sCMOS (''scientific Complementary Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor'') are a type of

CMOS image sensor An active-pixel sensor (APS) is an image sensor where each pixel sensor unit cell has a photodetector (typically a pinned photodiode) and one or more active transistors. In a metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) active-pixel sensor, MOS field-effe ...

(CIS). These sensors are commonly used as components in specific observational scientific instruments, such as microscopes and telescopes. sCMOS image sensors offer extremely low noise, rapid

frame rate Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images ( frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also ...

s, wide

dynamic range Dynamic range (abbreviated DR, DNR, or DYR) is the ratio between the largest and smallest values that a certain quantity can assume. It is often used in the context of signals, like sound and light. It is measured either as a ratio or as a base- ...

, high quantum efficiency, high resolution, and a large field of view simultaneously in one image.of sCMOS cameras for detection and localization of single Cy5 molecules''
Optics Express, Saumya Saurabh, Suvrajit Maji, and Marcel P. Bruchez, 2012. The sCMOS technology was launched in 2009 during the ''Laser World of Photonics'' fair in Munich. The companies Andor Technology, Fairchild Imaging and PCO Imaging developed the technology for

image sensor An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of c ...

s as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

Technical details

Prior to the introduction of the technology, scientists were limited to using either CCD or EMCCD cameras, both of which had their own set of technical limitations. While back-illuminated electron-multiplying CCD (EMCCD) cameras are optimal for purposes requiring the lowest noise and dark currents, sCMOS technology's higher pixel count and lower cost result in its use in a wide range of precision applications. sCMOS devices can capture data in a global-shutter “snapshot” mode over all the pixels or rectangular subsets of pixels, and can also operate in a rolling-shutter mode.scmos.com
, home page The cameras are available with a monochrome sCMOS image sensors or with RGB sCMOS image sensors. With sCMOS, digital information for each frame is generated rapidly and with an improved low-light image quality. The sCMOS sensor's low read noise and larger area provides a low-noise, large field-of-view (FOV) image that enables researchers to scan across a sample and capture high-quality images. Comparison - sCMOS vs

In practice

The

New York University School of Medicine NYU Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, with the other being the Long Island Schoo ...

uses sCMOS cameras for their research. They were used to study biological molecules and processes in real-time at nanometer scale. Such cameras were also in use in astronomy and

microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of mi ...

Technical details

In practice

See also

References

Further reading