QHY9701 is a cooled scientific CMOS camera with GSENSE9701 back illuminated sCMOS sensor. With the characteristics of large pixels, ultra-wide spectrum and low noise

QHY9701

QHY9701 is a cooled scientific CMOS camera with GSENSE9701 back illuminated scientific-level CMOS sensor. The CMOS has a very wide spectral response.

With the characteristics of large pixels, ultra-wide spectrum and low noise, it is suitable for high-end microscopy, micro-optics, biofluorescence and other scientific research fields.

It has 89% peak QE at 610nm. The high, wide response from NIR to UV makes the QHY9701 a perfect camera for spectrum analysis and spectrum imaging systems. The QHY9701 is also an ideal scientific CMOS camera for Fluorescence imaging .

*Please contact QHYCCD about the price.

Overview

QHY9701 is a cooled scientific CMOS camera with GSENSE9701 back illuminated scientific-level CMOS sensor. The CMOS has a very wide spectral response.

With the characteristics of large pixels, ultra-wide spectrum and low noise, it is suitable for high-end microscopy, micro-optics, biofluorescence and other scientific research fields.

With read noise as low as 0.85e-, this camera can capture photons from very dim objects.

Specifications

Model	QHY9701
Sensor	Gsense9701
FSI/BSI	BSI
Mono/Color	Mono Only
Sensor Size	12.493mm x 9.994mm
Effective Pixels	1.3MP
Pixel Sizes	9.76μm x 9.76μm
Resolution	1280 (H) x 1024 (V) Effective 1344 (H) x 1054 (V) Readable
Shutter Type	Eletric Rolling Shutter
Full Well*	48Ke-
Readout Noise*	1.6e- @ HDR mode 0.85e- @ Low Noise mode
Dynamic Range	89.5dB @ HDR
Dark Current*	40/s/p @ 31 oC 0.08e-/s/p @ -28 oC
Peak QE	89% @ 610nm
Max Fps	21fps @ Low noise
	445.5Mbps per lane (Sub-LVDS) 445.5Mbps per lane (MIPI)

Curves

Machanical Dimensions

Brief User Guide

Install “All-In-One” Driver&SDK Pack

Before Start: Input Voltage Requirements

The camera requires an input voltage between 11V and 13.8V. If the input voltage is too low the camera will stop functioning or it may reboot when the TEC power percent is high, causing a drain on the power. Therefore, please make sure the input voltage arrived to the camera is adequate. 12V is the best but please note that a 12V cable that is very long or a cable with small conductor wire may exhibit enough resistance to cause a voltage drop between the power supply and the camera. The formular is: V(drop) = I * R (cable). It is advised that a very long 12V power cable not be used. It is better to place the 12V AC adapter closer to the camera.

First connect the 12V power supply, then connect the camera to your computer via the USB3.0 cable. Make sure the camera is plugged in before connecting the camera to the computer, otherwise the camera will not be recognized. When you connect the camera for the first time, the system discovers the new device and looks for drivers for it. You can skip the online search step by clicking “Skip obtaining the driver software from Windows Update” and the computer will automatically find the driver locally and install it. If we take the 5IIISeries driver as an example (shown below), after the driver software is successfully installed, you will see QHY5IIISeries_IO in the device manager.

Please note that the input voltage cannot be lower than 11.5v, otherwise the device will be unable to work normally.

Install "All-In-One" System Pack

All-in-one Pack supports most QHYCCD models only except PoleMaster and several discontinued CCD cameras.

