Hamamatsu-photonics K.k.

Katsuhide Ito

Takayuki Inoue

Takayuki Kawashima

Takuo Kameyama

A light observation device has a light splitting optical system for splitting observation light of an observation object; an imaging lens for focusing split beams to form optical images thereof; an imaging device arranged at image formation positions of the two optical images and being capable of performing independent rolling readout in a pixel row group included in a region corresponding to the image formation position of one optical image and in a pixel row group included in a region corresponding to the image formation position of the other optical image; and a control unit for independently controlling the rolling readout in the one pixel row group and in the other pixel row group; the control unit performs control such that a direction of the rolling readout in the one pixel row group and a direction of the rolling readout in the other pixel row group are identical.

Light observation device, imaging device used for same, and light observation method

An image acquisition sectionacquires a multiplied image at a predetermined electron multiplication factor set in advance, and a luminance calculation sectioncalculates a luminance average value and a luminance variance average value corresponding to the image sectionin the multiplied image acquired by the luminance calculation section, and calculates a luminance average value and a luminance variance average value of pixels corresponding to the OPB sectionin the multiplied image. Then, by using the calculated luminance average value and luminance variance average value, a conversion factor calculation sectioncalculates a conversion factor of the multiplied image, and by using this conversion factor and a conversion factor at a reference electron multiplication factor, a multiplication factor calculation sectioncalculates an electron multiplication factor of the multiplied image.

Electron multiplication factor measurement method and image capture device

In an electron multiplying imaging devicewith a solid-state image pickup device, a first multiplied image of incident light with a first light amount and a second multiplied image of incident light with a second light amount are acquired at a predetermined electron multiplication factor set in advance, and a luminance average value and a luminance variance average value of pixels included in the first multiplied image and a luminance average value and a luminance variance average value of pixels included in the second multiplied image are calculated. By using the calculated luminance average values and luminance variance average values, a conversion factor of the first and second multiplied images is calculated, and by using the calculated conversion factor and a conversion factor at a reference electron multiplication factor held in advance, an actual electron multiplication factor of the solid-state image pickup deviceis calculated.

Method for measuring electronic multiplication factor

An imaging apparatusA includes an electron multiplying solid-state image pickup device which has an electron multiplier section for multiplying charge signals generated in respective pixels; a multiplication gain setting partfor setting a multiplication gain in the electron multiplier section; a standard deviation calculatorfor calculating a noise standard deviation of a noise image acquired under a predetermined condition by the image pickup device; a reference standard deviation storagestoring a reference standard deviation, and a standard deviation comparatorfor comparing the noise standard deviation and the reference standard deviation and outputting an obtained comparison result. At the time of gain adjustment, the multiplication gain setting partadjusts the multiplication gain based on the comparison result by the standard deviation comparator. Thereby, an imaging apparatus which enables the user's side to easily and accurately re-adjust the multiplication gain of charge signals in the electron multiplying solid-state image pickup device, and a gain adjusting method for the same are realized.

Imaging apparatus and gain adjusting method for the same

An imaging apparatus includes an image pickup device having a two-dimensionally arrayed pixel structure, an A/D converter which converts analog signals from the respective pixels into digital data signals, and a DSPwhich performs signal processing for the data signals. The DSPincludes an image data storagewhich stores the data signals in units of data signal sequences corresponding to pixel lines, a mask processorwhich sets an integer n not less than 2 as a dilation coefficient and performs mask processing to dilate image components in the image data to n&#xd7;n, and a data storing controllerwhich sets n calculation memory regions in which n data signal sequences corresponding to n pixel lines are stored, in the storage, according to the dilation coefficient n. Thereby, an imaging apparatus capable of acquiring an image with excellent visibility even under conditions of a low illuminance, etc., is realized.

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Hamamatsu, Japan

Katsuhide Ito