EMCCD Cameras for Physical Science

With the single photon sensitive EMCCD cameras, Andor have delivered a dedicated, truly high-end, yet accessible scientific camera platform, designed specifically to drive the absolute best from ultra-sensitive EMCCD technology across all critical performance specs and parameters.

Single photon sensitivity
Back-illuminated > 95% QE
Up to -100°C Cooling for Minimal Dark Noise
Fast Frame Rates - 26 up to 2067 fps
13 up to 24 µm Pixel Sizes
Quantum Imaging & High Cadence Astronomy

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EMCCD Camera Solutions for all your needs

Andor offers a complete range of EMCCD cameras, spanning a wide envelop of performance attributes. Whether your application requires a high speed, ultimate EMCCD sensitivity, high resolution, or even a compact and light design, you can be confident that we can guide you towards the optimal solution.

iXon Ultra 888

Field of View & Sensitivity, Now 3x Faster

30 MHz readout delivering 26 fps
13 μm pixel size
EX2 Technology for wider QE response
TE Cooling to -95°C

Specifications

iXon Ultra 897

Back-illuminated EMCCD, Now accelerated to 56 fps

Overclocked to 17 MHz readout for 56 fps
16 μm pixel size
EX2 Technology for wider QE response
TE Cooling to -100 °C

Specifications

OCAM²K

High Speed, Low Light EMCCD, Pixel Size 24µm

240 x 240 Cooled EMCCD sensor
Up to 2067 FPS full frame
270,000 e-Image Full Well capacity
Ultra low latency 43 µs

Specifications

OCAM²S

High Speed, Electronically Shuttered, Pixel Size 24µm

240 x 240 Cooled EMCCD sensor
Up to 2067 FPS full frame
80,000 e- Image Full Well capacity
Ultra low latency 43 µs

Specifications

EMCCD Camera Model Options

Models	iXon Ultra 888	iXon Ultra 897	OCAM²K	OCAM²S
Core attributes	Field of view, sensitivity and speed	Sensitivity and speed	Ultra-high speed	Ultra-high speed and fast electronic shuttering
Sensor format	1024 x 1024	512 x 512	240 x 240	240 x 240
Sensor diagonal	18.8 mm	11.6 mm	6.9 mm	6.9 mm
Read Noise	< 1 e- with EM Gain	< 1 e- with EM Gain	< 1e- with EM Gain	< 1e- with EM Gain
Cooling	-95°C	-100°C	-45°C	-45°C
Dark current	0.00011 e-/pixel/sec	0.00015 e-/pixel/sec	<20 e-/pixel/sec	<20 e-/pixel/sec
Spurious Background (CIC)	0.005 events/pixel	0.0018 events/pixel	N/A	N/A
QE Options	BV, EX2, UVB	BV, EX2, UVB	Back Illumination Deep Depleted	Back Illumination Deep Depleted
Frame Rate	26 fps (670 fps with 128 x 128 Crop Mode)	56 fps (595 fps with 128 x 128 Crop Mode)	2067 fps full frame	2067 fps full frame
Pixel well depth	80,000 e-	180,000 e-	270,000 e-	80,000 e-
Pixel Size	13µm	16µm	24µm	24µm
Interface	USB 3.0	USB 2.0	Camera Link® Full	Camera Link® Full
Learn More	Specifications	Specifications	Specifications	Specifications
Contact Us	Request Pricing	Request Pricing	Request Pricing	Request Pricing

EMCCD Camera Applications

Quantum Entanglement

Imaging studies of quantum entangled photon systems require ultrasensitive array detectors that are capable of registering and counting single photon events and photon pairs with superb discrimination from background noise events. Experimental workflow is furthermore enhanced through the ability to image with a rapid frame rate, thus accelerating the rate of image construction through photon counting.

Andor strongly recommends the iXon Ultra back-illuminated EMCCD camera series for correlated biphoton imaging experiments, a well-established solution for high throughput, single photon detection. With deep vacuum cooling down to -100°C and minimized spurious noise sources, the iXon Ultra provides the single photon and photon pair discrimination required for successful, high throughout detection in these most demanding of photon starved experiments.

Ultracold Quantum Gases, BEC & Trapped Ions

The iXon Ultra has for many years been the detector of choice in ultracold quantum degenerate gas and trapped ion experiments. With EMCCD and CCD amplifiers, the camera can be readily adapted to both fluorescence and absorption BEC set-ups. Single-photon sensitivity, even under fast frame rate operation, coupled with > 90% QE, enables imaging of very small numbers of discrete trapped atoms or ions.

‘Fast Kinetics Mode’ enables imaging with microsecond dynamics, allowing time of flight measurements of BEC clouds. Furthermore, the iXon Ultra can be optimized for enhanced NIR detection and/or fringe suppression, along with a custom AR-coated entrance window.

