The merits of CCD and CMOS technology

in gel documentation applications

_ Steve Chambers, CEO, Atik Cameras

Summary
Gel Documentation equipment manufacturers and their suppliers are facing a choice
whether to continue using cameras with CCD sensors or to switch to CMOS. This is in part
precipitated by On-Semi discontinuing CCD production in 2020 and Sony following in 2025.
We feel that currently CMOS cameras perform less well in this application so there is no
immediate reason to change to CMOS today. Looking forward to a time when Sony CCD
are not available we would predict a move to CMOS sensors rather than research grade
CCD which are likely to still be manufactured. In this paper we describe the application,
relevant features of the sensor technology and explain our reasoning.

Introduction
Gel Documentation equipment is a standard piece of laboratory hardware used to record
the end point in a range of analytical methods used in life science. This measurement can
be simply taking a picture to document the result through to quantification of fluorescence
or chemi luminescence (CL) end points. For the former a simple high resolution image is
enough, while for the latter the object is so dim that high sensitivity is required from the
camera. This can be achieved by extending the exposure time to several minutes and by
binning pixels to improve sensitivity at the expense of resolution. This can be justified as
detecting a result can be more important than recording fine high resolution information.

Most digital Gel Documentation systems capable of imaging CL subjects use cooled CCD
cameras. The CCD was developed 50 years ago and represents a very mature technology.
It is very good at imaging static objects using long exposures as the sensor can be put into
a very low energy exposure mode minimising dark current. Additionally the sensors can use
analogue binning effectively changing their pixel size. So the same camera can take a high
resolution image of a bright subject and a more sensitive lower resolution of a dimmer one.

The newer CMOS image sensors are increasingly replacing CCD in most applications.
Advantages of the CMOS sensor includes:

w Low read noise

w Cost
w High speed read out
Disadvantages of the new technology are:

w Inability to analogue bin

w Typically higher dark current
Most applications have embraced the advantages CMOS offers and it is now the preferred
technology in devices including digital cameras, mobile phones and automotive. This has
decreased the requirements for CCD and the manufacturing plants are being
decommissioned. Gel Doc systems often use Sony CCD sensors, these will become
unavailable in 2025. In the next section we will consider some alternatives.

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Comparison of a camera using a Sony CCD to alternatives
For our reference camera we have selected the Atik VS814. This is a 9MP cooled CCD
camera using a Sony sensor.

We compare this with prototype Atik cameras using the IMX428 (7MP CMOS) and
IMX304(12MP CMOS). For an example of a CCD sensor which should be available beyond
2025 we have chosen the e2V 42-40 (4MP CCD). The performance of this sensor is based on
specifications obtained from its datasheet.

Characteristics of the 4 different sensors

Sensor Type Pixel size MP Read

noise
ICX814 CCD 3.64 9 4
IMX 428 CMOS 4.5 7 3
IMX 304 CMOS 3.45 12 3
e2V CCD 13 4 3

Comparison of Signal to Noise

The most demanding use of the camera is during CL imaging. Here sensitivity is most
important and can be measured by signal to noise ratios. The signal is the amount of photons
falling on a pixel and is just effected by the pixel sizes in this analysis (we ignore differences in
quantum efficiency as these have a more minor effect). The noise (at low signal levels) is the
read noise of the camera. As has been mentioned CCD cameras can combine signal from
adjacent pixels and digitise without adding additional read noise. The CMOS cameras can
only use this technique after digitisation. In this case the signal is the sum of signal in the pixels
while the noises adds in quadrature (see glossary).

The table below contains signal to noise estimates for the cameras used at different binning
levels. High values are good.

Signal to noise ratio

Sensor Binning level
1x1 2x2 4x4 8x8
ICX814 3 13 53 212
IMX 428 7 14 27 54
IMX 304 4 8 16 32
e2v 56 225 901 3605

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Because of the low read noise of the CMOS cameras their performance at 1x1 binning is
better than the Sony CCD. The e2V sensor is much better than all the others due to its much
bigger pixels that will collect more photons.

Concentrating just on the Sony sensors. At 2x2 binning the IMX428 camera is just as good as
the Sony CCD while the IMX304 with smaller pixels starts to lose out. Considering 4x4 binning
the Sony CCD has roughly twice the S/N of the IMX428 CMOS. We are not sure if 8x8 binning is
routinely used in Gel Doc applications as the spatial resolution is getting very low to the point
where images will start to look blocky. But at 8x8 binning the IMX428 has one quarter of the
sensitivity of the ICX814.