Download Page: https://www.qhyccd.com/download/

Video Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/embed/mZDxIK0GZRc?start=1

Since most of the contents of All-in-one package are plug-ins that support third-party software, the third-party capturing software that you want to use must be installed before the All-in-one package. Otherwise the program will report an error.
ALL-IN-ONE Pack contains:
- System Driver, which is necessary for the camera operation and must be installed.
- WDM Broadcast Driver, which can provide a live signal to Obs and other live software, you can install it if you have such needs like opeing a live show.
- EZCAP_QT , which is developed by QHYCCD and can be used in QHY devices tests, and management of updates. So even if you won’t use EZCAP_QT for capturing, we suggest you install it.
- Ascom driver, which is necessary for the camera used in Ascom (the latest version of Ascom is 6.6).
- The two sorts of Ascom CFW Drivers correspond to two methods of controling the filter wheel: USB control and camera serial control. It is recommended that both drivers should be installed if you have a filter wheel.
- CP210X_VCP is a serial driver. Some computers come with the driver, but the computer without the driver may be failed of controling the filter wheel.
- SDKs for Third-party Software: Just pick and install the corresponding SDK according to the software you want to use. Don’t forget to check whether the software you are using is 32-bit or 64-bit and select the right SDKs.
- SHARPCAP is also included in the pack, you can choose 32-bit or 64-bit to install. This is authorized by SHARPCAP.
- QT LIB is a plug-in to ensure that 64-bit software can exeuate normally on some computers with poor compatibility.
Difference between Stable version and Beta Version: Beta version is the latest version, which gives priority to support for the latest products (the stable version may not be compatible with those yet), and has some of the latest optimized ,but experimental features. The stable version is older than the beta version but more stable, so it is recommended for beginners who are not using the latest products.
Don’t let the camera connect to the computer during the All-in-one pack installation process; connect it to the computer after all the installation is complete.

Connect DSO Imaging Software (e.g. NINA)

Before using software, make sure you have connected the cooling camera to the 12V power supply and connected it to the computer with a USB3.0 data cable. If it’s an uncooled camera, 12V power is not needed. We recommend 64-bit Software, like SharpCAP x64 , N.I.N.A x64. etc., especially when you’re using 16bit cameras.

In NINA, you can select the device to connect to QHY Camera directly without ASCOM driver.

If connecting to the camera via ASCOM is desired, first make sure you have installed both the QHYCCD ASCOM Drivers and ASCOM Platform. Then you would select the appropriate camera driver under the ASCOM section. Then click the Connect icon. Here we take NINA as an example, but it’s similar to other software packages supporting ASCOM, like MaxDL, The SkyX, etc.

Connect Planetary Imaging Software (e.g. SharpCap)

Launch SharpCap. If the software and drivers mentioned above are installed successfully, the video image will appear automatically about 3 seconds after the software loads. You will also see the frame rate in the lower left corner of the software window as shown below.

If you have already started the SharpCap software before connecting the camera, in order to open the camera, click on the “camera” in the menu bar and then select the device.

Offset adjustment. When you completely block the camera (i.e., like taking a dark frame) you may find that the image is not really zero. Sometimes this will reduce the quality of the image contrast. You can get a better dark field by adjusting the offset. You can confirm this by opening the histogram as indicated in the figure below.

If you want to enter the 16-bit image mode, select the “RAW16” mode.

By selecting the “LX” mode you can expand the exposure setting range and take long exposures.

After cooling devices connected to the 12V power supply, the temperature control circuit will be activated. You can control the CMOS temperature by adjusting the settings in the figure below. Basically, you can control the temperature of CMOS by either adjusting “Cooler Power” or clicking “Auto” and setting “Target Temperature”. You can also see the CMOS temperature at the lower-left corner of the software window.