Measured fluorescence signal from a few atom MOT, as individual atoms enter and leave trap

Wavefront Sensors (Adaptive Optics)

The OCAM camera series offers an ideal solution for high-speed light starved applications like wavefront sensing, achieving 2067 fps full frame readout of the 240 x 240 array of 24 μm pixels in its deep depleted and TE cooled EMCCD sensor. With sub-electron readout noise, ultra-low latency readout electronics, and a CameraLink data interface, OCAM reliably delivers sensitivity at speed. Through its rapid electronic shuttering capability the OCAM2S model is ready for optimized wavefront sensing and laser pulsed applications.

iXon EMCCDs are the wavefront sensing camera of choice in AO systems at observatories around the world. Owing to the large pixels, > 90% QE, and sub-electron read noise of the iXon Ultra, wavefront sensing can readily be realised at hundreds of fps with selectable sub-array readout of its sensor. The iXon Ultra's CameraLink data interface supports low latency (~500 μs) data transfer to wavefront analysis and AO control software.

Speckle Imaging and High Speed Astronomy

iXon EMCCDs are ideally suited to techniques which use large numbers of short exposure images to effectively freeze the variations caused by atmospheric turbulence. Shift and Add techniques such as Lucky Imaging, as well as Speckle Interferometry, can improve spatial resolution well beyond the practical limits set by atmospheric seeing and has proven very effective in resolving binary stars, for example.

Furthermore, fast and ultrasensitive detection is often required in high frequency time-domain astronomy. Rapid photometric or astrometric measurements are required in the study of a broad range of astrophysical systems including pulsars, eclipsing White Dwarf binaries, Fast Radio Bursts, and stellar occultation events. By offering > 90% QE across a broad spectral range, sub-electron readout noise, optional NIR fringe suppression, and extremely high frame rates, the iXon Ultra can be readily turned toward study of these and various other rapidly changing phenomena.

Guide Cameras

iXon EMCCDs have been employed as guide cameras in high profile observing projects worldwide, benefiting from the ability to take low noise images with shorter exposure durations. The iXon Ultra 888 has been selected as the guide camera on SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (right). It has also been used to superb effect on the 2m-Alfred-Jensch-Telescope. In each of the above examples, the iXon camera performance has been so convincing that it has also been adapted for use as the primary science camera for visible observations.

Fast Hyperspectral Imaging

iXon EMCCD is an ideal detector for fast hyperspectral imaging, for example in combination with a liquid crystal tuneable filter for narrow wavelength filtering or a dispersive spectrograph for fast point by point mapping.

Such approaches typically involve a combination of short exposure times and weak signal (especially in the case of Raman scatter) and the fast readout, ultra-sensitivity of iXon Ultra is an ideal detector solution.

Ultimate Photon Counting EMCCD Solution

The single photon sensitive iXon Ultra EMCCD represents the best rapid imaging detector for knowing with a very high degree of certainty whether a photon has been detected in a pixel, especially critical for quantum entanglement experiments. Back-illuminated EMCCD remains the leading technology for determining one from zero.

Detect > 90% of photon events – single photon sensitivity and > 90% QE
Discriminate correlated photons – from -100°C cooling and minimized spurious noise events
Arrays up to 1 megapixel – massively parallel detection of quantum correlations
Fast Count Rates – up to hundreds of fps for accelerated measurement rates
Biphoton detection – superb charge transfer efficiency for discrimination of photon pairs in adjacent pixels

‘2 in 1’ Flexibility

Both iXon Ultra models offer ‘2 in 1’ performance flexibility, operating either as a single photon EMCCD or a low noise conventional CCD, readily user-selectable through software. Such versatility is attractive in laboratories that can require the camera to operate in low light conditions under both fast and slow frame rate conditions. In photon starved applications, choosing the EMCCD amplifier usually yields better signal to noise ratio when under faster frame rates conditions (> 1 fps), whereas often the CCD amplifier can yield better signal to noise ratio when longer exposures can be applied and when the sensor can be read out slowly (i.e. ‘seconds per frame’ rather than ‘frames per second’).

However, in either EMCCD or CCD configuration, a special ‘Fast Kinetics’ capability can be accessed to collect bursts of data with microsecond time resolution. This can be useful in BEC experiments, for example, to measure time-of-flight rapid cloud dynamics immediately after the MOT is turned off.

EMCCD	CCD
Single Photon Sensitive	3 to 6 e- read noise
Multiplication noise	No Multiplication noise
Faster frame rates possible	Restricted to slower frame rates

The basic trade-offs between EMCCD and conventional CCD amplifiers

Broad QE Profile

Delivering over 95% peak QE and offering broad coverage from UV through to NIR, iXon Ultra spectral response is suited to a wide range of science; from NIR photometry of cold dwarf stars, to quantum optics of degenerate gases, to imaging of ion traps. Fringe suppression options are available for NIR imaging with reduced etaloning.

The new ‘BB’ sensor option offers up to 20% higher sensitivity to photons across the blue region of the spectrum, ideal for fast imaging of quantum trapped ions, an important quantum computing qubit approach.