CCTV- Closed Circuit television.

CCTV (closed-circuit television) is a TV system in which signals are not

publicly distributed but are monitored, primarily for surveillance and security
purposes.

HOW NIGHT VISION CAMERA WORKS?

Night vision goggles boost a dim, dark scene in a series of simple steps:

1. Dim light from a night scene enters the lens

at the front. The light is made of photons
(particles of light) of all colors.

2. As the photons enter the goggles, they strike

a light-sensitive surface called
a photocathode. It's a bit like a very precise
solar panel: it's job is to convert photons
into electrons (the tiny, subatomic particles that carry electricity round a
circuit).

3. The electrons are amplified by a photomultiplier, a kind of photoelectric

cell. Each electron entering the photomultiplier results in many more
electrons leaving it.

4. The electrons leaving the photomultiplier hit a phosphor screen, similar

to the screen in an old-fashioned television. As the electrons hit the
phosphor, they create tiny flashes of light.

5. Since there are many more photons than originally entered the goggles,
the screen makes a much brighter version of the original scene.

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"Night Vision" as referenced here is that technology that provides

us with the miracle of vision in total darkness and the
improvement of vision in low light environments.
This technology is an amalgam of several different methods each
having its own advantages and disadvantages. The most common
methods as described below are Low-Light Imaging, Thermal
Imaging and Near-infrared Illumination. The most common
applications include night driving or flying, night security and
surveillance, wildlife observation, sleep lab monitoring and search
and rescue.

Low-Light Imaging

Image intensifiers

On-chip gain multiplication cameras

Thermal Imaging

Cooled-detector infrared cameras

Uncooled-detector infrared cameras

Near Infrared Illumination

IR Illumination

Low-Light Imaging

Today, the most popular and well known method of performing night vision is based on the use of
image intensifiers. Image intensifiers are commonly used in night vision goggles and night scopes .
More recently, on-chip gain multiplication CCD cameras have become popularized for performing low-
light security, surveillance and astronomical observation.

Image Intensifiers:

As the photons enter the goggles, they strike a light-

sensitive surface called a photocathode. It's a bit
like a very precise solar panel: it's job is to convert
photons into electrons (the tiny, subatomic particles
that carry electricity round a circuit).
An objective lens focuses available light (photons) on the photocathode of an image intensifier. The
light energy causes electrons to be released from the cathode which are accelerated by an electric
field to increase their speed (energy level).
The electrons are amplified by a photomultiplier, a kind of photoelectric cell.
Each electron entering the photomultiplier results in many more electrons
leaving it.
These electrons enter holes in a microchannel plate and bounce off the internal specially-coated
walls which generate more electrons as the electrons bounce through. This creates a denser "cloud"
of electrons representing an intensified version of the original image.

The electrons leaving the photomultiplier hit a phosphor screen, similar to

the screen in an old-fashioned television. As the electrons hit the phosphor,
they create tiny flashes of light.
The final stage of the image intensifier involves electrons hitting a phosphor screen. The energy of the
electrons makes the phosphor glow. The visual light shows the desired view to the user or to an
attached photographic camera or video device. A green phosphor is used in these applications
because the human eye can differentiate more shades of green than any other color, allowing for
greater differentiation of objects in the picture.

Image Intensifiers
Advantages Disadvantages

Excellent low-light level sensitivity. Because they are based on amplification

methods, some light is required. This method is
Enhanced visible imaging yields the best not useful when there is essentially no light.
possible. recognition and identification
performance. Inferior daytime performance when
compared to daylight-only methods.
High resolution.
Possibility of blooming and damage when
Low power and cost. observing bright sources under low-light
conditions.
Ability to identify people.

CCD Vs CMOS sensors

CCD sensors, as mentioned above, create high-quality, low-noise images. CMOS

sensors, traditionally, are more susceptible to noise.

Because each pixel on a CMOS sensor has several transistors located next to it, the
light sensitivity of a CMOS chip tends to be lower. Many of the photons hitting the chip
hit the transistors instead of the photodiode.
 CMOS traditionally consumes little power. Implementing a sensor in CMOS yields a
low-power sensor.

