Application Note | Case Study | Technology Primer | White Paper

Understanding Line Scan Camera A single, 16,000 pixel line scan camera is a much better
solution. One camera now spans across the material and
Applications there are no defective pixels. The rotary encoder output
triggers the acquisition of each line of the image. Line
Discover the benefits of line scan cameras, exposure time is short to avoid motion blur, but now the
including perfect, high resolution images, and illumination can be focused into a line, rather than being
the ability to image large objects. spread out over a frame, to get an acceptable image. A Time
Delay and Integration (TDI) line scan camera has rows of
A line scan camera has a single line of pixels that image pixels that integrate exposures in synchrony with the material
across an object. To build up a two-dimensional image of the movement, thus multiplying the effective exposure time by
object, either the camera or object is moved perpendicular the number of rows of pixels. Last, the gain and offset of each
to the line of pixels. This might seem like a complicated way pixel can be adjusted to give a uniform response over the line
to image an object compared with frame cameras that of pixels, and these adjustments are done in the line scan
take two-dimensional images (a frame). However, when cameras hardware.
the object is large, continuously moving, or the task needs
perfect or high resolution imaging, a line scan camera is When to Use Line Scan Technology
often a much better choice than a frame camera.
Line scan technology is ideally suited to applications in
which large, high-resolution, or high-speed image capture
is needed, such as in a continuous web applicationpaper,
textiles, metal, or glass tape, for exampleor for railway and
road inspection, or for satellite imaging or surface topography
scanning. Line scan technology works well with free-falling
products, including molten glass and steel or postal sorting.
Line scan is required for tasks such as inspection of silicon
Suppose a machine vision system is to inspect long rolls of wafers, flat panel displays, solar cells, printed circuit boards,
material, such as paper or plastic, for defects. A resolution medical diagnostics and other tasks that require large, defect-
of 16,000 pixels across the material is needed to detect free images.
these defects. The material is unrolled under the camera
and the materials speed is measured by a rotary encoder Line scan cameras are better than frame cameras when the
connected to the unrolling mechanism. product speed is high, because you can compensate for
short exposure times by using concentrated illumination and
You could use four large-format frame cameras mounted Time Delay and Integration (TDI) to increase the photons
side-by-side across the web of material, but this has a harvested by the camera. A line scan camera does gain and
number of disadvantages. First, large-format frame cameras offset correction in the camera, while an area scan camera
usually have defective pixels that are hidden by filling uses the vision systems CPU to compute this correction and
in a pixel value from neighboring pixels. This can hide so is much slower.
the defects you are trying to detect. Second, the frame
cameras exposure time must be short to prevent blurring
due to the materials motion. A short exposure requires
high intensity lighting over the entire imaged area to get
an acceptable image. The rotary encoder output triggers
synchronous image acquisition for all cameras. Last,
removing offset and gain variations in pixel responses
necessary to detect low contrast defects is time
consuming with frame cameras.

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 Application Note | Case Study | Technology Primer | White Paper

How Line Scan Images are Formed Line Scan Acquisition Interfaces

A line scan sensor has one or more lines of pixel sensors. The pixel data from the camera are transmitted to a
During the cameras exposure time each pixel accumulates vision processor or to a frame grabber for processing.
photoelectric charges proportional to the light from the Teledyne DALSA provides cameras with three types of data
object imaged onto that pixel. At the end of the exposure transmission interfaces.
time the charges in an entire row of pixels are transferred
into a readout register. The readout register shifts out the Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) can be used for data rates up to about
pixel charges and they are amplified, corrected and digitized 80 Megabytes per second (MB/s). A standard GigE interface
to produce the camera output. The readout register shifting receives the camera data at the vision processor. This
is done while the next row of pixels is being exposed. The interface is used on Teledyne DALSAs GEVA (GigE Vision
maximum rate at which exposure and readout can occur is Appliance) vision processors.
called the line rate and is specified in kilohertz (kHz).
CameraLink interfaces use a frame grabber to receive the data
and have one of three formats. The Base format transmits 255
MB/s using a single cable. The Medium format is 510 MB/s
and the Full format transmits 680 MB/s, using two cables.

