Xenics Wildcat U3V 100 User manual

User Manual
Wildcat
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party without written permission from Xenics.
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User Manual
Wildcat-camera
ENG-2020-UMN001-R001

User Manual
Wildcat
Company confidential.
This document is the property of Xenics. It may not be reproduced –completely or partially –or passed to a third
party without written permission from Xenics.
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Disclaimer
All products manufactured by Xenics nv are warranted as laid down in the sales conditions.
Xenics nv has no other obligation or liability for defects than those set forth therein.
No other warranty is expressed or implied. Xenics nv specifically disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness
for a particular purpose.
This warranty will no longer be valid if the instructions contained herein are not followed.
Xenics nv shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential loss of damage, whether based on
contract, tort, product liability or any other legal theory.
Copyright/Intellectual Property Rights
© Xenics nv 2019.
All rights reserved worldwide.
This document must not, in whole or part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or transmitted to any electronic
medium or machine readable form without written permission from Xenics nv.
Names and marks appearing on the products herein are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Xenics nv. All other
trademarks, trade names or company names referenced in this document are used for identification only and are the property
of their respective owners.
Quality Assurance
The Quality Management System under which these products are developed and manufactured has been certified in
accordance with the ISO 9001 standard.
Xenics nv iscommitted to apolicyof continuous developmentfor which wereserve the right to makechanges andimprovements
on any of the products described in this manual without prior notice.

User Manual
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party without written permission from Xenics.
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Revision History
Issue
Issue date
Reason for changes
Modified by
Approved
by
001
14/05/2020
First release
DCX
Change Details
This table lists all changes of this issue compared to the previous released one.
Chapter/Section
Changes
Modified by

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Table of Contents
Revision History..................................................................................................................3
Change Details ...................................................................................................................3
1Introduction..................................................................................................................6
Scope ...................................................................................................................6
Manual overview...................................................................................................6
Conventions used in this manual ..........................................................................7
Safety warnings ....................................................................................................7
Contact Information...............................................................................................8
2Getting started .............................................................................................................9
Setting up the camera...........................................................................................9
Xeneth installation.................................................................................................9
Connect the camera via Xeneth............................................................................9
Acquiring the first images....................................................................................11
3Mechanical overview..................................................................................................12
4Electrical interface......................................................................................................13
Unified connector................................................................................................14
USB3 Vision........................................................................................................15
Camera Link .......................................................................................................15
LED status lights.................................................................................................15
5Camera functionality ..................................................................................................16
Operating temperature control ............................................................................17
Basic image acquisition.......................................................................................18
Frame generation................................................................................................23
Image processing options...................................................................................24
6Trigger functionality....................................................................................................30
Introduction.........................................................................................................30
Trigger input........................................................................................................30
Digital output.......................................................................................................38
7Calibration..................................................................................................................39

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Default calibrations .............................................................................................39
Using calibrations................................................................................................40
Custom calibrations ............................................................................................43
8User sets....................................................................................................................48
Saving a user set................................................................................................48
Loading a user set ..............................................................................................49
Clearing a user set..............................................................................................49
Default user set...................................................................................................49
9Appendices................................................................................................................50
Register map ......................................................................................................50
10 Firmware upgrades.................................................................................................58

User Manual
Wildcat
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1 Introduction
Scope
This User Manual describes the technical specification, dimension, image processing, basic
and advanced parameters and related subjects for the following cameras.
Camera
Product Number
General Description
Wildcat
U3V 100
XEN-000662
Small, high performance InGaAs
camera with low noise and high
dynamic range
CL 100
XEN-000676
U3V 200
XEN-000679
CL 200
XEN-000680
Manual overview
This section provides a chapter overview:
•Chapter 1provides an overview of the conventions used in this manual safety
warnings, conformity information about Xenics cameras and the contact information.
•Chapter 2is a quick getting-started guide on acquiring images from the camera.
•Chapter 3provides a basic overview of the camera mechanics.
•Chapter 4describes the electrical interfaces.
•Chapter 5details all on-board camera settings.
•Chapter 6documents the trigger inputs and outputs.
•Chapter 7provides information on creating custom calibration files.
•Chapter 8describes how to store custom configurations in camera memory.
•Chapters 9and 10 are the appendices.

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Conventions used in this manual
To give this manual an easily understood layout and to emphasize important information,
the following typographical styles and symbols are used:
The styles used in this manual are:
•Bold: used for highlighting important things
•Italics: used for user interface fields and settings.
The symbols used in this manual:
Note: This symbol highlights important information.
Warning: This symbol highlights important instructions. These instructions
must be followed to avoid malfunctions!
Safety warnings
The following safety warnings must be followed:
Supply voltage polarity: Use the power adaptor supplied with the camera.
Warranty: The warranty becomes void in case of unauthorized tampering, or
any manipulations not approved by the manufacturer.
Electrostatic discharge: The camera contains sensitive electronic
components which can be destroyed by means of electrostatic discharge. Use
enough grounding to minimize the risk of damage.
!
!
i
!
•
!
•

