QHY4040/QHY4040PRO I* is a scientific cooled CMOS camera with GSENSE4040 4K*4K sCMOS sensor. It has a 36.9mm x 36.9mm square sensor with 9.0um pixels in a 4k x 4k array. It has a 36.9*36.9mm big image area. 9um pixel size. The typical application of this camera is astronomy imaging, spectrum, dynamic x-ray DR, satellite tracking, etc.

*Since 2023, QHY4040 Pro has upgraded to QHY4040 Pro I. They are of the same function and price, while Pro I has a shorter body.

QHY4040PRO I has both the FSI version and BSI version, while QHY4040 has FSI version only. FSI version has a peak QE of 74%, 70ke full-well at the lowest gain, 4e readout noise at the highest gain. BSI version has a peak QE of 90%, 39ke full-well at the lowest gain, 2.3e readout noise at the highest gain, and a wide spectrum from UV to Near IR. QHY4040PRO I has both FSI version and BSI version, supports selectable dual 12bit  channel output (high gain, or low gain), and also supports the on-camera dual 12bit to 16bit data combination process. The standard version is two-stage TEC cooling with air cooling.

Liquid cooling version is also available (Customization required).

First Light of QHY4040Pro-BSI

Taken together with a 50cm telescope in Corona Borealis Observatory, Ali, Tibet, China

QHY4040 standard version is the single-channel ADC output version. It is using the High Gain Channel to output the low readout noise image.  It supports both live video mode and single-frame mode. In single-frame mode. it works at a low CMOS-driven speed. The behavior of the noise performance is the same with the 8FPS@16BIT mode in Live video mode.  In live video mode, it supports five different CMOS clocks.  Max Frame rate from 8FPS to 20FPS.

The QHY4040 has zero amplifier glow. Please check the following dark frame for it.

Dark Frame Samples
Here is a dark frame of 10sec exposure and 30sec exposure @-7.5C.   The QHY4040 can get about max 35C to 40C below ambient.
http://note.youdao.com/noteshare?id=ae2fabb24d1742f207ba75613648e7c4

A detailed Dark Frame Samples (Gain 0 and Gain 16. -15C, 0sec bias frame, 30, 60, 120, 300sec Dark Frame)
http://note.youdao.com/noteshare?id=848bca2fef982e0e6cf9b746b0f65ef3

About HDR mode support
QHY4040PRO support the dual 12bit convert to 16bit function. Users can input the combination factor and offset factor to the FPGA of the camera via an API interface. For different sensor temperatures, the offset factor needs to be calibrated.

Hardware Signal of Exposure End Time
QHY4040 supports hardware exposure ending signal output. Which can be used for high precise time-domain imaging. This signal can be measured by an external timing base and you will know the precise time of the starting and ending exposure time.

Multiple Working Mode
QH4040 supports the continuous live video mode, single-frame mode, and burst mode.  In the live video mode, the camera is free-running to capture the images. In single-frame mode. The camera will start capture one frame when you send the start exposure command. In burst mode, The camera will be in idle status, you can define how many frame will be output and after you send the start exposure command, it will start to capture these frames and then stop output. In both single-frame mode and burst mode, the timing is in sync with the start exposure command. It is beneficial for the high precision timing record work when working with the hardware exposure ending signal.

This picture shows the hardware exposure ending signal with a burst mode that output from the camera.  This is a four frames burst. Each falling edge indicates an exposure ending time.