Digital video camera excels at inspection in UV

A Sony Europe - Image Sensing Solutions product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jul 29, 2004

The XCD-SX910UV is a monochrome, high-resolution digital video camera with ultraviolet (UV) sensitivity.

The XCD-SX910UV is a monochrome, high-resolution digital video camera with ultraviolet (UV) sensitivity.

The XCD-SC910UV camera is an enhanced successor of the industry pioneering XCD-900UV model and extends the sensitivity range further below the 400nm region.

The new camera is designed to capture clear images of minute surface details in applications such as DNA research, forensic detailing, medical skin analysis, surface examination, semi-conductor inspection and food checking.

The XCD-SX910UV video camera incorporates a half-inch-type interline transfer (IT) progressive scan 1,450,000 pixel CCD sensor based on Sony's HAD technology, providing a spectral range of 200 to 1000nm wavelength which provides the ability to catch details which are not detectable with the visible light.

A 10bit output delivers up to 1024 levels of grey, associated with high quality images.

A new firmware design offers the latest developments of IEEE1394 version 1.3 to customers using UV wavelength.

It has been designed with machine vision original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), value added resellers and integrators in mind and is expected to open new markets in medical, research and criminology fields.

With this camera, Sony aims to make IEEE1394 UV cameras accessible to as many customers as possible, and thereby open up the market to customers who were not previously aware of the availability of this type of product.

The XCD-SX910UV also features high-resolution SXGA video format - 1280 x 960.

The camera is easy to configure and use and have been designed for easy integration into machine vision systems.

The high resolution reduces the probability of missing important data thus increasing productivity of inspection systems.

Intended for use with UV lighting systems, the camera can capture fine surface details, including small scratches, dust or blemishes that might not be detected using visible or IR lighting.

When trying to resolve high-magnification images the wavelength of light becomes a significant factor in the sharpness of the detail.

By using light with a small wavelength (ultraviolet) and camera sensitive to it the size of the minimum detail which can be observed is reduced by around two, compared to that when using white or red light.

UV light doesn't penetrate a surface, often a critical characteristic in inspection where the detection of superficial irregularities is crucial.

The camera's UV sensitivity is also useful for glass inspection as glass is clear to visible light, but opaque to UV light.

A variety of convenient features such as partial scan (16 x 16 zones, ROI) and selectable output modes (frame rate/bit depth) make this camera extremely flexible.

Added frame memory gives the XCD-SX910UV the ability to store pictures in the camera and thus provide better use of IEEE 1394 network bandwidth.

The trigger and software control is easy to "plug and play".

It measures just 44 x 33 x 116mm and is housed in a robust package designed to withstand the high shock and vibration found in industrial environments.

The XCD-SX910UV is available now.