Posted by
Xuejun Sun on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/Cooling-time-for-CCD-cameras-tp7554139p7563981.html
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Hi, Esteban,
I did this last year with one of my old CoolSnapHQs (~10 yrs now) which cool
down to -30C. I can share some of the data (just couple of graphs and a
movie show the cooling effects) with anyone who is interested by emailing me
privately.
Here is a brief summary of the finding:
The camera is cooled down quickly. Within ~3-5mins, there is no more visible
hot pixels. However, it takes ~20mins to stabilize (measuring average
intensity, standard deviation and signal-noise ratio of the images). I
tested another EMCCD which cools down to -70. It is faster but still needs
about 10mins to stabilize.
You just need to set up a timelapse imaging with all light to the camera
blocked. It sounds easy but it takes several attempts to get it right as you
need to start the camera from cold. Do as fast as you could because the
cooling rate is pretty rapid and you miss the interesting part (first 2-3
mins).
Best wishes,
Xuejun
-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:
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Behalf Of G. Esteban Fernandez
Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2012 3:28 PM
To:
[hidden email]
Subject: Cooling time for CCD cameras
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Hi all,
1) I'm curious how much time, roughly, it takes for a Peltier-cooled
CCD camera to reach the lowest temperature. Are we talking a few
minutes or closer to an hour or more? I have several brands of cooled
CCDs of different vintages and I'm just looking for a "rule of thumb",
if possible.
2) I do plan to test my cameras myself: I was thinking of imaging a
timelapse of a dim & stable specimen (requiring something like 30-60
sec. exposure) after turning cooling on to see at what time noise
reaches a minimum. Any suggestions for other ways to test this are
welcome.
Thanks,
Esteban
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