Astronomy / Physics
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AASTRONOMYSTRONOMY / PPHYSICSHYSICS CCATALOGATALOG 22007007 M31 by Adam Block and Tim Puckett, using Alta U9000 and Televue 127is telescope. 11020020 SSundownundown WWay,ay, SStete 115050 RRosevilleoseville CCAA 9956615661 UUSASA ttelel 9916-218-745016-218-7450 ffaxax 9916-218-745116-218-7451 hhttp://www.ccd.comttp://www.ccd.com ©2007 Apogee Instruments Inc. iintrontro ffeaturedeatured pproductsroducts aaltalta & aascentscent cccdcd sselectionelection ccustomerustomer pprofilesrofiles ccustomersustomers iintrontro ffeaturedeatured pproductsroducts aaltalta & aascentscent cccdcd sselectionelection ccustomerustomer pprofilesrofiles ccustomersustomers 11020020 SSundownundown WWay,ay, SStete 115050 HHIGHIGH PPERFORMANCEERFORMANCE RRosevilleoseville CCAA 9956615661 UUSASA FFEATUREDEATURED PPRODUCTSRttelelO 9916-218-745016D-21U8-7C45T0 S CCOOLEDOOLED CCDCCD CAMERASCAMERAS ffaxax 9916-218-745116-218-7451 hhttp://www.ccd.comttp://www.ccd.com A DECADE OF pecifi cation sheets and mechanical ALTA U16M ASCENT A16000 drawings for all Apogee cameras can IMPROVEMENTS S be found at our website, www.ccd.com, or The U16M is partly new product and partly Kodak KAI-16000 There are many technological jumps de- on our Integration Starter Kit CD. Please dramatic change in Kodak’s pricing of an 4872 x 3248 signed into the Altas. But other aspects of contact us to receive your free copy. old standby for huge fi eld-of-view. Kodak 7.4 micron pixels the technology represent refi nement upon has added anti-blooming and microlenses, 36 X 24 mm refi nement over more than a decade. Our maintaining most of the quantum effi ciency 867 mm2 cooling technology, for example, is far ahead of the old U16. Full Well: 40K of the competition, not just because of what it is, but because of what it isn’t. We’ve made Kodak’s newest large format interline transfer mistakes--and survived to apply the lessons U16M U9000 CCD shares the 35mm fi lm format with the learned to improving the product and the Kodak KAF-16803 Kodak KAF-09000 KAI-11002. Smaller pixels are an ideal company as a whole. We continue to refi ne 4096 x 4096 3056 x 3056 THE EVOLUTION OF ALTA match for large fi elds of view on shorter focal not just our electronics and our mechanical 9 micron pixels 12 micron pixels length telescopes. AND ASCENT designs, but also our procedures, our docu- 36.9 x 36.9 mm 36.7 x 36.7 mm mentation, our customer recordkeeping. It’s 1359 mm2 1346 mm2 Since 1993, Apogee Instruments has quite an accomplishment to manufacture and Full Well: 85K Full Well: 110K been supplying cooled CCD cameras to sell thousands and thousands of cameras, but astronomers around the world. Our cameras VdB14 by Tim Puckett / Adam Block, using unless they are robust, the result is a customer Alta U9 camera and Takahashi 180 scope. are now used in more than 50 countries, service tsunami. HIGHEST QUANTUM from world-class professional observatories In our effort to improve our process, we’ve EFFICIENCY BACK- ALTA U9000 to backyard domes where “amateurs” add WE HONOR OUR ROOTS achieved the following benchmarks: For those with medium focal lengths, the new discovery after discovery every day. Over ILLUMINATED CCDs · FCC compliance Astronomy is the foundation of our business. 12 micron format is a great fi t for large fi eld the years, we have kept track of every You’ll see us in Sky&Telescope, in Physics · CE compliance of view. The U9000 also sports twice the suggested improvement that we could add Today, and at American Astronomical Society · ROHS compliance ALTA U42 2048 x 2048 full well capacity of the interline 11000, high- to the cameras to bring our technology to meetings. And you’ll see new astronomy · ISO-9000 compliance (in process) er quantum effi ciency, and much lower dark the next level. We have packed Alta and products added all the time: see page 2. U42 current. The 300X anti-blooming is ideal for Ascent with as much of your wish lists as Our cameras have been used for high-end E2V CCD42-40 DIVERSITY ADDS astronomical applications like capturing the astrophotography. possible. With Alta, we aimed at the highest 2048 x 2048 fi rst images of optical counterparts of gamma performance; with Ascent, we aimed at STRENGTH ray bursts, plus thousands of discoveries of 13.5 micron pixels Alta cameras integrate the best of the best in higher speeds and more accessible pricing. comets, near-Earth asteroids, and extra-solar 27.6 x 27.6 mm imaging components: from back-illuminated planets. But they have also been used for the 764 mm2 CCDs to front-illuminated CCDs to interline detection of fi ngerprints; x-ray inspection of Full Well: 100K transfer CCDs. We know their strengths and car parts; fl uorescent imaging of cell tissues; weaknesses from fi rst-hand experience. We munitions testing, laser beam profi ling, ALTA U47 1024 x 1024 can guide you to the best trade-offs between Raman spectroscopy; poacher surveillance, E2V CCD47-10 price and performance--or we can show you mammography; optics testing, and searching Ascent A16000 Camera 1024 x 1024 the best of the best if you’re done with com- for a lower-cost means to detect anthrax. 