CCDs use a process that consumes lots of power. CCDs consume as much as 100
times more power than an equivalent CMOS sensor.

CMOS chips can be fabricated on just about any standard silicon production line, so
they tend to be extremely inexpensive compared to CCD sensors.

CCD sensors have been mass produced for a longer period of time, so they are
more mature. They tend to have higher quality and more pixels.

On-Chip Gain Multiplication Cameras

In order to overcome some of the disadvantages of image intensifiers, CCD image
detector manufacturers have substantially improved the sensitivity of certain CCD
detectors by incorporating an on-chip multiplication gain technology to multiply
photon-generated charge above the detector's noise levels. The multiplication gain
takes place after photons have been detected in the device's active area but before
one of the detector's primary noise sources (e.g. readout noise). In a new
multiplication register, electrons are accelerated from pixel-to-pixel by applying high
CCD clock voltages. As a result, secondary electrons are generated via an impact-
ionization process. Gain can be controlled by varying the clock voltages.

Because the signal boost occurs before the charge

reaches the on-chip readout amplifier and gets added to
the primary noise source, the signal-to-noise ratio for this
device is significantly improved over standard CCD
cameras and yields low-light imaging performance far
superior than traditional CCD cameras. However, since
the CCD temperature also affects the on-chip gain
multiplication (lower temperatures yield higher gain) and
because other noise sources exist that occur before the
multiplication (i.e. dark noise), it is prudent in these
systems to temperature stabilize these detectors at
temperatures about of below room temperature.
Another method for improving a CCD camera's sensitivity is to perform averaging to reduce noise
either temporally (where sequential video frames are averaged) or spatially (where neighboring pixels
are "binned" or added together).

On-chip Gain Multiplication Cameras

Advantages Disadvantages
 High sensitivity in low-light. High power dissipation due to the necessity
to have a temperature stabilizer.
Reduced likelihood of damage to the
imaging detector due to viewing bright sources. Blooming when viewing bright sources in
dark scenes.
High speed imagin capability.

Good daytime imaging performance.

Thermal Imaging

Different from low-light imaging methods of night vision

(which require some ambient light in order to produce an
image), thermal imaging night vision methods do not require
any ambient light at all. They operate on the principal that
all objects emit infrared energy as a function of their
temperature. In general, the hotter an object is, the more
radiation it emits. A thermal imager is a product that collects
the infrared radiation from objects in the scene and creates
an electronic image. Since they do not rely on reflected
ambient light, thermal imagers are entirely ambient light-
level independent. In addition, they also are able to
penetrate obscurants such as smoke, fog and haze. There
are two types of thermal imaging detectors: cooled and
uncooled. Cooled detector infrared camerasrequire cryogenic
cooling to very cold temperatures (below 200K).Uncooled
detector infrared cameras are normally either temperature
stabilized (at room temperatures) or entirely unstabilized.

Thermal images are normally black and white in nature,

where black objects are cold and white objects are hot.
Some thermal cameras show images in color. This false color
is an excellent way of better distinguishing between objects
at different temperatures.
Cooled-detector Infrared Cameras

HOW THEY WORK: Cooled infrared detectors are typically housed in a

vacuum-sealed case and cryogenically cooled. The detector designs are
similar to other more common imaging detectors and use semiconductor
materials. However, it is the effect of absorbed infrared energy that causes
changes to detector carrier concentrations which in turn affect the
detector's electrical properties. Cooling the detectors (typically to
temperatures below 110K, a value much lower than the temperature of
objects being detected) greatly increases their sensitivity. Without cooling,
the detectors would be flooded by their own self-radiation.

Materials used for infrared detection include a wide range of narrow gap
semiconductor devices, where mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) and
indium antimonide (InSb) are the most common.

Cooled-detector Thermal Imaging Cameras

Advantages Disadvantages

The highest possible thermal sensitivity. Expensive to purchase and to operate.

Able to detect people and vehicles at Limited cooler operating lifetime.

great distances.
May require several minutes to cool
Not affected by bright light sources. down upon initiation.

