SI-3300RGB   MegaCamera™

3.2 Megapixel, 10-Bit, 40/80MHz

Progressive Scan Digital Camera 

Silicon Imaging Inc.

Silicon Imaging is proud to continue its innovation in high-resolution color vision camera.  Driven by the growing demand for consumer Digital Still Cameras, CMOS sensors are continuing to break technical barriers and surpass the performance characteristics of CCD’s in many photonic, imaging and consumer applications.  By utilizing a single highly integrated CMOS device, which incorporates Megapixel sensing areas, timing generation, signal processing and high bandwidth outputs, Silicon Imaging has developed a very compact, low-power, ultra high speed Megapixel digital camera system.

2048 x 1536 Megapixel (3.2MP) - Ultra Resolution
The SI-3300 is an all-digital ½” format CMOS camera that delivers 3.2 Million pixels of resolution and is capable of running at over 12 frames/second at its full 2048 x 1536 resolution.   The entire package is only 45 x 52 x 50mm (33 x 40mm x 22mm in PCB) and is small enough to placed on a robot for semiconductor machine vision inspection or placed in an outdoor housing for remote surveillance.  It is ideal for live visualization and handheld instrumentation.

10-Bits Sampling – Sub-Pixel Accuracy
The SI-3300 MegaCameraδ uses 10-Bit digitizers to sample the pixel data.  Converting the pixel data directly to digital at the sensor head eliminates pixel-sampling jitter and enables accurate sub-pixel metrology, image analysis and improved live video reconstruction.  A programmable clock which ranges from 20~40Mhz or up to 80MHz with -H version, allows for trade-offs in speed versus exposure time and lower noise. 

Subsampling with Binning – Video Preview
Ideal for high speed preview and focusing, the SI-3300 is capable of generating imagery at over 30 frames per second by reducing the size of the readout image in color subsampling mode, This entire imager is readout by binning 4x4 groups of pixels into 2x2 bayer super pixels with increased sensitivity, less aliasing and faster readout rates.  The camera also supports up to 3x binning and 8x subsampling.  

1000FPS Windowing and 720/1080P HD Modes
A small region of the imager can be readout at frame rates in excess of 1000fps, with speed increasing with reduced vertical and horizontal settings. At 1920 x 1080 and a 75MHz clock the output rate would be 30fps or 1280x720 at 73MHz will be 60fps.  The window size and position can be adaptively changed on frame-by-frame basis.

Automatic Black Level Correction 
The SI-3300 has automatic black level calibration, which measures the average value pixels from two dark rows of the imager for each of the four colors. The pixels are averaged as if they were light sensitive and passed through the appropriate color gain. This average is then digitally filtered over many frames and compared to minimum and maximum acceptable thresholds for automatic correction.

CameraLink Digital Interface - 57.6K Serial Mode
An industry standard forum has adopted Camera Link, for low cost connectivity and cabling of cameras and frame grabbers at very high speeds.  The SI-3300-CL utilizes the high speed CameraLink interface to output 2048 x 1536 10 bit data at 60MHz continuously to a frame grabber and directly into PC memory for further processing.   The single cable includes image data, vertical and horizontal synch, LVDS Triggering and 9600 baud Serial communication. For High-Speed communication, the SI-3300 also has a 57.6kb mode for faster register updates. this camera complies with the standard, it is compatible with many popular frame grabber and image processing hardware devices and fiber-optic extender for extended distance transmission.

 

GigE-Cameralink – Gigabit Ethernet Connectivity

Now you can capture high-speed MegaCamera images to your PC from distance of a 100-meters using CAT-5 wire using the Silicon Imaging GigE-CameraLink Interface.  The GigE-Cameralink captures MegaCamera digital images and transmits them via 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet directly to your PC at speeds over 100MB/sec. 

