ORCA-Fire Digital CMOS camera C16240-20UP

Elemental for Discovery

The ORCA-Fire intelligently integrates all the essential elements of a high performance, back-thinned, scientific CMOS (sCMOS) camera. The camera’s excellence is rooted in Hamamatsu’s dedication to low noise and high quantum efficiency sCMOS technology. With the ORCA-Fire, high sensitivity is realized while also achieving excellent resolution and blazing fast speeds. The ORCA-Fire shines when the science demands high throughput but the sample can only deliver a few photons.

Will the ORCA-Fire spark your next discovery?

ORCA is a registered trademark of Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (China, EU, Japan, UK, USA).

Catalog 5.5 MB/PDF

Highlight Specs
SMALL PIXELS, BIG RESOLUTION
HIGH QE & LOW NOISE
SELECT YOUR SPEED
EXPAND YOUR VISION
Lightsheet : SPECIALIZED FOR THE SPECIALIST
Lightsheet : SYNCHRONIZE IN ANY DIRECTION
PC recommendations
Software
Specifications
Dimensions
Instruction manual

Highlight Specs

LOW NOISE

1.0 electrons rms (115 frames/s)

HIGH QE

86 % @460 nm (Back illuminated CMOS)

HIGH RESOLUTION

4432 (H) × 2368 (V) (Pixel size 4.6 μm)

HIGH SPEED

115 frames/s (@4432(H)×2368(V) 10.5 Mpixels)

LARGE FIELD OF VIEW

20.4 mm × 10.9 mm (Diagonal 23.114 mm)

HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE

1 : 20 000 (Full well capacity 20 000 electrons)

SMALL PIXELS, BIG RESOLUTION

Optimize your optics to maximize resolution

Low mag imaging (<40×) offers the advantage of large field of view, which can be critical for high throughput applications. To acquire low mag images with maximum information, the imaging system must achieve high resolution by matching pixel size to Nyquist-level or higher sampling rates. The pixel size of the ORCA-Fire is ideal for most 40× objectives or lower (see chart below). The ORCA-Fire’s high spatial resolution combined with a large pixel array and high speed readout delivers 2.9× higher pixel throughput over even the fastest 4.2 MP 6.5 μm sCMOS camera.

Example of appropriate pixel size of sensor according to objective lens magnification and NA

Magnification	NA	δ (μm)	Δ (μm)	Appropriate pixel size (μm)
4	0.16	2.10	8.4	4.2
10	0.4	0.84	8.4	4.2
20	0.8	0.42	8.4	4.2
40	1.4	0.24	9.6	4.8
40	0.95	0.35	14.1	7.1
60	1.42	0.24	14.2	7.1
100	1.5	0.22	22.4	11.2

* Rayleigh criterion (δ) = 0.61λ / NA

* Wavelength (λ) = 550 nm

* Δ = δ × Magnification of objective lens

Comparison of image quality at different pixel sizes

Comparison of image quality

HIGH QE & LOW NOISE

Realize high sensitivity without sacrifice

The ORCA-Fire uses advanced back-thinned technology with micro-lenses to achieve high quantum efficiency. Combined with readout noise of 1.0 e- rms, the ORCA-Fire continues Hamamatsu's trend of providing sCMOS cameras that offer paramount sensitivity at all light levels.

Quantum efficiency and Wavelength map

Readout noise distributions map

Deep trench structure and backthinning

High QE is a fundamental expectation and a critical component of high sensitivity imaging. Achieving high QE through sensor backthinning seems straightforward however there are nuances in backthinned sensor design that can impact image quality. In conventional back-illuminated detectors, crosstalk occurs between pixels due to poor pixel separation within the active region of the silicon, impairing resolution independent of pixel size. Our engineers implemented a deep trench pixel structure in the ORCA-Fire that prevents pixel crosstalk and improves resolution.

What is a trench structure?

Trench structure

Measurement result of MTF

SELECT YOUR SPEED

Every ORCA-Fire has CoaXPress and USB connectivity

Readout speed (frames/s)

Readout Mode		Area Readout Mode
Scan Mode		Standard scan
X(pixels)	Y(pixels)	CoaXPress	USB3.1 Gen I (16 bit)	USB3.1 Gen I (8 bit)
4432	2368	115	15.7	31.5
4432	2304	118	16.2	32.4
4432	2048	132	18.2	36.5
4432	1024	264	36.4	72.8
4432	512	524	72.3	144
4432	256	1020	143	286
4432	128	1980	279	558
4432	8	15 200	2360	5260
4432	4	19 500	3960	7200

Readout speed (frames/s) at 2×2 binning

Readout Mode		Area Readout Mode
Scan Mode		Standard scan
X(pixels)	Y(pixels)	CoaXPress	USB3.1 Gen I (16 bit)	USB3.1 Gen I (8 bit)
2216	1184	115	63.1	115
2216	1152	118	64.9	118
2216	1024	132	73	132
2216	512	264	145	264
2216	256	524	289	524
2216	128	1020	572	1020
2216	64	1980	1110	1980
2216	4	15 200	10 500	15 200
2216	2	19 500	13 600	19 500

Mega pixels per second

EXPAND YOUR VISION

Field of view comparison

With 4432 (H) × 2368 (V) pixels, the ORCA-Fire can effectively utilize a 22 mm microscope field of view.

