Advanced Camera Features Features; Cooling; External Triggering - Q Imaging EXi Aqua User Manual

ADVANCED CAMERA FEATURES
The EXi Aqua camera offers many advanced features. This section provides information on how to make the most
of your QImaging camera.

Cooling

The EXi Aqua camera has a fixed temperature point of 0 C. The cooling is regulated, so regardless of
the ambient temperature of the camera, the sensor on the camera will keep a constant temperature.

External triggering

Externally triggering the camera provides a sophisticated method of imaging and synchronizing your camera
to external parts of your system, offering advanced capabilities. To use this feature effectively, it is important
to understand the operation and configuration of your camera.
The External Trigger Port of the EXi Aqua camera is a 6-pin miniature circular DIN connector. This port accepts
digital logic signals that are used to control the camera's integration. The external trigger port is optically isolated
from the camera's electronics. For this reason, the user must provide power to the external trigger port. See
Appendix A for a pin-out and schematic diagram of the external trigger port.
In externally triggered modes of operation, the user inputs a pulse on the external trigger port that controls the
camera's integration in one of two ways depending on the triggering mode.
Triggering modes
When using external triggering, there are three types of triggering modes: Edge High/Low, Pulse High/Low and
Strobe High/Low.
Edge mode allows the camera to start integrating on the rising or falling edge of the trigger pulse with
the integration time controlled internally by the camera. Using this method allows you
to externally trigger the camera as fast as possible, and allows you to take advantage
of the simultaneous readout and exposure function.
Pulse mode allows the user to control the integration period where the time is dictated by the
duration of the pulse. If "Pulse High" mode is used, then the time the pulse is high is the
time of the integration period. Vice versa for "Pulse Low" mode. This mode does not
allow the simultaneous readout and exposure operation of the camera.
Strobe mode allows the user the combination of pulse mode with simultaneous readout and exposure.
This is a very advanced mode of operation of the camera such that the second pulse must
finish after the readout of the first. The time between pulses is very critical for this
operation.
CHAPTER 4
8