PSP & TSP CAMERAS

Charged coupled device (CCD) cameras are used to acquire images of paint response to pressure or temperature changes. Using the right sensitive scientific camera is paramount to making an accurate measurement with PSP and TSP.

CCD cameras suited for PSP and TSP measurements are characterized by:

• 1. Low Noise
• 2. High Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
• 3. High Linearity
• 4. High Dynamic Range
• 5. High Quantum Efficiency

These characteristics are required to produce high-quality and accurate PSP and TSP data from experiments. Ignoring these factors in a camera will lead to poor results from any PSP or TSP test.

CCD cameras used for PSP are referred to as “interline transfer” CCD cameras. Interline transfer CCD cameras mask every other row of the CCD sensor. After exposure the CCD shifts the charge from the active pixels to the masked pixels and the information is read out to memory or transferred from the camera to an external hard drive on a computer. This transfer to masked pixels is very fast (~1 μs) and eliminates the need for a shutter.

The camera acquires fluorescence from PSP or TSP paints through a long-pass filter and stores or transfers the information for conversion to pressure or temperature using a previously determined calibration of the paint used.