Andor Technology iXon Ultra 897 User Manual page 84

SETTING THE AQUISITION
The horizontal and vertical Binning parameters determine the dimensions of any
Binning
superpixels you may choose to create.
Full Resolution Image Full Resolution Image
Superpixels and Sub-area
Superpixels and Sub-area
Superpixel
2-D Pixel
Matrix
Sub-area or sub-image
The software presents a selection of five of the most common binning patterns; 1x1,
2x2, 4x4, 8x8, and 16x16 pixels. For example, if you enter 4x4 binning the CCD-
chip is notionally divided into a matrix of superpixels which each measure 4x4
pixels and provide a signal for readout. There is also an option for you to define a
Custom Binning Pattern. Check the Custom radio button and enter the
dimensions of the superpixels (as a number of pixels vertically and horizontally) in
the text boxes.
Working with Superpixels
By a process of binning charge vertically into the shift register from several rows at
a time (4 rows in the above example, representing the height of your superpixels),
and then binning charge horizontally from several columns of the shift register at a
time (4 columns in the example, representing the width of the superpixels), the
system is effectively reading out charge from a matrix of superpixels which each
measure 4x4.
The result is a more coarsely defined image, but faster processing speed, lower
storage requirements, and potentially a better signal to noise ratio (since for each
element or superpixel in the resultant image, the combined charge from several
pixels is being binned and read out, rather than the possibly weak charge from an
individual pixel).
Note: A useful mode if you want to capture data as you optimize a hardware set-up,
for example
.
Section 4 . 5
Page 84