: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 512 EM/512 EM(B) with
F-mount Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Figure B-6: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 512 EM/512 EM(B) with
Spectroscopy-mount Adapter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Figure B-7: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4 Power Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Figure B-8: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF with C-mount Adapter . . . . . 282

List of Tables 17
Figure B-9: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF with F-mount Adapter . . . . . .283
Figure B-10: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF with Spectroscopy-mount
Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
Figure B-11: Outline Drawing: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF Power Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . .285
Figure B-12: Outline Drawing: CoolCUBEII Circulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .286
Figure D-1: Extender Bracket Kit Mounted to a PI-MAX4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291
Figure E-1: F-Mount (Nikon) Lens Adapter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
Figure G-1: Magnetic Screwdriver with Reversible Flat and Phillips Bit . . . . . . . .305
Figure G-2: Standard PI-MAX4 Mount Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
Figure G-3: Standard, IVUV, and NVUV Spectroscopy Mounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307
Figure G-4: Positioning the 2.739” (ID) O-ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308
Figure G-5: Positioning the 2.614” (ID) O-ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308
List of Tables
Table 2-1: PI-MAX4 System Installation Procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Table 4-1: Configuration Parameters by Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Table 6-1: Internal Sync Information for Gated Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Table 6-2: Single Shot Experiment Time Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Table 7-1: Internal Sync Information for Gated Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Table 7-2: Single Shot Experiment Time Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Table 12-1: Typical Picosecond Gating Information: PI-MAX4:1024i . . . . . . . . . . .192
Table 13-1: Phase Sweep Information for Sweep > 360° . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206
Table 13-2: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF Connectors, Indicators, and Switches . . . . . . . . . .213
Table 13-3: PI-MAX4: 1024i-RF Power Supply Connectors, Indicators,
and Switches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
Table 14-1: Mask/Window Sizes for 16 x 16 CCD, Full Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225
Table 17-1: Issues with Recommended Troubleshooting Procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . .259
Table A-1: Input Power Specifications: External PI-MAX4 Power Supply . . . . . . .267
Table A-2: PI-MAX4 Environmental Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
Table A-3: CCD Array Specifications for Electron Multiplied PI-MAX4
Detectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
Table A-4: CCD Array Specifications for non-EM PI-MAX4 Detectors . . . . . . . . .269
Table A-5: AUX I/O Interface TTL Signal Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
Table A-6: AUX I/O Connector Pinout and Signal Descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
Table A-7: AUX I/O Interface Cable Pinout and Signal Information . . . . . . . . . . . .272
Table C-1: WinX-to-LightField Cross Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
Table C-2: LightField-to-WinX Cross Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289
Table G-1: Adapter Kit Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305

18 PI-MAX®4 System Manual Issue 9
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19
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Princeton Instruments PI-MAX®4 Intensified CCD camera is designed for general
macro-imaging and microscopy imaging applications. It is ideal for applications involving
ultra low light measurements, or measurements of transient effects. PI-MAX4 uses a
proximity-focused micro-channel plate (MCP) image intensifier (Gen II and Filmless Gen
III intensifiers available) fiber-optically coupled to a CCD array. The fastest intensifiers can
be gated in as little as 3 ns or less (option board allows gating to <500 ns) with an
exceptionally high on/off light-transmission ratio. The CCD array provides a low noise,
high dynamic range readout device that can be scanned at a variety of pixel rates. A number
of different arrays are available to match the PI-MAX4 to the widest possible range of
experimental requirements. In operation, data acquired by the camera is routed to the
computer for processing and display. The computer controls both the system configuration
and data acquisition via software, of which Princeton Instruments LightField®and
WinView/32 are examples.
Except where specifically noted, the information within this system manual pertains to the
following camera systems:
1.1 PI-MAX4 System Components
All PI-MAX4 systems consist of standard hardware and software as well as the appropriate
interface hardware for your computer system. Figure 1-1 illustrates the set of typical system
components included with all PI-MAX4 systems.
Figure 1-1: Typical PI-MAX4 System Components
•PI-MAX4: 512EM •PI-MAX4: 1024EM(B) •PI-MAX4: 1024i-RFa
a. May also be referred to as PI-MAX4-RF within this manual.
•PI-MAX4: 512EM(B) •PI-MAX4: 1024 x 256 •PI-MAX4: 1024f
•PI-MAX4: 512EM •PI-MAX4: 1024i •PI-MAX4: 2048F
4411-0139_0001

20 PI-MAX®4 System Manual Issue 9
The following items are standard with all PI-MAX4 systems:
•Camera
The PI-MAX4 camera houses the CCD and intensifier and it supplies all of the high
voltages needed to operate the intensifier (refer to Chapter 3, System Setup, for
more information.)
Cooling within the camera is performed by a cooling fan and a multi-stage Peltier
cooler that is thermally coupled to the CCD (liquid coolant circulation can also be
used for the PI-MAX4 camera.) Photocathode cooling to reduce equivalent
background illumination (EBI) can be achieved via a chilled dry nitrogen source.
C-, F-, and Spectroscopy-mount adapters are supplied (one of which is
factory-installed.)
The camera can be operated in one of the following two modes:
—Safe Mode
In Safe mode, the photocathode is gated off.
—Gate Mode.
In Gate mode, the photocathode is biased on only during the time each gate
pulse is applied.
The PI-MAX4 contains the analog and digital electronics, scan control and
exposure timing hardware, and controller I/O connectors. Readout modes supported
include full resolution, simultaneous multiple sub-images, and non-uniform
binning. Single or multiple software-defined regions of interest can also be tested
without having to digitize all the pixels of the array. Flexible exposure, set through
software, is also fully supported.
The PI-MAX4 contains two High Speed analog-to-digital converters. The effective
digitization rate is software-selectable. After the data is converted, it is transferred
directly from the camera to the host computer memory via the high speed interface
cable.
•Cable
AUX I/O Cable: 6050-0660, female DB26 to 5 BNC.
• Computer Interface
Standard Ethernet Cable: 6050-0621, 5 meter. Other lengths up to 100 m are
available.
User-provided GigE interface card. (Intel Pro1000 recommended)
• Tubing
Clear PVC tubing, 3’, 5/32” OD, 1/32” wall (McMaster-Carr 5006K42) for dry
nitrogen cooling of photocathode.
• Manuals
PI-MAX4 System manual and optional application software manual.
• Optional Application Software
—Princeton Instruments' WinView/32 or WinSpec/32.
—Princeton Instruments’ LightField.