EMCCD Tutorial
Q4 Does EMCCD technology eliminate noise?
System noise within modern silicon based detectors has two primary sources - dark
current noise and read noise. Read noise can be particularly prevalent, especially
under fast readout conditions (required for faster frame rates). The higher the
noise floor on a detector the less able it is to read out the extremely weak signals
associated with ultra low light imaging. The EMCCD’s ability to multiply weak signals
above the detector’s read noise, by
applying gain, effectively eliminates read noise at any speed by reducing
it to less than 1 electron/p/s. With
enhanced thermoelectric cooling
dark current noise can be reduced to negligible levels. In EMCCDs there is a further
noise source of concern called Clock Induced Charge (CIC) which must also be minimized
through enhanced clocking parameters, in order to harness the absolute ultimate
sensitivity from the technology.