 

 

 


 

    

  FEATURES  

 

·       2048 x 1536 Resolution (3.2 Million Pixels)

·       1/2” Imaging Format , 5.2um Square Pixel

·       Rolling Shutter, Progressive scan

·       640 x 480 VGA Windowing and Binning at 120fps 

·       1280/30P Video Capture (1280x720 @ 30FPS)

·       10 Bits per Pixel, 48MHz Sampling (Nominal)

·       20 ~ 80MHz Programmable Clock  (– H Version)

·       Programmable Gain, Exposure & Clocks  

·       Global Reset, External Triggering Option  (-T)

·       Auto Black Level Calibration

·       Color Bayer (RGB) Model

·       Custom PCB Version

·       C-Mount Precision Machined Housing   

·       Cameralink (CL) & GigE Remote (GR) Interface  

SI-3300 MegaCamera CameraLink Specifications 

SI-3300 Sensor:

Active Pixels

2.048H  x 1,536V

Optical  Format

1/2”  (6.83mm x 5.45mm)

Pixel Size (pitch)

3.2 ΅m x 3.2 ΅m

Pixel Type

CMOS

Aspect Ratio

1 : 1

Spectral Response

350 ~ 1000 nm

Peak QE

56% Monochrome @ 570nm

Minimum Illumination:

0.3 lux nominal  (SNR  =1, f# = 2.8, exposure = 100ms, daylight)

Responsivity

2.1 V/lux-sec

Dark Current @ 25°C

20 e-/sec

Temporal Noise

10 e-

Saturation Charge

40,000 e-  

SNR >43dB (MAX)

Dynamic range

61 dB

Windowing (ROI)

Horizontal & Vertical speed increase

Sub-sampling

Full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8

Gain MAX

15X, min step size 0.125

Readout Method

Progressive Scan

Black Level

Auto Black Level Calibration

Shutter

Rolling Shutter and Single Frame

Shutter Speed

Variable, 1 to 16383 row times

Horizontal Blanking

244 Clocks/line

Minimum Row Time

548  Clocks (304+ 244 Blanking)

Vertical Blanking

25 Rows (16 min)

A/D Conversion & Sampling Clock Synthesizer

A/D Conversion

Nominal 48Mhz (12fps @ 3.1MP)

Vertical Resolution

10 Bit (Format = 12bit-CL 1-Tap)

Pixel Clock Frequency

20 ~ 60 Mhz Programmable

20 ~ 80 Mhz (-H High-Speed)

Adjustment Method

Serial command Protocol

Mean Black Level

32 Counts

Digital Video Output  

Readout Rate

20 ~ 85Mhz x 12bit format

Readout Format

CL-12 (Duplicated on Ports A, B)

Frame Rate

 1280 x 1024

1280 x 720

640 x 480

320 x 240

200 x200

160 x 120

48MHz

30

43

110

334

407

654

60MHz

38

54

137

417

509

817

Frame Time (default) 1524 x 1050 rows @48MHz = 30fps

 

CameraLink Frame Grabber Control:

Serial Communication

RS-232 Protocol 9600bps (57.6k)

Signaling

TX & RX (LVDS)

Asynchronous Triggers

LVDS – CC1   (-CL)
TTL Trigger-In / Strobe-Out (option)

Region-of–Interest

Programmable Horiz & Vertical

Programmable Modes

Exposure, Gain, Windowing, Clock rates, Auto black, image mirroring.

Gains 
(R,G,B,G & Global)

Individual RGB Gains

Range: 15X, MIN step size 0.125

Setting Timing

Next top of Frame

Ext Clock Sync

Clock in or Clock Out (-X Option)

Power

Input Voltage

+5  VDC +/- 10%

Power

2.5 Watts

Power/Trigger Connection

Tajimi RO3-PB3M 3Pin (-CL)
Tajimi RO3-PB5M 5Pin (-X)

Mechanical

Lens Mount

C-Mount, 7mm Back focus Adj.

Enclosure Size

45mm W x 52mm H x 50mm L

Weight

12 oz.

Camera Mount

Ό” x 20 standard tripod mount

Cable Connector

Cameralink MDR-26

Spectral Response Curve (RGB Model Only)  

 

Command

Clock Rate

MHz

SI-3300 Frame Rate

 

MHz

2048 x 1536

1600 x1200

1920x1080

1280x720

640 x480

320 x240

128 x128

lc306886

20

5

8

8

17

40

122

148

lc30b689

25

7

10

10

21

50

152

185

lc37cb8f

30

8

13

12

25

60

182

222

lc35d40b

35

9

15

14

29

70

213

259

lc306882

40

11

17

16

33

80

243

296

lc35e709

45

12

19

18

37

90

274

333

lc36a20f

48

13

20

19

40

96

292

355

lc34b689

50

13

21

20

41

100

304

370

lc34b688

55

15

23

22

45

110

334

407

lc36cb8f

60

16

25

24

50

120

365

444

lc367307

65

17

27

26

54

130

395

481

lc36ee0f

70

19

29

28

58

140

426

518

lc36f88f

73

19

30

29

60

147

446

542

lc34ae05

75

20

31

30

62

150

456

555

SI-3300 Register Programming

0x00

Chip Version

0x8421 0x8431

 

0x01

 

Row Start

0x000C (12)

(First row to be read out + 12)

 

0x02

Column Start

0x0014

(20)

(First column to be read out + 14)

Register value must be an even number.

