e2v Improves EMCCD

e2v (Chelmsford, UK), Princeton Instruments (Trenton, USA) and Photometrics (Tucson, USA) jointly announce the launch of new eXcelon back illuminated CCD and Electron Multiplication CCD (EMCCD) detector technology.

The eXcelon sensors provide photon detection capabilities across a wide spectrum; from 200nm to 1100nm with enhanced sensitivity in the blue to NIR region. In addition, the eXcelon back illuminated sensors significantly reduce problematic etaloning – or the appearance of fringes due to constructive and destructive interference in the back thinned silicon when imaged in NIR region (750-1100nm). In the past, users interested in the NIR had to resort to using front illuminated or back illuminated deep depletion CCDs. However, each have unique drawbacks – front illuminated sensors have 2 to 3 times lower sensitivity; deep depletion devices have 100 times dark current which ultimately limits their usability. In contrast, eXcelon sensors do not increase dark current and boast ~90% quantum efficiency, while countering the etaloning.

Princeton Instruments also has a white paper presenting new BSI CCD advantages.

Incidentally, Ireland-based Andor Technology too presents BSI EMCCD camera with enhanced blue sensitivity: "Until now, back-illuminated EMCCD cameras have been made widely available only with a ‘mid-band’ anti-reflection (AR) coating, which results in a Quantum Efficiency curve that is optimized for the green/red wavelength range. However, some applications specifically require superior sensitivity performance in the wavelength region below 450nm for which iXon+ Blue is specifically optimized." It's not clear if Andor uses older or new BSI EMCCD device.