Dynamic range and sensitivity comparison of optical CCDs

The CLF own and use a variety of high dynamic range CCD cameras that are used for a variety of measurements on many of the experiments performed at the facility. The performance and characteristics of these cameras are of utmost importance when choosing which camera to use in any particular circumstance. Therefore, a calibration to determine the dynamic range and threshold sensitivity of the cameras has been conducted. The cameras tested were the Starlight Express 16bit CCD camera, the Andor Neo which has a 16bit CMOS sensor with the capability of dual amplification, the Andor Ixon which has a 16bit Electron Multiplying CCD (EMCCD), a 16bit EMCCD Raptor Kite and a 14bit Allied Vision Technology Stingray camera. Basic information about each camera can be found in table 1.