0x03

Window Height

0x03FF

(1023)

Window height (number of rows - 1)

Min   = 0x0002.

0x04

Window Width

0x04FF

(1279)

Window width (number of columns - 1)

Register value must be an odd number.

Min = 0x0003

0x05

Horizontal Blanking

0x0013

(19)

Number of extra row blanking clocks + 19

Row Blanking = 244 clocks + (Regx05 –19)

0x06

Vertical Blanking

0x0019 (25)

Number of extra rows added into the vertical blanking period.  Typically used to slow down frame rate and allow time for register updates between images.

0x09

Exposure

0x0419 (1049)

Number of rows of integration

0x0C

Shutter Delay

(Short Exposure)

0x0000

(0)

Number of master clocks times 4 that the sensor waits before asserting the reset for a given row.

0x1E

Subsampling

& Snapshot Mode

0x80xx

(x8000)

0   0   (do not change)

1   0   (do not change)

2   Column Skip 4—default is 0 (disable), 1 = enable.

3   Row Skip 4—default is 0 (disable), 1 = enable.

4   Column Skip 8—default is 0 (disable), 1 = enable.

5   Row Skip 8—default is 0 (disable), 1 = enable.

6   0   (do not change).

7   0   (do not change).

8   Snapshot Mode—default is 0 (continuous mode).1 = enable

     Snaphsot TRIGGER can come from CC-1 or from serial 

      interface command.

0x20

Subsampling 2

& Scan Reversal

0x11xx

(0x1104)

0    No bad frames: 0 (default) = only good frames, 1 = all frames

1    0   (do not change)

2    1   (do not change)

3    Column skip2:  0= normal readout (default),  1= skip by 2

4    Row skip2:       0 = normal readout (default),  1= skip by 2

5    0   (do not change)

6    0   (do not change)

7    Flip Row:  0 = normal, 1= Scan reversal

8    1   (do not change)

0x2B

Green1 Gain

0x0008 (8)

1x gain.

 

 

     Gain             Increments        Settings

1.000 to 4.000        0.125          0x08 to 0x20

  4.25 to 8.00           0.25           0x51 to 0x60

   9.0 to 15.0             1.0            0x61 to 0x67

0x2C

Blue Gain

0x0008 (8)

1x gain.

0x2D

Red Gain

0x0008 (8)  1x gain.

0x2E

Green2 Gain

0x0008 (8)  1x gain.

0x35

Global Gain

 

0x0008 (8)

1x gain.

This register can be used to set all four gains at once. When read, it will return the value stored in Reg0x2B.

 

SI-3300 READOUT MODES

There are three operating modes for the SI-3300 cameras: Continuous, Frame Snapshot and Genlock modes.  Each has its own characteristics shown below

“c”

 Continuous Electronic Rolling Shutter Operation. Return to ERS after an “f” or “g”

“f”

 Arm single frame capture.  Trigger frame capture & readout if already armed.

In Frame snapshop there are 2 methods of Readout

  •   Rolling Shutter Readout -  Reg21 = x0000
  •   Global Reset Readout    -  Reg21 = x0003 (-T Model)

“g”

 Enter Genlock Mode. Use “c” to return to continuous (supported by -H model)

Continuous, Electronic Rolling Shutter (ERS) – “c” Mode

Continuous, rolling shutter mode is the default mode of operation of the camera. The exposure is determined by the delay between two scans of the pixel array and controlled with the shutter width registers, Reg0x08 and Reg0x09. The shutter width is measured in row times. The first scan (shutter) resets each row of pixels in turn, starting the exposure. The second scan (read) stops the exposure by transferring the accumulated charge from each row of pixels to sample/hold capacitors at the foot of the columns and reads the (digitized) values out. When each scan reaches the bottom of the array there follows a blanking period (controlled by the user) after which the scan automatically restarts at the top of the array. Read out is therefore continuous.

