Camera, Illumination and Acquisition controller

Block Diagram

Camera and Illumination Controller

On every Camera Trigger event, the Camera and Illumination Controller generates:

  • One single Exsync pulse, having a duration set by the MultiCam parameter Expose_us
  • One single Strobe pulse, having a duration and a position set by the MultiCam parameters StrobeDur and StrobePos.

The width of the Exsync pulse determines the exposure time of the camera. The strobe pulse duration is entirely located within the exposure time interval. Its position, and its duration are defined as a percentage of the exposure time.

Two-line Synchronization Mode

The two-line synchronization mode of the CIAC must be enabled by setting the value ENABLE to the MultiCam Parameter MultiCam Parameter TwoLineSynchronization.

This mode of synchronization ensures that the acquisition gate opens and closes at a line-pair boundary. It provides also the capability to control the "Line Parity" of the camera by means of the TwoLineSynchronizationParity parameter:

  • When set to “EVEN”, the camera line parity of the local camera is such that the camera cycle begins at an even line trigger count boundary.
  • When set to “ODD”, the camera line parity of the local camera is such that the camera cycle begins at an odd line trigger count boundary.

Line Parity Control

The line parity control is composed of three function blocks:

  • Parity Detector
  • Parity Checker
  • Exsync Gate

The "Parity Detector" function block analyzes the FVAL and the LVAL signal of the camera and generates the Camera Line Parity signal. This signal identifies unambiguously the row A and the row B of the image sensor.

The "Parity Checker" function block checks whether the Camera Line Parity signal is as expected according to the "Line Parity" settings.

If the Camera Line Parity is incorrect, the Exsync gate removes the next Exsync pulse. This action restores the appropriate line parity.

Strobe Gating

The Strobe Gate removes one strobe pulse every two. It keeps only, the strobe corresponding to the Exsync cycle where the local camera exposes.

Acquisition Gating

The acquisition gate opens and closes at line-pair boundaries to ensure that buffers always start with a line A and ends with a line B.