The HSLink interface, pioneered by Teledyne DALSA,

transmits 6000 MB/s and requires a frame grabber to receive
the data. For example, the Piranha3 16k (16,384 pixels in
a line) camera uses HSLink to acquire at a 72 kHz line rate,
To freeze the motion of fast moving objects, high line rates about 1,179,000,000 pixels per second.
are needed. Teledyne DALSA line scan cameras have line
rates of up to 200 kHz, or 5 microseconds per line of pixels In the frame grabber or vision processor, the transmitted lines
imaged. Multiple taps readout points along the readout of pixel values are accumulated into a frame an image with
register are used to increase readout speed. the width (X dimension) of the line scan sensor and a user-
specified height, usually no more than 4,000 lines. Frames are
processed to perform the machine vision task, as examples,
finding defects or reading text (OCR). Successive frames are
overlapped in the vision processor, for example to detect a
spot defect that spans the top edge of one frame and the
bottom edge of the next frame.

Time Delay and Integration

Time Delay and Integration (TDI) line scan cameras have 2 to

256 rows of pixels, arranged vertically. Photoelectrons from
each pixel in each row are summed into the row of pixels
below, in the direction of object motion. The summing is
done by shifting the accumulated photoelectron charges.

continued >
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 Application Note | Case Study | Technology Primer | White Paper

The shifting and summing is driven by the objects movement Lenses for color line scan cameras must be color corrected so
rate, usually signaled by pulses from a motion encoder. TDI they do not have significant chromatic aberration. Chromatic
cameras effectively multiply the exposure time by the number aberration occurs when a lens doesnt focus light of different
of rows of pixels and so can provide high-contrast images wavelengths onto the same focal plane, and appears as color
even when exposure time is short. Another way to look at this fringes around intensity edges.
is that lines of pixels are electronically moved in synchrony
with the movement of the object being imaged and so the If the camera views an object at an angle off of the normal
exposure time is increased without causing additional blurring (the perpendicular to the objects surface), there can be some
due to the objects motion. perspective distortion. Perspective distortion is proportional
to 1/distance to the object, and so is slightly different for the
Note that the cameras exposure time is independent of the different color rows of pixels. So each row of pixels has a
line rate except that the exposure time should be less than the slightly different size and shape of pixel as projected on the
inverse of the line rate (seconds per line). objects surface, and this can cause errors in high-accuracy
color measurements. Make sure the camera is perpendicular
Color Line Scan Cameras to the surface of the object a good idea even if you are not
using color.
Color line scan cameras have rows of sensor pixels with
different color filters or different color filters on pixels along the Lighting for Line Scan Cameras
row, to detect light of different wavelengths. Typically filters are
what we perceive as red, green, and blue (RGB), but some You need light to see objects, and lighting and optics act
applications, such as satellite remote sensing, use more and as optical processors to enhance an objects interesting
different filter types. features. Line scan cameras typically use a line light,
focused light from a line of LEDs, to illuminate the object
along the line of object pixels being viewed. Line lights give
high intensity illumination needed for short exposure times
(fast camera line rates). Line lights can be butted together to
give very long lights for viewing wide objects.

Trilinear sensor pixels with Red, Green, Blue filters per line

A high-powered line light from Metaphase Technologies, Inc.

Bilinear sensor pixels with Green and alternating Red and
Blue filters Line lights are usually positioned behind the object being
imaged to give back lighting or at a high angle above the
Color line scan cameras are particularly useful in imaging object, so looking down on the object. Back lighting is used,
printed material. For this task, use a trilinear camera with for example, to detect pinhole defects in opaque materials or
one filter type per line, so that each image pixel has a full set particle defects in transparent material. High angle illumination
of RGB measures. The different lines of color sensor pixels are is used, for example, to get object colors or outlines or to
delayed in time, so they all view the same part of the object detect surface defects.
being imaged.

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 Application Note | Case Study | Technology Primer | White Paper

The light intensity depends on the LEDs used, power flowing You could use an 8K (8,192 pixel) line scan camera, or two 4K
through the light, age and quality of the lamps, and the (4096 pixel) line scan cameras side-by-side with some overlap
efficiency of the lens. These variables make it difficult to in their horizontal fields of view.
specify a light with just the right amount of intensity so, to
be safe, we often specify more illumination intensity than we Line Rate
might need.
The line rate is set by the FOV, part speed, and object pixel
size. For example, if the FOV is 12, the part speed is 60
How to Select the Right Line Scan Camera per second, and you are using an 8K (8,192 sensor pixels)
for Your Application camera, then:

Three important considerations when choosing a line scan (Object pixel size in the FOV) = FOV/(camera size in sensor
camera are: sensitivity, size (in sensor pixels), and line rate. pixels) =
12/8192 = 0.001465 object pixel size in the FOV
Sensitivity Line rate needed: 60/0.001465 = 40.956 kHz

Sensitivity asks, Is the camera getting enough photons You might use a Teledyne DALSA Piranha4 70 kHz camera.
to perform the machine vision task? It is usually difficult to
answer this question only from component specifications, Optics for Line Scan Cameras
as there are too many variables. In practice we estimate the
light intensity needed, specify more light intensity than our The lens gathers light from the object to improve sensitivity
estimate, and then verify that we have the required sensitivity and magnifies (or minifies) the FOV to match the size of the
by testing. Here are some of the variables: cameras line sensor.

First, as mentioned, the light intensity depends on many You can compute the magnification as:
different variables.
Magnification = (camera pixel size in microns)/(FOV object
Second, the lens optics reduces the light to the camera. This pixel size)
reduction can be significant for high magnification lenses or In the above example, using the Piranha4 camera, this would
when the lens is stopped down to get more depth of field. be:
Magnification = (7.04 microns) / (37.211 = 0.001465 inches
Third, sensitivity depends on the response of the camera
converted to microns) = 0.189
its ability to convert photons to photoelectrons. For increased
sensitivity, you can use a camera with larger sensor pixels. So a reduction in size of 1/0.188 = 5.286 from the real world
Line scan cameras have 100% fill factor, the percent of the FOV to the cameras line sensor. This ratio (5.286 in this
sensor pixel that accumulates photons. Area scan cameras example) is the inverse magnification.
usually have smaller pixels and lower fill factors, and make
up for this loss in response by requiring longer exposure Next, you must specify a working distance, the distance
times. Finally, a TDI line scan camera can be used to increase from the cameras face plate (the front, flat surface of the
exposure time by electronically moving the cameras sensor camera) to the object being imaged (for example, the web
lines with the object. material). From this you can get the focal length of the lens
required:
Size (in sensor pixels)
Focal Length = (working distance) / (inverse magnification + 1)
To determine camera size (in sensor pixels) you need to
In this example, a working distance of 314.28 mm = 12.37
specify field of view (FOV) and minimum defect size. The
inches is chosen to give a focal length of 50 mm, which is
camera should have enough resolution to have at least 3 or 4
a standard focal length for lenses. The working distance is
pixels covering the minimum defect size. If, for example, the
usually adjusted to match a standard lens focal length.
FOV is 12 and the minimum defect size is 0.005, then:

(FOV/minimum defect size) x (3 pixels coverage)

(12/0.005) x 3 = 7200 pixels
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Besides the focal length, you will need to know the lens or the encoder inputs on a Teledyne DALSA Xcelera frame
mounting type. Smaller line scan cameras, up to 2,048 pixels grabber to divide (really, count-down) the encoder pulses by
in some cases, can use a C-mount lens with a 1 aperture. a factor of 2. Or you could pick an encoder with 2048 pulses
For longer line scan sensors an F-Mount, M42 or M72 mount per revolution. Either would give:
lens is required.
Distance per pulse = 2 * 0.007324 = 0.0014648 inches

Line Scan Camera Synchronization

Pixel Correction with Line Scan Cameras
Line scan camera exposures must be synchronized to the
objects movement. This is usually done with an encoder An advantage of a line scan camera is hardware correction of
that outputs a pulse for each specified amount of object individual pixels responses.
movement. After some number of encoder pulses, the line
scan camera is triggered to take a line image. There are many sources of variation in pixel responses.
Lighting is never completely uniform You typically see some
We usually want square pixels, that is pixels of equal variation due to variations in brightness of individual lamps
width and height in the field of view. To get square pixels, in the light and some fall off in intensity towards the edges of
the camera must be triggered every time the object moves the light. Most lenses attenuate light away from the optical
a distance equal to the objects pixel size. In the above axis (the center line through the lens). Individual pixels in the
example, a pixel size in the field of view is 0.001465 inches so, camera have some variation in their offset and gain due to
for square pixels, the camera has to be triggered every time variations in the camera manufacturing process.
the object moves that distance.
Each pixels offset and gain is adjusted to compensate for
To set the line acquisition trigger distance, you can (1) select these sources of variation. This could be done by exposing
or program the encoders pulses per distance or revolution, all pixels to the lowest intensity on the object and the highest
(2) select the mechanical ratio between the encoder and (but not saturating) intensity on the object. Offset correction
object movement, and (3) program the number of encoder subtracts the lowest intensity value. Gain correction sets the
pulses between camera line acquisitions. range between the (corrected) lowest intensity value and the
highest intensity value to be constant across sensor pixels.
Using the above example, suppose that the object is on
a conveyer belt and a rotary encoder is connected to a
conveyer roller of known circumference. For square pixels,
we want a camera trigger pulse every 0.001456 inches of
conveyer belt movement. We assume no mechanical slippage
between the object movement and the rotation of the encoder.