Frame Snapshot Mode, with ERS – “f” Mode with ERS

The snapshot mode allows capture of a single frame initiated by an external trigger using CC-1, TTL-Trigger (-T option) or software command (‘f <cr>)’, with the capability of controlling a flash using the Strobe_Out signal.  Each of the rows in the shutter will be reset, as shown in Figure. Just as for continuous mode the exposure is determined by the delay between the scans. However, before the start of the frame, the sensor waits for a trigger before starting the scan. The first (shutter) scan does not start until a rising edge on the TRIGGER signal is seen. The second scan then follows after the shutter width delay. After the end of the frame, the sensor waits for another trigger before restarting the scan. The maximum snapshot rate is limited to half the continuous readout rate.  Note that the exposure (shutter width) is still determined electronically.  

 To return to Continuous ERS Readout mode, send a ‘c’ command.

Frame Snapshot Mode with Global Reset - “f” mode (with Reg21 = x0003)   - T  Model

0x21

Global Reset or ERS Readout Mode

0x0000 (ERS)

or

0x0003 (GR)

Set to x0003 for Global Reset Snaphsot mode - Release all pixels from reset simultaneously (use with flash & mechanical shutter. x0000: for ERS.

Default Mode is conitunous ERS

Note:  Global reset requires model SI3300–T with external trigger cable.

 A further enhancement to the snapshot capability is a global reset mode that enables all pixels to start exposure to the scene simultaneously. Global reset mode is selected by Reg0x21 to x0003 (x0000 is Rolling Shutter).

Global reset mode has to operate with a mechanical shutter to terminate the exposure time or with a strobe with minimum ambient light. Using the global reset feature changes the behavior of the row reset controls. Instead of pulsing, the resets are held on. As the shutter pointer moves through the rows the resets are turned on one by one. When all of the rows have been reset, the exposure is started by releasing them all together.   Exposure is terminated when an external mechanical shutter cuts off the light. Row read out is performed after the exposure is terminated. The strobe can be used to control flash and/or a mechanical shutter to end the exposure of the array prior to readout.

 To enter Snaphshot mode with global Reset:

   ly210003 <cr>              Global Reset Mode

    f  <cr>                           Frame Snapshot Mode

The snapshot is initiated with the CC-1 Trigger, TTL-Trigger (-T option) signal or “f’ frame request command, as in ERS snapshot mode. The array is reset row by row before the sensor waits for the trigger. All of the rows are held in reset until a rising edge is detected on the TRIGGER input, whereupon they are all released at once. At this point every row in the array starts to integrate at the same time. Integration is terminated and the readout started when the internal shutter counter is equal to the shutter width register ([Reg0x08, Reg0x09]). The first active row is read out after the preamble (5 rows), the calibration rows (18 rows) and the dark rows (24 rows), allowing 47 row times for the mechanical shutter to be closed. (Default values).

To return to Continuous ERS, set Reg21 to ERS Readout (x0000) and a “c’

  ly210000 <cr>               Rolling Shutter Mode

  c <cr>                         Continuous Readout

 

Genlock Mode for Stereo Capture – ‘g’ command (-H Model)

For stereo and synchronized multi-camera applications the SI-3300-H models supports a Genlock feature.

 

In normal Frame Snapshot mode, an image can be captured for two cameras simultaneously by triggering the cameras at the same time.  However, this method limits the maximum frame rate to half speed as the exposure and readout do not overlap and require two frame times per image captured.  The first frame time is for Reset and begin exposure.  The second frame time for Readout and completion of exposure. The Genlock mode provides the highest frame rate synchronization possible by allowing overlapping exposure and readout, just like continuous ERS,  while being synchronized to a triggering timebase. 

 

Sending a ‘g’ command arms the camera for Genlock Mode.  Each CC-1 trigger causes the camera to initiate a frame readout.  The camera is left in an armed state, continuing exposure and can be re-triggered at anytime.   New CC-1 triggers can occur immediately after the completion of the current frame readout cycle.   Note: The first frame is improperly exposed and should not be used.  

 

The exposure time should be set to the full frame time for consistent exposures throughout the image.  However, variable exposure times can be used if the Genlock trigger rate matches the normal Frame_Time  set by image height and Vertical Blanking. 

 

The mode is exited by sending a ‘c’ command. 

                      

 

3-PIN POWER & TRIGGER INPUT WIRING (-T)