New line scan image sensors enable higher throughput

Offered in versions with 10K and 15K resolutions, the 4LS image sensors feature four Red/Green/Blue/Clear channels scanning at up to 120,000 lines per second. The 4LS series offers the system designer flexibility to meet various application requirements. Each of the four lines may be independently controlled and operated simultaneously for full-color image capture. Camera manufacturers can also implement 4:1 digital TDI (Time Delay and Integration) to achieve high image quality in low lighting conditions, or to perform high-speed object inspection.

In addition, the sensors offer the choice of either an 8-bit or 12-bit LVDS output to provide the most appropriate trade-off between image quality and speed. Full well-charge options range from 10 ke- to 40 ke- to enable use in a wide range of illumination conditions.

The introduction of new faster, higher-resolution line scan image sensors creates a new opportunity for industrial-camera manufacturers and machine-vision system developers to add value to their products by enabling higher throughput and more effective optical inspection in applications such as: print inspection; continuous-surface and web inspection; food sorting and quality control; dis-play inspection; and glass inspection. 

Peter Vandersteegen, Segment Marketing Manager at ams, said: “ams has built a strong market position and an enviable reputation in the field of line scan image cameras with ams Dragster sensors. Now the launch of the 4LS image sensors provides designers of line scan image cameras a new option to increase scanning speeds and to support improved full-color image reproduction.”

Machine vision encompasses a wide range of applications in factory automation, Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC), volume and distance measurement, motion analysis, intelligent transportation systems, and document scanning. In addition to the Dragster and new 4LS line scanning sensor products, ams offers several product families addressing an ongoing need for various machine-vision applications and use cases in 1D/2D/3D. A more recent application is the vision of the environment for ever more complex autonomous robots and cobots. 

“ams is a leader for VCSEL-based illuminators and high quantum efficiency NIR image sensors,” added Pierre Laboisse, Executive Vice President Global Sales and Marketing, ams. “This equipment benefits from accurate 2D, and ideally 3D visualisations of the environment and object to be worked with. Near infrared illumination, both with flood- and high-contrast dot illuminators, combined with sensitive NIR image sensors enables compact, cost effective, and high-performance 3D systems immune to uncontrolled illumination conditions.”

The 4LS line scan image sensor is supplied as a Chip-on-Board (CoB) module mounted on a mechanically robust and thermally stable Invar package. The PCB interfaces of the 4LS 10K and 4LS 15K are fully compatible and interchangeable, allowing line scan camera manufacturers to build a family of products with different resolutions. 

Pixel size in the new 4LS line scan image sensors is 5.6µm x 5.6µm. Dynamic range is up to 54dB, and quantum efficiency is 61% at 530nm.  ams continues to supply the Dragster series of line scan image sensors, which are available in single-line and two-line versions, and with resolution ranging from 2K to 16K.

The four-line 4LS line scan sensors are in volume production and are available for ordering via ams authorised distribution partners.