Due to the size of the e2v pixels it would be more appropriate to compare the e2v
1x1 binned with the 4x4 binned Sony CCD in this analysis. Here their performance is close.
The 4MP e2v CCD was chosen for this comparison as we felt was a minimum resolution
to produce publishable results. Sensors from e2v have a much larger pixel size than is
typically used in Gel Doc. This makes the whole sensor larger and will require a different
lens than would be in use on the other sensors compared.

Impact of Dark Signal on exposure times

Dark signal is expressed as electrons per pixel per second at a given temperature. The noise
or uncertainty associated with this signal is expressed in electrons.

To get a feel for the impact of dark signal noise on an image, we estimate the amount of
time it takes for this dark noise equal the read noise. Ideally we would not want to go above
this time for individual exposures as the noise on an image and the cameras sensitivity would
be dominated by dark signal noise.

Sensor Dark signal @-10°C Time for dark

e/s/p noise=RN /min
ICX814 0.001 267
IMX 428 0.06 3
IMX 304 0.04 4
E2V tbd

One of the benefits of CCD is their extremely low dark current meaning the associated dark
current noise rarely needs to be taken into account. As the table shows the exposure times for
the Sony CMOS sensors is best kept in the low number of minutes. We are currently
working on novel ways of using these sensors to decrease dark current further and thus
increase exposure times.

The e2v CCD sensor can be placed in a low dark current mode and would be expected
to have dark current between that of the CMOS and the Sony CCD after pixel size is taken
into account.

In considering alternatives to the Sony CCD we need to take into account price. The
cameras using the IMX sensors are a similar price to the ICX CCD camera (~ 2500 Euros).
A camera based on the e2V sensor would be about ten times this price (~25000 Euro).

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Conclusion
At the moment we do not see a compelling reason to switch from CCD to CMOS sensors in
Gel Documentation applications. After the Sony line of CCD sensors becomes unavailable
the choice will be between comparably priced and sized CMOS sensors and larger more
expensive research grade CCDs. The current Sony CMOS cameras can return similar
performance to current CCD cameras as long as very high level of binning or very long
individual exposures are avoided. To get the best performance out of the CMOS camera in
Gel Doc its worth choosing a CMOS with larger pixels as, even though the highest resolution
will be adversely affected, the sensitivity will be better.

To use research grade CCD cameras in Gel Documentation applications would require
a significant redesign of systems due to the larger sensors requiring different lenses and
probably larger distances between camera and sample. These systems would be
significantly more expensive than CMOS based systems but would offer the highest levels of
performance in CL.

We suspect there will be little development in Gel Doc over the next year or so but
manufacturers and cameras suppliers need to be ready to react in order to prepare the
instruments needed in the post Sony & ON Semi CCD era.

Glossary
Binning
The process of adding neighbouring pixels together to create a single super pixels. A binning level
of 2x2 will add 4 pixels together and 4x4 will add 16. The CCD sensors can do this process natively
making it an excellent method to increase signal without adding read noise. CMOS sensors are
currently unable to bin pixels in the same way CCDs can. Binning in CMOS images is equivalent to
combining both signal and read noise.
Read Noise
Is the noise or uncertainty of measuring nothing. If we adjust the offset of a camera so that with
no signal we expect to get a value of 100 units. One time we will measure 95, the next 102 and
so on. This uncertainty is due to electronic noise in the camera and limits the cameras sensitivity.
Cameras with low noise generally have better sensitivity and can detect fainter objects.
Dark Signal
When a sensor is left in exposure mode in the dark it will accumulate some signal even though it
is receiving no photons from outside. In CCDs the origin of this signal is from energetic electrons
within the substrate of the sensor. The amount of the signal is related to the temperature of the
sensor and roughly halves for every 8 degrees drop in temperature. In CMOS sensors there can
also be a non-temperature related component originating from electronic circuits on the sensor.
Dark Signal Noise
As with real signal corresponding to the image, we have noise associated with the dark signal.
This is proportional to the square root of the Dark Signal and adds to the other sources of noise in
an image.
Quadrature
The method used to combine uncertainties. The result is the square root of the sum of the squares.

Unit 8 Lodge Farm Barns, Norwich, Norfolk, NR9 3LZ, UK. www.atik-cameras.com

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