Able to perform high speed infrared Bulky

imaging.

Able to perform multi-spectral infrared

imaging.

Cooled-Detector Infrared Cameras

Short-wave Infrared Cameras
Mid-wave Infrared Cameras
Long-wave Infrared Cameras
Multi-spectral Infrared Camera

Uncooled-detector Cameras

HOW THEY WORK: Unlike the cryogenically cooled detectors described above, uncooled infrared
detectorsoperate at or near room temperature rather than being cooled to extremely low
temperatures by bulky and expensive cryogenic coolers. When infrared radiation from night-time
scenes are focused onto uncooled detectors, the heat absorbed causes changes to the electrical
properties of the detector material. These changes are then compared to baseline values and a
thermal image is created. Despite lower image quality than cooled detectors, uncooled detector
technology makes infrared cameras smaller and less costly and opens many viable commercial
applications.

Uncooled detectors are mostly based on materials that change their electrical properties due to
pyroelectric (capacitive) effects or microbolometer (resistive) effects.

Uncooled-detector Thermal Imaging Cameras

Advantages Disadvantages

Relatively inexpensive compared to Less sensitive than cooled detector

other thermal imaging technologies. thermal imagers.

High contrast in most night-time Cannot be used for multispectral or

scenarios. high-speed infrared applications .

Easily detects people and vehicles.

Not affected by bright light sources .

Higher reliability than cooled detector

thermal imagers .

Uncooled-Detector Thermal Imaging Products:

Uncooled thermal imaging camera (fixed mount)

Uncooled thermal imaging camera (portable)

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Near Infrared Illumination

A popular and sometimes inexpensive method for
performing night vision is by near infrared illumination. In
this method, a device that is sensitive to invisible near
infrared radiation is used in conjunction with an infrared
illuminator. The Sony Night Shot camcorderpopularized this
method. Because of the IR sensitivity of the camcorder's
CCD detector and since Sony installed an infrared light
source in the camcorder, infrared illumination was available
to augment otherwise low-light video scenes and produce
reasonable image quality in low-light situations.

The method of near-infrared illumination has been used in a variety of night vision applications
including perimeter protection where, by integrating with video motion detection and intelligent
scene analysis devices, a reliable low-light video security system can be developed.

IR Illumination

HOW THEY WORK: Several different near infrared illumination

devices are available today, including:

Filtered incandescent lamps: A standard high power lamp

that is covered by an infrared filter designed to pass the lamp's
near infrared radiation and block the visible light component. These devices typically need good
heat transfer properties since the intense visible light is internally absorbed and dissipated as heat.

LED type illuminators: These illuminators utilize an array of standard infrared emitting
LEDs.

Laser type: The most efficient infrared illuminator, these devices are based on an infrared
laser diode that emits near infrared energy.

Near infrared illuminators are typically available in a range of wavelengths (e.g. 730nm, 830nm,
920nm). Providing supplemental infrared illumination of an appropriate wavelength not only
eliminates the variability of available ambient light, but also allows the observer to illuminate only
specific areas of interest while eliminating shadows and enhancing image contrast. The
supplemental near infrared lighting not only improves the quality of image intensifier devices
(which have both a visible and a near-infrared response), but also permits the use of solid state
cameras, which also have the ability to convert near infrared images to visible.

IR Illumination
Advantages Disadvantages

Lowest cost compared to other night Users of infrared illuminators can be

 vision technologies. detected by others that have near-infrared
viewing devices.
Eliminate shadows and reveal
identifying lettering, numbers and objects. Can
also be used to perform facial identification.

Able to perform high-speed video

capture (such as reading license plates of
moving vehicles).

IR illuminators can see through night-

time fog, mist, rain and snowfall as well as
windows.

Eliminates the variability of ambient

light.

IR Illumination Products:
Wide area infrared laser illuminator

Other leading low light technologies:

EMCCD = Electron-multiplying CCD low light camera

he EMCCD is an image sensor that is capable of detecting single photon events without an image
intensifier, achievable by way of a unique electron multiplying structure built into the chip.

