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The iKon ‘slow scan’ CCD camera series deliver unique thermoelectric cooling to -100°C for industry-leading low noise performance, highly efficient back-illuminated photon collection across a broad spectral range and exceptional dynamic range. Very large field of view is available from the iKon-XL CCD camera range, ideal for large sky surveys in astronomy. The robust quality, low maintenance, hassle-free design is ideal for usage across many experimental set-ups, including at remote observatories.
Andor offer a portfolio of deep cooled, back-illuminated CCD cameras, spanning a range of field of view requirements and offering optimized response across a very broad spectral range.
All iKon models offer a complimentary combination of technologies that ensure maximum Signal to Noise ratio under very low light signal conditions.
Quantum efficiency versus wavelength of the standard Silicon (‘BV’) and deep depletion (‘BR-DD’ and ‘BEX2-DD’) iKon-XL & iKon-L sensor options. Overlaid are the peak wavelengths λmax. of the Sun and the exoplanet-hosting M-dwarf GJ 1132. This highlights the higher quantum efficiency in the NIR of deep depletion sensors, which is of great importance for observations of cool stars, such as M-dwarfs.
The iKon-XL platform offers a huge 87 mm sensor diagonal from the 16.8 Megapixel array, ideal for large sky photometric or astrometric surveys such as exoplanet discovery. iKon-XL is also highly suited for use in astro-spectroscopic surveys, for example, coupled to high spectral resolution Echelle spectrographs. Custom lens windows can be offered (while maintaining a permanent vacuum in the sensor chamber) for optimal optical uniformity.
Note, when a large field of view is required to follow photometric or astrometric changes across shorter timescales (ranging from milliseconds to tens of seconds), Andor’s Balor large area sCMOS platform presents an ideal solution.
The UltraVac™ permanent vacuum enclosure of iKon-XL and iKon-L is particularly relevant to the needs of astronomers, where cameras are often in remote unmanned observing locations and need to operate without service intervention, over long durations of time. Furthermore, thermoelectric cooling down to -100 °C, even for very large area sensors, circumvents the need to utilize liquid nitrogen or unreliable compressed gas coolers in order to minimize camera darkcurrent. Finally, the iKon-XL is equipped with an easy field-replaceable shutter, ideal for frequent shutter-cycle applications such as transit exoplanet surveys.
Please view our selection of iKon CCD cameras below. You can use the drop-down to find a camera suitable for your application.
Model | iKon-XL 231 | iKon-XL 230 | iKon-L 936 | iKon-M 934 | PV Inspector |
Sensor Format | 4096 x 4108 | 4096 x 4108 | 2048 x 2048 | 1024 x 1024 | 1024 x 1024 |
Sensor Diagonal (mm) | 87 | 87 | 39 | 18.8 | 18.8 |
Pixel Size (µm) | 15 | 15 | 13.5 | 13 | 13 |
QE max (%) | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 |
QE Profile Options | BV, BB, BEX2, BR-DD, BEX2-DD | BV, BB | BV, BU2, BR-DD, BEX2-DD, FI | BV, BU2, BR-DD, BEX2-DD, FI | BR-DD |
Cooling (°C) | -100 | -100 | -100 | -100 | -70 |
Darkcurrent (e-/pix/sec) | 0.00013 | 0.00006 | 0.000059 | 0.00012 | 0.14 |
Read Noise Median (rms e-) | 2.1 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 9.0 |
Pixel Well Depth (e-) | 350,000 | 150,000 | 150,000 | 130,000 | 100,000 |
Digitization | 18-bit, 16-bit | 18-bit, 16-bit | 16-bit | 16-bit | 16-bit |
Readout Rates (MHz) | 0.1, 0.5, 1, 3 | 0.1, 1, 2, 4 | 0.05, 1, 3, 5 | 0.05, 1, 3, 5 | 3, 5 |
Readout Ports | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Fastest Full Image Readout Time (sec) | 2 | 2.3 | 1.05 | 0.23 | 0.23 |
Timestamp | IRIG-B GPS with 10ms resolution | IRIG-B GPS with 10ms resolution | TTL | TTL | TTL |
Interface | Fibre Optic, USB 3.0 | Fibre Optic, USB 3.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 |
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