MicroPython and linear ccd sensor

General discussions and questions abound development of code with MicroPython that is not hardware specific.
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Chemist
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:25 pm

MicroPython and linear ccd sensor

Post by Chemist » Sat Oct 24, 2015 7:54 pm

Hello,

I hope you all are doing well today. I made a detector using Pyboard and some sensors but unfortunately the resolution that my detector generates is quite low, so I decided to improve that by using a more complex sensor. I am wondering if it is possible to connect and read the data from a linear ccd sensor(for example http://pdf.dzsc.com/TCD/TCD132.pdf or http://www.hamamatsu.com/resources/pdf/ ... d1119e.pdf) using Pyboard? I tried to find some info how to connect these type of sensors to other devices but I couldn't find a complete tutorial. So, I would highly appreciate if someone gives advices/suggestions how to connect a ccd sensor to Pyboard.

Thank you for your time.

blmorris
Posts: 348
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 3:43 pm
Location: Massachusetts, USA

Re: MicroPython and linear ccd sensor

Post by blmorris » Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:17 pm

While I haven't ever used that kind of CCD sensor, a quick read through the links you provided suggests that the power supply and interface requirements are relatively complicated - the Toshiba part requires a 12V supply for the sensor portion and 5V TTL logic for the interface. The Hamamatsu part seems to require several tightly regulated positive and negative voltages, though I'm not really sure from a quick read of the data sheet and I haven't looked up the application note.

Nothing is impossible, of course, but interfacing these components with the pyboard will at least require you to implement some power supply and interfacing circuitry. The benefit of using these sophisticated CCD parts is that the optical sensitivity and accuracy is likely to be phenomenal; I've used Hamamatsu parts before and they are top-notch.

For simplicity of implementation, you might consider this line of linear array sensors from AMS (formerly TAOS): http://ams.com/eng/Products/Light-Senso ... ay-Sensors
These sensors are breadboard-compatible and operate on a single supply of 3V-5.5V, so they can be powered from the pyboard, driven without any level shifting, and the outputs can be connected directly to the pyboard ADC. If the performance meets your requirements, it doesn't get much easier than that.

-Bryan

Chemist
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:25 pm

Re: MicroPython and linear ccd sensor

Post by Chemist » Tue Oct 27, 2015 12:41 am

Dear Bryan,

Thank you very much for taking time and looking through the documentations of the linear ccd sensors. Also, I would like to thank you for pointing out to less sophisticated sensors, since I still have to figure out how to connect and read data from the sensor, the simpler - the better. I will definitely try out one of those sensors.

Best,
Vitali

blmorris
Posts: 348
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 3:43 pm
Location: Massachusetts, USA

Re: MicroPython and linear ccd sensor

Post by blmorris » Tue Oct 27, 2015 2:03 am

Vitali- You're welcome, glad I could help. And I didn't mean to knock the AMS parts for being less sophisticated- they are quite capable, just perhaps not as sensitive over as broad a spectrum as the Hamamatsu part.
You have me thinking of digging up a few of the AMS / TAOS sensors and trying to make something with the pyboard- it should be a lot easier than what I was doing 5 years ago.
Cheers,
Bryan

JimTal001
Posts: 176
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2015 4:59 pm

Re: MicroPython and linear ccd sensor

Post by JimTal001 » Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:17 pm

I also have an interest to integrate a linear CCD sensor like the AMS / TAOS product to the pyboard or wipy. If anyone is interested to work together on this project please let me know.

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