EMCCD cameras overcome a fundamental physical constraint to deliver high sensitivity with high speed. Traditional
CCD cameras offered high sensitivity, with readout noises in single figure <10e- but at the expense of slow readout.
Hence they were often referred to as slow scan cameras. The fundamental constraint came from the CCD charge
amplifier. To have high speed operation the bandwidth of the charge amplifier
needs to be as wide as possible but it is a fundamental principle that the noise
scales with the bandwidth of the amplifier hence higher speed amplifiers have
higher noise. Slow scan CCDs have relatively low bandwidth and hence can
only be read out at modest speeds typically less than 1MHz. EMCCD cameras
avoid this constraint by amplifying the charge signal before the charge amplifier
and hence maintain unprecedented sensitivity at high speeds. By amplifying the
signal the readout noise is effectively by-passed and readout noise no longer is
a limit on sensitivity.

Most EMCCDs utilise a Frame Transfer CCD structure shown in the diagram to
the right. Frame Transfer CCDs feature two areas the sensor area which
captures the image and the storage area, where the image is stored prior to read out. The storage area is normally
identical in size to the sensor area and is covered with an opaque mask, normally made of aluminium. During an
acquisition, the sensor area is exposed to light and an image is captured this image is then automatically shifted
downwards behind the masked region of the chip, and then read
out. While this is happening the sensor area is again exposed
and the next image is acquired. The aluminium mask therefore
acts like an electronic shutter. To readout the sensor the charge is
shifted out through the readout register and through the
multiplication register where amplification occurs prior to readout
by the charge amplifier.

The amplification occurs in the multiplication register through the

scheme highlighted in the second diagram on the right. The
multiplication register contains many hundreds of cells and the
amplification process occurs in each cell by harnessing a process which occurs naturally in CCDs known as Clock-
Induced Charge or Spurious Charge. Clock-induced charge has traditionally been considered a source of noise and
something to minimise but not in EMCCDs. When clocking the charge through a register there is a very tiny but finite
probability that the charges being clocked can create additional charges by a process known as impact ionization.
Impact ionization occurs when a charge has sufficient energy to create another electron-hole pair and hence a free
electron charge in the conduction band can create another charge. Hence amplification occurs. To make this process
viable EMCCDs tailor the process in two ways. Firstly the probability of any one charge creating a secondary
electron is increased by giving the initial electron charge more energy by clocking the charge with a higher voltage.
Secondly the EMCCD is designed with hundreds of cells in which impact ionization can occur and although the
probability of amplification or multiplication in any one cell is small over the register of cells the probability is very high
and gains of up to thousands can be achieved.The probability of charge multiplication varies with temperature the
lower the temperature the higher the probability and hence gains of the EMCCD. This probability also increases with
increasing voltage applied to the multiplication register. By adjusting the temperature and voltage applied to the
sensor the EMCCD camera can achieve gains from practically unity with voltages ~20V to thousands by applying
voltages of 2550V depending on the sensor.

EMCCD cameras basically come in the same varieties as regular CCD's so they share the same properties and
Quantum Efficiencies. They also share the same noise issues of CCD's with one additional complication. The
amplification process adds additional noise which must be taken into consideration and results in a Noise Factor
greater than 1.The details of this noise is covered in a later section.

SWIR = Short Wave Infrared

Infrared radiation, or simply infrared or IR, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with

longer wavelengths than those of visible light, and is therefore invisible, although it is sometimes
loosely called infrared light. It extends from the nominal red edge of the visible spectrum at
700 nanometers (frequency 430 THz), to 1000000 nm (300 GHz)[1] (although people can see infrared
up to at least 1050 nm in experiments[2][3][4][5]). Most of the thermal radiation emitted by objects near
room temperature is infrared. Like all EMR, IR carries radiant energy, and behaves both like a wave and
like its quantum particle, the photon.

Sensing in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) range (wavelengths from 0.9 to 1.7 microns) has only
recently been made practical by the development of Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs) sensors.

CMOS =

PVS-14 GEN 4 Thermal

 Sierra Pacific Innovations (SPI)
X-27 Color Low light night vision camera