EMCCD vs sCMOS - Cameras For Confocal Microscopy

A promising development for scientific imaging is the improvement of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors. These devices have progressed to a point that makes them suitable for biological microscopy [1]. Recently, a series of review articles and technical “white paper” reports discussing the merits of scientific CMOS (sCMOS) camera technology for biological microscopy have appeared in various periodicals, each written by a representative of the several reputable scientific camera manufacture companies [2-8].

It has been suggested that the latest generation sCMOS cameras have the potential to out-compete or even supplant electron multiplication CCD (EMCCD) cameras, which to-date have been established as the leading imaging detector technology for low-light biological microscopy applications. The cited benefits of sCMOS cameras over existing camera technologies include:

• Better temporal resolution due to higher acquisition frame rates
• Larger fields of view due to larger chip sizes
• Better spatial resolution due to smaller pixel sizes that can more properly digitally sample the images produced by high numerical aperture (NA) objective lenses (Nyquist sampling)
• Better intensity quantification due to a higher dynamic range