Field view comparison

Lightsheet : SPECIALIZED FOR THE SPECIALIST

Lightsheet readout mode reduces scattered light effects

Researchers are increasingly turning to fluorescence lightsheet microscopy to study biological processes in living cells and organisms and to capture stunning 3D resolution of cleared tissue. There are many flavors of lightsheet microscopy but generally the sample is illuminated orthogonally using a “sheet” of light. This sheet is then scanned across the sample to obtain optical cross-sectional images that can be reassembled into full 3D renderings. The ORCA-Fire implements Hamamatsu’s patented lightsheet readout mode. In this mode, the lightsheet is synchronized with readout of the sensor, reducing the impact of scattered light and effectively improving image quality and signal to noise.

Result of lightsheet readout function

Lightsheet readout mode frame rates (frames/s)

Readout Mode		Lightsheet Readout Mode
Scan Mode		Standard scan
X(pixels)	Y(pixels)	CoaXPress	USB3.1 Gen I (16 bit)	USB3.1 Gen I (8 bit)
4432	2368	114	15.7	31.5
4432	2304	117	16.2	32.4
4432	2048	132	18.2	36.5
4432	1024	263	36.4	72.8
4432	512	518	72.3	144
4432	256	1000	143	286
4432	128	1900	279	558
4432	8	11 400	2630	5260
4432	4	13 600	3690	7200

sCMOS lightsheet readout mode comparison

Effective pixel numbers (H)×(V)	Readout speed (frames/s)
Effective pixel numbers (H)×(V)	ORCA-Fire (CoaXPress)	ORCA-Fusion	ORCA-Flash4.0 V3
4432 × 2368	114	-	-
2304 × 2304	117	88.9	-
2048 × 2048	132	100	49
1024 × 1024	263	199	99
512 × 512	518	396	196
256 × 256	1000	784	384
128 × 128	1900	1540	738

Interface: CoaXPress/Camera Link

Image capture mode: Internal synchronous mode

The ORCA-Fire, in lightsheet readout mode, delivers 2.5× more pixels per second that even the fastest low noise sCMOS camera.

Lightsheet : SYNCHRONIZE IN ANY DIRECTION

Bidirectional readout eliminates lag between frames

In the ORCA-Fire, lightsheet readout has four distinct operational modes: forward, backward, bidirectional and reverse bidirectional. In forward mode the readout begins at the top and progresses to the bottom of the sensor. In backwards mode, the readout is initiated from the bottom and ends at the top. Bidirectional mode begins with forward readout in the first frame and switches to backwards readout in the next frame, continuing this alternating pattern frame by frame. As the name suggests, backwards bidirectional mode, begins with the bottom to top backwards readout in the first frame and switches to top to bottom in the next and so on. Both bidirectional modes were implemented to avoid the lag time required to return to the lightsheet to the top or bottom of the sensor for the next frame.

Lightsheet Forward mode

Lightsheet Backward

Lightsheet Bidirectional mode

Lightsheet Reverse Bidirectional mode

PC recommendations

With the introduction of the ORCA-Fire, users are now able to stream 10 megapixel images to their computers 115 frames per second. The computer recommendations for this high data rate can be met by using the guidelines listed this PC Recommendations for ORCA-Fire.

PC Recommendation for ORCA-Fire / Quest2 / FusionBT / Fusion.pdf [588 KB/PDF]

Software

Our software provides the interface to access all of our carefully engineered camera features, from simply setting exposure to orchestrating complex triggering for multidimensional experiments.

Specifications

Product number	C16240-20UP
Imaging device	Scientific CMOS image sensor
Effective number of pixels	4432 (H)×2368 (V)
Pixel size	4.6 μm×4.6 μm
Effective area	20.387 mm×10.892 mm
Full well capacity	20 000 electrons (Typ.)
Readout speed^*1	Full resolution, CoaXPress : 115 frames/s Full resolution, USB 3.1 : 15.7 frames/s Vertical 4 line, CoaXPress : 19 500 frames/s Vertical 4 line, USB 3.1 : 3690 frames/s
Readout noise	1.0 electrons (rms), 0.9 electrons (median)
Quantum efficiency	86 % (peak QE) (Typ.)
Exposure time	7.309 μs to 10 s (7.309 μs step)
Cooling method	Peltier cooling
Cooling temperature	Forced-air cooled (Ambient temperature: +25 °C) + 20 °C
Dark current	0.6 electrons/pixel/s (Typ.)
Dynamic range^*2	20 000 : 1 (rms) , 22 000 : 1 (median)
Sensor mode	Area readout , Lightsheet readout
External trigger function	Area readout mode : Edge trigger , Global reset edge trigger , Level trigger , Global reset level trigger , Sync readout trigger , Start trigger Lightsheet readout mode : Edge trigger , Start trigger
External trigger signal	External input (SMA)
External trigger level	TTL/3.3 V LVCMOS level
External trigger delay function	0 μs to 10 s (1 μs step)
External output signal	Global exposure timing output , Any-row exposure timing output ,Trigger ready output , Programmable timing output High output , Low output
External output level	3.3 V LVCMOS level
Interface	CoaXPress (Quad CXP-6) / USB 3.1 Gen 1
A/D converter	16 bit , 8 bit
Lens mount	C-mount
Power supply	AC 100 V to AC 240 V, 50 Hz/60 Hz, 2.5 A
Power consumption	100 VA
Ambient operating temperature	0 °C to +40 °C
Ambient storage temperature	-10 ℃ to +50 ℃
Ambient operating humidity	30 % to 80 % or less (With no condensation)
Ambient storage humidity	90 % or less (With no condensation)

※1 Using frame bundle function by DCAM-API^Ⓡ

※2 Calculated from the ratio of the full well capacity and the redout noise

Dimensions

c16240-20up dimensional outline

Instruction manual

Instruction manual [2.0 MB/PDF]

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