A high-resolution sixteen frame ultra fast digital imaging system

To record fast physical phenomena that occur in microscopic time scales requires an imaging system that can accurately dissect the event and provide a spatial and temporally resolved record that allows critical interrogation. The luxury of having a dedicated photographer to capture the type of event, which necessitates a high-speed camera, has passed into history. Consequently, the imaging system is regarded as a peripheral of the experimental procedure and needs to be user friendly in its operation. This, allied to the modern researcher's expectations, dictates that it must be computer controlled and produce records that can be analysed using software that readily provides quantitative data. To satisfy a wide range of research conditions the camera has to be immune to external influences and operate in widely diverse environmental conditions. To accommodate the wide spectrum of applications the system must be flexible, reliable and produce trustworthy results in reasonable timescales. A digital imaging system that meets the above criteria has been developed that can record up to sixteen high resolution images, each 1280 x 1024 pixels at framing rates up to 2 x 10 8 second and can simultaneously provide a streak record through a single optical input. This modular system can operate in virtually any research environment at distances ranging from a few metres to two kilometres from the control centre. Fibre optic communication between camera and computer reduces possible signal corruption and contributes to overall system reliability. A pre-trigger stand-by mode allows the capture of the initiation stages of unpredictable events such as pre-breakdown phenomena in high voltage research. A high gain UV sensitive intensifier can also be integrated into the camera's optical path that can provide a sequence of X-ray images of fast events using short, decay rare earth scintillators. This combination can also be used for recording fluorescence decay in combustion research, cataloguing radicals that define boundaries between burned and unburned fuel. Single photoelectron recording is possible from low intensity emissions. The high-resolution images provided by this system will facilitate a greater visual understanding of the fast phenomena that influence these sensitive research projects.