Most inspection lines run on uncooled machine-vision cameras, and for many tasks that's the right choice. Some defects, though, are faint, low-contrast or spread over a large area: a dim pixel in a display panel, a weak spot in a solar cell's emission, scattered light from a scratch on a precision optic. For these, the camera's noise floor and dynamic range decide whether a defect is caught or missed. Finger Lakes Instrumentation (FLI) cameras are used in display and solar cell inspection, laser profiling, non-destructive testing and optics quality control. This post covers when a cooled camera makes sense and how to choose one.
Sensor dark current roughly doubles for every 6–7 °C of temperature rise. In short, bright exposures that hardly matters. In long or low-light exposures, dark current adds noise and fixed-pattern structure that can hide the very defects you're looking for. Cooling the sensor well below ambient cuts dark current sharply, so you can:
If your measurement depends on small differences in brightness across a large field, a cooled scientific camera is worth testing.
Display inspection looks for dead or stuck pixels, mura (non-uniform brightness) and color errors across a panel. High resolution lets one image cover a whole panel with several camera pixels per display pixel. Low noise and wide dynamic range make it possible to measure uniformity at low gray levels, where mura is hardest to see. A large sensor with high quantum efficiency, such as the Sony IMX sensors in our Aurora cooled CMOS cameras, captures a large field in a single exposure. The AR411, for example, has a 66.7 mm diagonal and 90% quantum efficiency.
Electroluminescence and photoluminescence imaging show cracks, broken fingers and inactive areas in solar cells and modules. The emitted signal is weak and sits in the near-infrared, so sensitivity at those wavelengths and low noise in long exposures matter. Cooled cameras let you shorten the exposure for line speed, or lengthen it for faint defects, without a noise penalty. When you compare cameras, ask for each model's published quantum efficiency curve and check the response at your emission wavelengths.
Optics makers inspect lenses, windows and coatings for scratches, digs, inclusions and coating non-uniformity, often using scattered-light or interferometric methods. Scatter signals are faint against a bright background, so this calls for wide dynamic range and good linearity. Quantitative accuracy, a core requirement in FLI's scientific work, carries over directly.
Start with the smallest defect you need to see and the area you need to cover:
Our sensor size chart compares sensor formats across the FLI lineup.
Inspection systems are built by integrators and OEMs, so the camera has to slot into an existing machine and software stack. Our Revelation cooled CMOS cameras have a thin profile for compact systems, and every camera ships with our software development kit (SDK) and customer support to ease integration into an OEM design. FLI has delivered over 10,000 cameras to OEMs, so integration projects are familiar ground for our engineering team.
When you scope integration, confirm the data interface and cable length, trigger input from your motion system, the mounting interface, and the operating systems your controller runs. Revelation and Aurora cameras connect over USB 3.0 and have external trigger in and out as standard.
Inspection results depend on your parts, your lighting and your optics, so spec sheets alone rarely settle the choice. A good evaluation plan:
Our sales team can help you plan the test and pick a starting model.
Production lines run for years, and replacing a camera mid-life means requalification. FLI cameras are designed and manufactured in the USA, in Rochester, NY. We machine housings, assemble sensor chambers in our 1,000+ sq ft ISO Class 7 clean room, and test every camera before it ships. See how on our in-house manufacturing page.
Tell us what you're inspecting, the smallest defect, the field and the line speed, and our sales team will suggest a camera and options. Request a quote or email sales@flicamera.com. To see more of where FLI cameras are used, visit our applications page.