Camera Maintenance

Drying the camera CMOS chamber

There are holes in the two sides of the camera near the front plate that is normally plugged by a screw with an o-ring. If there’s moisture in the CMOS chamber that causes fog, you can connect the desiccant tube to this hole for drying. There would better be some cotton inside to prevent the desiccants from entering the CMOS chamber.Please note that you may need to prepare desiccants yourself, because for most countries and regions desiccants are prohibited by air transport. Since QHY always deliver your goods by air, sorry that we can’t provide desiccants for you directly.
Cyclic Drying: The front end of the camera body is equipped with two drying interfaces with M5 threads, which are used in conjunction with drying tubes and circulation pumps for drying treatment inside the sensor chamber. The position of the drying interface is indicated by the red circle in the figure below (take the QHY600 as an example):Under the vacuum pump, the gas inside the sensor chamber is drawn out through one drying interface, enters the drying tube, and then undergoes filtration. It is then reintroduced into the camera through the other drying interface, circulating back and forth for drying.
Note:1.Do not reverse the order of the intake and exhaust ports

2.Before circulating drying, it is necessary to turn off the refrigerator, and then turn on circulating drying after the temperature returns to normal temperature. Only by following this step can the water vapor in the sealed chamber be effectively removed. If the cooler is turned on, the cooler inside the camera will absorb water vapor, causing more water vapor to condense inside the camera instead of being absorbed by the desiccant.

Cleaning the CMOS sensor and optical window

If you find dust on the CMOS sensor, you can first unscrew the front plate of the cam and then clean the CMOS sensor with a cleaning kit for SLR camera sensors. Because the CMOS sensor has an AR (or AR/IR) coating, you need to be careful when cleaning. This coating can scratch easily so you should not use excessive force when cleaning dust from its surface.

Preventing fogging of the CMOS chamber

All QHY cooling cameras have built-in heating plates to prevent fogging. However, If the ambient humidity is very high, the optical window of the CMOS chamber may have condensation issues. Then try the following:

1. Avoid directing the camera towards the ground. The density of cold air is greater than of hot air. If the camera is facing down, cold air will be more accessible to the glass, causing it to cool down and fog.

2. Slightly increase the temperature of the CMOS sensor .

3. Check if the heating plate is normally working. If the heating plate is not working, the glass will be very easy to fog, the temperature of the heating plate can reach 65-70 °C in the environment of 25 °C. If it does not reach this, the heating plate may be damaged. Please contact us for maintenance.

TE Cooler Maintenance

Please avoid thermal shock during use. Thermal shock refers to the internal stress that the TE cooler has to withstand due to the thermal expansion and contraction when the temperature of the TEC suddenly rises or falls. Thermal shock may shorten the life of the TEC or even damage it.

Therefore, when you start using the TEC to adjust the CMOS temperature, you should gradually increase the TEC power rather than turning the TEC to maximum power. If the power of the TEC is high before disconnecting the power supply, you should also gradually reduce the power of the TEC and then disconnect the power supply.

QHYCCD BURST Mode

Added functions related to BURST mode in SDK. Currently, cameras that support Burst function include QHY600, QHY411, QHY461, QHY268, QHY6060, QHY4040, QHY4040PRO, QHY2020, QHY42PRO, QHY183A

This mode is a sub-mode of continuous mode. This function can only be used in continuous mode. When this function is enabled, the camera will stop outputting image data, and the software frame rate will be reduced to 0. At this time, send relevant commands to the camera, and the camera will Output the image data with the specified frame number according to the settings, for example, set Start End to 1 6, the camera will output the image data with the frame number 2 3 4 5 when receiving the command.
Note:
1. When using Burst mode in fiber mode, the first Burst shot will be one less. For example, if the start end is set to 1 6, the output of 2 3 4 5 is normal, but in fact, only 3 4 will be output during the first burst shot. 5, 2 will not be received, the second and subsequent shots can normally obtain Burst images 2 3 4 5. This problem will be fixed later.
2. QHY2020, QHY4040 found that the frame number that came out when the exposure time was short is [start+1,end-1] but the one that came out under long exposure was [start+2,end]
3. When the camera is just connected, if the set end value is relatively large, the camera will directly output the picture after entering the burst mode. Therefore, it is necessary to set the camera to enter the IDLE state and then set the start end and related burst operations.

The following is the usage of Burst mode related functions:

1.EnableQHYCCDBurstMode