QHY410C Cooled CMOS Camera

The new QHY410C uses Sony's latest back-illuminated, full frame color sensor. The IMX410 is equipped with the sensor that used in the Nikon Z6, and Sony A7III. In addition to BSI, the IMX410 also has larger 5.94 um pixels giving it increases sensitivity of extended objects in low light. The IMX410 is expected to be Sony's most sensitive full frame color sensor for astrophotography.

One benefit of the back-illuminated CMOS structure is improved full well capacity. This is particularly helpful for sensors with small pixels. When back-illumination is combined with somewhat larger pixels, the full well capacity and cynamic range are improved dramatically. The QHY410C has a full well capacity of 120k electrons! With its low read noise this produces a dynamic range greater than 17,000:1 or more than 14 STOPS. Moreover, the dynamic range remains fairly uniform even at higher gain settings.

The QHY410C is capable of only 1.1 electron of read noise at high gain and fast readout speed. One electron of read noise means the camera can achieve a SNR>3 at only 3 to 4 photons. This is perfect performance when conditions are photon limited, i.e., short exposures, narrow band imaging, etc., making this large area sensor ideal for sky surveys and time domain astronomy.

Sony's Exmor R back-illuminated technology produces sensors that Sony estimates are twice as sensitive as similar front illuminated sensors. QHYCCD tests have borne out this claim. Additionally, Sony sensors are well known for their low dark current. QHYCCD's proprietary thermal noise reduction technology and the QHY40C's dual-stage regulated thermoelectric cooling further reduce dark current to extremely low levels for clean, long duration exposures when required.