The CCD290 extends e2v’s family of scientific CCD sensors and has been designed to provide a large image area for demanding astronomical and scientific imaging applications. Back-illuminated spectral response combined with very low read-out noise give exceptional sensitivity.
The sensor has an image area having 9216 × 9232 pixels with registers at both top and bottom each with eight outputs for short read-out times. The pixel size is 10 µm square. The image area has two separately connected sections to allow full-frame or split full-frame read-out modes. Depending on the mode, the read-out can be through 8 or 16 of the output circuits. A fixed-barrier dump drain is also provided to allow fast dumping of unwanted data.
The output amplifier is designed to give very low noise at read-out rates of up to 3 MHz. The low output impedance simplifies the interface with external electronics and the optional dummy outputs are provided to facilitate common mode rejection.
