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Adimec CoaXPress Cameras for Semiconductor Wafer Metrology Systems

This is reposted from the Adimec blog:

http://info.adimec.com/blogposts/bid/69331/Adimec-CoaXPress-Cameras...

Since CoaXPress was approved as a global standard in March 2011, more and more CoaXPress products have come to the market making the benefits fully accessible to system builders.

Fram e-grabber companies will also be demonstrating CoaXPress products at Vision 2011 in Stuttgart, Germany. These companies include Active Silicon from the UK, AvalData from Japan, BitFlow from the US, Silicon Software from Germany and Matrox from Canada. As you can see, CoaXPress solutions are now available world-wide. When combined with an Adimec camera, CoaXPress can offer the full advantage of a high resolution and high speed over a flexible cable and long distances.

Just like the following case:

An OEM (original equipment manufacturer) in the machine vision industry recently selected multiple Adimec Qr-4A180 cameras supporting CoaXPress for use in its new semiconductor wafer metrology equipment. The cameras met the resolution, speed, reliability, and image quality requirements that were required, but only the CoaXPress interface standard enabled the additional system requirements.

The manufacturer selected CoaXPress because of the ability to implement long cable lengths (longer than 10m) without repeaters, as well as the flexible and reliable cable solution and high data rate that coaxial cable offers. The transmission of video over coax also minimized the interference. When looking at alternatives, the manufacturer realized that GigE Vision can deliver long cable length and flexibility, but its speed doesn't meet the requirements of a high-end system. Camera Link Full meets the speed requirement, but its limited, inflexible cable
solution made it less desirable.

For this system, 13 cameras needed be connected to a remote PC. If the company had used Camera Link,the system would have required 52 cables and 26 repeaters. Cabling costs alone would have been between $5,000 to $10,000 per system. CoaXPress was favored for its ease of implementation and lower overall system costs.

The diverse requirements of a modern imaging system require a multi-faceted approach to camera performance, connectivity, and interfaces. It is also necessary to evaluate other needs in parallel: connection distance, ease and cost of implementation, power supply, timing and long-term vendor support.

Only CoaXPress combines the performance with a physical connection medium and reliable protocol that addresses the complete range of requirements for the broadest variety of systems. It allows the use of longer, more flexible,
and easier to maintain cables, while delivering higher speeds in a solution that is plug-and-play with existing infrastructure.

More about CoaXPress

CoaXPress, an asymmetric high speed point to point serial communication global standard for the transmission of video and still images, scalable over single or multiple coaxial cables overcomes tradeoffs from previous generation standards.