Pixel response before gain and offset correction

We pick an encoder with 4096 pulses per revolution and the
conveyer rollers circumference is 3 inches (so diameter =

circumference / pi = about 1 inch). The distance per encoder
pulse is:

Distance per pulse = (roller inches per revolution) / (encoder

pulses per revolution)
= 3 inches / 4096 pulses = 0.0007324 inches per pulse

This is too small a distance by about a factor of 2. If the roller Pixel response after gain and offset correction
circumference is fixed, you could use a PLCs axis inputs

continued >
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 Application Note | Case Study | Technology Primer | White Paper

Line Scan Cameras at Work With a continuous web application, there is no way to
immediately reject a defect; the web is moving too fast to
Here are two real world applications of line scan cameras. stop the process. Instead, a roll map records and describes
the position and type of defects. This screen shot shows the
Multiple Camera Web Inspection portion of the roll map made by camera 5:

Line scan technology is the method of choice in continuous

web applications. As an example we will look at a production
line for plastic film that is 12 feet wide and moves at 350 linear
feet per minute. We are looking for small defects, such as
holes, dirt or contaminants. Attempting this level of inspection
with an area scan camera is very challenging due to the wide
area and high speed of the web. Doing this by human vision
inspection is impossible.

Defects are classified based on size range, such as from 50 to

100 microns or 200 microns, and contrast type. A bright object
might be a hole and a dark object might be a contaminant.
For this level of detail and web width, six Gigabit Ethernet
2048-pixel line scan cameras are needed. Backlight is used, so
a line light shining through the web and into the camera:

This shows a real-time view (on the left). The roll map, on the
right, the y axis identifies linear footage (in roller revolutions)
and the x axis shows the defect position. When the product
roll is sent for finishing, defects can be picked out as the
product is unwound.

Color Line Scan

A color line scan camera is used for inspecting medical trays

that incorporate rivets, grommets, and brackets of various
colors. These elements could not be easily distinguished and
inspected using gray-scale (intensity) images.
The aggregate data rate is 73 million pixels per second.
An image for processing is 3560 lines.

Operators view of the medical tray; a missing part indicated

by a thick, red box (upper, right)

The manufacturer produces trays of many different sizes, the

largest of which is 27 inches in length and 18 inches in width.

continued >
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 Application Note | Case Study | Technology Primer | White Paper

A 2K color line scan camera is mapped to 20 inches on the Summary

horizontal to accommodate the largest medical tray; with line
scan technology, there is no limit on the vertical size. Two 24 Line scan technology is used in applications that image large
inch line lights illuminate the entire tray, which is moved along objects, are high-resolution, are high-speed, need perfect
a conveyor. An encoder on the conveyor is synchronized so images, or need real-time correction of pixels responses. The
that the color line scan camera triggers as the tray comes into camera has a single line of pixels and either the camera or
the field of view. object is moved perpendicular to that line of pixels to build up
a two-dimensional image of the object.

To get high brightness, line lights are focused where the
line scan camera is viewing the object. Time delay and
integration (TDI) cameras give longer exposure times by
electronically moving lines of pixels in synchrony with the
motion of the object.

Applications where line scan cameras are the best choice

include inspecting web materials, as in plastic or paper
manufacturing, inspecting continuous objects such as road
and rail inspection, or where high-quality images are required
as in printing inspection.

When implementing line scan technology, care must be

taken to synchronize the camera acquisition to the objects
movement. Starting costs may be higher than for frame
cameras, but line scan technology solves problems that frame
cameras cannot easily solve or solve at all.

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