New-Tech Europe | Aug 2019 | Digital Edition

The Heat is Off! As more features and processing power gets packed into smaller sizes, thermal design becomes imperative. If an effective thermal design is not adopted, smaller cameras might need features removed or have their performance reduced. On the other hand, adding heat sinks along with active air cooling components can easily nullify any space saving gains brought on by a smaller camera. From the beginning, a worry free thermal design was at the forefront of the Phoenix design. The innovative aluminum spacers of the Phoenix not only gives the camera its light weight industrial shape but also allows it to operate at ambient air temperatures of up to 55° C without any additional cooling. Having a high ambient operating temperature enables the camera to perform in more challenging environmental conditions without compromising performance and without the need for heat sinks or additional cooling. Sensors: Smaller Size, Same Performance Digital CMOS Sensors are not immune to the forces of miniaturization either. The challenge with shrinking sensor sizes is to balance imaging quality and performance with smaller pixel

Figure 1: 90 Degree Machine Vision Camera

sizes and more megapixels. By adding more megapixels into a smaller space, the pixel size is reduced. The smaller pixel has less area to receive light and this can have a negative impact on image quality. To solve this problem, Sony invented their Pregius line of CMOS global shutter sensors. With each new Pregius generation, Sony makes improvements to their pixel structure, improving the efficiency of the photodiode and reducing noise by optimizing the internal wiring. These improvements allow for smaller sensors with equal or even greater imaging quality than previous generations. For example, in 2014 Sony released their first Pregius

sensor, the 2.3 MP IMX174. It was a 1/1.2” sensor with a 13.4mm diagonal size and a 5.86um pixel size. Four years later, Sony released a smaller version, the 2.3MP IMX392. It is a 1/2.3” sensor with a 7.8 diagonal size and a 3.45 µm pixel size. Even though that is over a 40% reduction in size, the imaging quality performance remains the same. The smaller size allows Sony to pack more sensor dies on their silicon wafers, reducing overall costs through increased yields. In addition, the smaller sensors allow users to connect smaller, lighter, and more cost-effective lenses such as LUCID’s NF-mount lenses.

Figure 2: Above: Various Phoenix form factors. Space saving form factors allow for a smaller application size or the ability to place more cameras within the same space.

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