13 micron pixels promise... By expanding into other markets with ASCENT A4000 other demands, Apogee has had to confront 13.3 x 13.3 mm Image courtesy Dr. David Rapaport, UCSD. many technological hurdles that were not 177 mm2 Kodak KAI-4021 previously considered to be “astronomical” Full Well: 100K 2048 X 2048 problems. For example, life science markets 7.4 micron pixels want SPEED....but as it turns out, our Back-illuminated CCDs have long been the 15.2 X 15.2 mm astronomical customers were quite frustrated ideal research instruments of the astronomy 230 mm2 with long readout times. Improvements community. Their exceptional sensitivity Full Well: 40K created for life science turned out to be best and low readout noise make them ideal for sellers in astronomy. Less time waiting for minimizing exposure time and maximizing This Kodak CCD has long been a popular readout means more images per precious signal-to-noise in low light applications like CCD for life science applications. High cloudless night. Ascentscent astronomy. Blue boxes are actual size of imaging CCD volume there has driven down its costs, and ©2007 Apogee Instruments Inc. Alta is a registered Specifi cations subject to change without notice. imaging area. For comparison, this is the size made it an exceptional value for its resolu- trademark of Apogee Instruments Inc. of a Kodak KAF-0402ME: tion. Like its larger cousin the KAI-16000, the smaller pixels are an ideal match for Apogee Instruments Inc. www.ccd.com www.ccd.com shorter focal lengths. intro featured products aaltalta & aascentscent ccd selection customer profiles customers intro featured products aaltalta & aascentscent ccd selection customer profiles customers AALTALTA vversusersus AASCENTSCENT SSERIESERIES CCAMERASAMERAS The primary differences between the Alta and Ascent Series cameras: Alta is larger, with better cooling, and lower noise Ascentscent electronics. Ascent is very compact with much lower costs, much faster digitization, and programmable gain. See the chart below for an overview of the differences. See camera data sheets to get details of a specifi c model. Apogee Instruments Inc. Feature Alta Ascent Digitization Fast 12 and slower 16 bit 16 bit, programmable speed LOWER COSTS Maximum throughput Up to 7 Mpixels/sec (Note 1) Up to 20 Mpixels/sec (Note 1) Many applications can achieve excellent Dual channel interline readout N/A Standard results without the ultimate in cooling or low Maximum cooling 55C below ambient (Note 2) 40C below ambient (Note 2) readout noise. The Ascent is an ideal solution for many applications where several thousand Programmable gain N/A Standard dollars may be more important than a few USB2 interface Standard Standard electrons. Ethernet 100baseT interface Optional N/A There are many factors to consider when choosing a CCD camera: cost, resolution, LLOWOW RREADOUTEADOUT NNOISEOISE Electromechanical shutter Standard, internal (Note 3) Optional, external (Note 4) speed, noise, cooling, sensitivity, housing Vane shutter N/A Standard, internal (Note 5) Alta’s readout electronics were designed to size. Other features may contribute to a HHIGHERIGHER TTHROUGHPUTHROUGHPUT minimize readout noise. The higher speed Programmable fan speed Standard N/A system’s overall suitability, but most of software-selectable 12-bit mode is intended Ascent was designed to operate at speeds these features are shared by the Alta and Field upgradeable fi rmware Standard Standard for focussing, and not optimized for low up to the maximum allowed by USB2. Ascent. In general, consider the following Chamber window Fused silica BK7 (optional fused silica) noise. Digitization speed is programmable so you key requirements to determine the optimal can choose your ideal trade-off between Peripheral communications Two serial COM outputs N/A platform: AADVANCEDDVANCED CCOOLINGOOLING speed and noise. All speeds digitize at a full General purpose I/O port Standard Standard 16 bits. Alta: To maximize heat dissipation, Alta’s large Programmable LEDs Standard Standard Low readout noise inner chamber, back plate, and heatsinks are Power input 12V 6V machined from a single block of aluminum. Maximum cooling Internal memory 32 Mbytes 32 Mbytes Back-illuminated CCDs The four fans have four programmable Wide variety of CCDs Yes Yes Very large format CCDs speeds. CCOMPACTOMPACT HHOUSINGOUSING Optional ethernet interface The Ascent’s smaller, more lightweight External triggering Standard Standard BBACK-ILLUMINATEDACK-ILLUMINATED CCCDsCDs housing fi ts in many places that the larger Image sequences Standard Standard Ascent: Alta cannot. For smaller scopes where Hardware binning Up to 8 x height of CCD Up to 4 x height of CCD Low cost Back-illuminated CCDs are much more weight at the end of the tube may be an issue, Subarray readout Standard Standard High speed readout expensive than front illuminated CCDs, so the Ascent may be a more suitable platform.