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Environmental conditions: Operate the camera in dry and dust free
environment.
It is recommended to use the camera at room conditions (~20°C).
Additional heating or cooling element may be necessary.
Warm-up Period: For optimal imaging, warm-up time may be required for
cameras without temperature regulator.
Contact Information
•Xenics nv (Headquarters)
Ambachtenlaan 44
BE-3001 Leuven
Belgium
T [phone]
[email protected]
•Xenics USA, Inc.
North American office
[email protected]m
•sInfraRed Pte Ltd
Asian sales, manufacturing and custom solutions office
[e-mail]
•Distributors worldwide
Xenics is a European based provider of infrared imaging products and has
representatives and distributor locations around the world to service our many
customers.
Please visit our website for more contact details:
www.xenics.com
i
!
•

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2 Getting started
Setting up the camera
1. Unpack the camera and its accessories from the shipping box.
2. (Optional) Mount a lens by screwing it onto the lens adapter on the front of the
camera. Refer to Chapter 3 for more details.
3. Connect the unified connector to a power source and the camera. Plug in the USB3
Vision or Camera Link cable. For more information on these cables, consult
Chapter 4.
Xeneth installation
Xeneth imaging suite and its graphical user interface must be installed to use the camera.
The software works with all Xenics cameras.It allows Xenics camerato be easily accessible.
It is a good practice to first uninstall a previous Xeneth version when installing
a new one.
A Xeneth installer is provided with your camera on the accompanying USB drive. Simply run
the installer and follow the on-screen prompts. Do not forget to manually check the drivers
for USB3 Vision or your Camera Link frame grabber during the installation process.
Refer to the Xeneth Installation Manual in the \Software\ folder on the USB drive for more
details on the installation process and the Xeneth User Manual in the Xeneth installation
directory for a detailed guide on using the program features which are not camera-
dependent.
Connect the camera via Xeneth
Start Xeneth. The Connection Setup dialog will become visible
If the camera is not shown, click the refresh button on the dialog. Should this not reveal the
camera, check that:
•The cables are all properly connected.
•The camera is powered by looking at the LED status lights next to the connectors.
•On the Enumeration Settings tab the camera’s communication protocol is enabled.
•The required USB3 Vision or Camera Link frame grabber drivers were installed in
Chapter 2.2.
!

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1. Select the camera from the enumeration list. The number between brackets in front of
the camera name is the serial number printed on the back of your camera.
2. Mark the Start capturing on connect box at the bottom of the dialog.
3. From the Calibration data dropdown menu, select (Camera memory) to activate the
onboard calibrations.
4. Click the Connect button to proceed.

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Acquiring the first images
You will now be presented with the main Xeneth interface. The camera will be acquiring
frames and applying the default image correction. The main interface consists of 4
important parts.
In the X-View pane (1) can be seen the live image feed from the camera. Camera output is
presented in ADU (Arbitrary Digital Unit) values, which can be mapped to different colour
profiles.
The control panels (2) allow you to operate camera functionality (see Chapters 5, 6 and 8),
apply software-level image processing, record video and manipulate software-level pixel
selections in the image.
The top bar (3) contains functionality for starting, stopping and pausing image capture, for
loading and saving of images from and to disk and for enabling the image corrections (see
Chapter 7).
The bottom bar (4) contains from left to right:
•The pixel coordinates of the mouse pointer in the acquired image.
•A frame counter.
•The current framerate.
•A data speed indicator
•A time indicator

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3 Mechanical overview
The design and specifications for the products described below may change
without notice.
Xenics is unable to guarantee support or compatibility for lenses not offered
as part of the Xenics lens portfolio for this camera.
The Wildcat camera consists of 4 main mechanical parts: the camera housing itself, a C-
mount lens adapter, a lens (optional) and a tripod mount.
The camera housing serves both as mechanical protection and heatsink for the thermo-
electric cooling and electronics. The front plate contains a M42x1-6H thread for mounting
lenses and lens adapters at the front, and 2 M4x0.7-6H mounting holes at the bottom.
Included standard is also a M42 to C-mount lens adapter. Xenics offers a variety of C-
mount SWIR lenses.
Also included is a tripod mount, attached to the mounting holes at the bottom. This
provides both a M6x1 and a 1/4”-20 UNC threaded hole for easy attachment to standard
camera tripods. This part may be removed to attach custom mount options to the mounting
holes.
For more detailed mechanical information refer to the mechanical drawings provided in the
\Documents\ folder on the USB drive.
i
i

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4 Electrical interface
The design and specifications for the products described below may change
without notice.
i

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Unified connector
Pin number
Function
1
Power supply –(GND)
2
Power supply –(GND)
3
Power supply +
4
Power supply +
5
Trigger in 1
6
Trigger in 2
7
Trigger out 1
8
Trigger out 2
9
Serial TXD
10
Serial RXD
Power supply (Pins 1, 2, 3, 4)
GND pins are common for power supply, trigger and serial communication. They are inter-
connected on the camera side.
The power supply + pins are also connected with each other on the camera side.
The power supply should deliver 12 VDC ± 5% with a current compliance of minimum 2 A.
Trigger (Pins 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Electrical characteristics
Trigger input
Digital output
Technology
LVCMOS - 3.3 V
LVCMOS - 3.3 V
Trigger low value
≤ 0.8 V
≤ 0.4 V
Trigger high value
≥ 2.4 V
≥ 2.9V
Minimum input
0 V
/
Maximum input
15 V
/
Input / output resistance
> 1 kΩ
100 Ω
Load resistance
/
≥ 1kΩ
Serial communication (Pins 1, 2, 9, 10)
The Serial communication is according to the RS-232 standard.
Also refer to the Xenics Serial Protocol document
1
in the \Documents\ folder on the USB
drive for more information on serial communication with Xenics cameras.
1
ENG-2011-ICD003 Xenics Serial Protocol

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USB3 Vision
This digital video interface is compliant to the USB3Vision standard.
The connector type is USB 3.0 Micro-B with screw locking.
Further information about this standard is available at https://www.visiononline.org.
Camera Link
The Camera Link interface implements the Base configuration over a single Mini Camera
Link connector (SDR-26) and is compliant to the Camera Link standard.
Further information about this standard is available at https://www.visiononline.org.
LED status lights
LED 1 is the green LED; it indicates power on status.
LED 2 and 3 are the status LEDs.
State
LED 3
LED 2
Comments
Failsafe USB + CL
Blink
400ms
Blink
400ms
Blinking alternately. When red is on,
orange is off and vice versa.
Booting
On
On
Idle
/
Off
Acquisition active
/
On

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5 Camera functionality
The functionality and user interface described below may change without
notice.
This chapter will provide a detailed explanation of the basic functionality of the Wildcat
camera using Xeneth. This chapter describes functionality and settings found on the Settings
–Camera tab in Xeneth. Note that some settings may be hidden based on the currently
applied visibility settings in Xeneth.
Please refer to the quick start guide in Chapter 2 for an overview on setting up the camera
and acquiring a first stream of corrected images under default settings.
Consult the Xeneth user manual in the Xeneth installation directory for an overview of all
software capabilities, including features such as:
•Changing setting visibility.
•Applying software filtering to the image.
•Enabling statistical information such as histograms, time graphs, individual pixel
samples, …
•Saving images and sequences to disk.
•…
i

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Operating temperature control
The Wildcat sensor is equipped with a thermo-electric cooler (TEC). This allows you to
keep the sensor at a fixed low temperature, reducing noise and dark current. The camera
housing acts as a heat sink for this cooler, so performance will be dependent on the
thermal environment around the camera.
Current sensor temperature is displayed in Device control –Temperature.
Current camera housing temperature is displayed in Cooling control –Camera
temperature.
To enable the TEC, enter a desired temperature setpoint in Cooling control –Target
temperature and toggle Cooling control –Enable to True.
The corresponding camera registers may be found in Chapter 9.1.6.

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Basic image acquisition
There are 5 basic aspects of acquiring an image:
1. Gain: the general sensitivity to IR light.
2. Exposure time: how long the sensor integrates the light flux for each frame it sends.
3. Frame time: the maximal frame rate of the camera.
4. Windowing: which area of the sensor FPGA is used for image acquisition.
5. Reverse X and Y: flipping the image around either axis.
The actual frame rate of the camera will be dependent on a combination of camera speed,
exposure time, frame time and the applied window. For a detailed calculation of the
actual frame rate with specific camera settings, consult the framerate calculator on
the USB drive.
This chapter assumes the camera is operating in Free running mode and will generate its
own internal triggers. For more details on the various triggering options, refer to Chapter
6.2.
Changing camera gain
Camera gain allows you to adjust the sensitivity of the camera’s IR sensor to the light
intensity of the scene without altering the exposure time. The Wildcat supports 2 gain
modes: high gain (most sensitive) and low gain (least sensitive). The sensitivity difference
between both is approximately a factor of 5.5.
To switch between gains, use the Device Control –Gain setting.
Calibration packs are only applicable for a specific gain. This setting has no impact on
framerate.
The corresponding camera register may be found in Chapter 9.1.6.

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Exposure time
The exposure time defines how long the sensor integrates light flux before reading out
each frame. Exposure time can be set in Acquisition control –Exposure time.
The actual frame rate 
.
Readout time is the time needed to sample all pixels in the sensor and present the data to
the camera and is dependent upon window size and camera speed.
The corresponding camera register may be found in Chapter 9.1.1.

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Frame time
The frame rate can be artificially limited by the Acquisition control –Frame time setting. It is
expressed in µs.
The camera sends an internal trigger signal to the sensor each time it wishes to acquire a
new frame.
By setting the frame time to 0, a new frame is requested as soon as the previous frame is
acquired.
If the frame time is set to a value higher than zero, the maximum frame rate is now limited
to 106/ frame time, regardless of integration time or window size. Note that the actual
frame rate may still be lower than this maximum frame rate.
If Acquisition control –Burst frame count is larger than 1, the frame time defines the rate
between bursts of frames, not individual frames. Individual frames in a burst are generated
as if the frame time is 0. See Chapter 5.3 for more details on the different frame generation
options.
The corresponding camera register may be found in Chapter 9.1.1.