Synchronized Integrated Lighting Control (SILC)

A unique system designed to take advantage of what all cameras need most—light.

The i-SPEED® 7 Series offers a patent pending system called Synchronized Integrated Lighting Control (SILC) which measures and calibrates the rise time delay of pulsed light sources—(LED lamps or laser systems)—and precisely aligns this light pulse with that delay for the framing of the camera to ensure 100% illumination efficiency.

SILC can be run in one of three different modes:

Single pulse
Double pulse
Alternating pulse

This feature is ideal for LED and laser illumination where the timing of the light in relation to the exposure can be tightly controlled. Delay, duration, and relative position for each pulse can be defined, allowing for superior lighting control and advanced camera synchronization possibilities.

SILC advantages

Achieve 100% efficiency from lights for maximum possible illumination
Frame skip allows pulses to skip (not pulse) on a number of next frames
Adjust the pulse length and position relative to the camera’s exposure
Control of the lights, off/on and on during recording
Create two levels of illumination
Maintain high resolution using double exposure instead of increasing frame speed (reducing resolution)

Single pulse

When using a short exposure time with a short strobe, the light’s input delay has an effect on light efficiency. SILC allows the user to maximize the brightness of stroboscopic light and can also be useful in applications such as ballistics or welding—in conjunction with a bandpass filter—to overpower the flare created by the event itself. The user can see "into" the glare of the muzzle flash or the welding arc.

Result

Large drop in brightness to user
Large power reduction
Large reduction in heat
Large increase in camera brightness

Correct alignment of the light’s output results in 100% efficiency

Double pulse

The double pulse feature allows the user to have two exposures in a single frame, a technique ideal for PIV applications where two very short laser pulses in sequential camera exposures separated by a very short duration (straddle) are required.

Two exposures in a single frame: Currently if a user is trying to understand the motion of a bullet, they increase the frame speed of the high-speed camera to see enough frames of motion; increasing frame rate has the effect of decreasing the resolution.

This new method of double sampling (double exposure) means that the camera can be operated at half speed and benefit from twice the resolution.

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Alternating pulse

The alternating pulse mode allows the user to set two different pulses on alternating frames. This is ideal for creating two levels of illumination when more dynamic range is required.

Many recordings require a high dynamic range. Modern high- speed cameras can produce up to 12 bits of dynamic range. This is often sufficient for many applications, but some applications benefit from the ability to see into a dark area at the same time as view the light area. CMOS sensors can correct for this to a certainextent, but when we reach this limit what if we could use lighting to assist in these circumstances?

Using SILC, the i-SPEED® 7 camera can be run at double the desired frame rate with the even numbered frames illuminated with a long pulse generating a bright image, and then every odd numbered frame illuminated with a short pulse, creating an image with a less intense level of brightness.

Synchronize other cameras at lower frequencies

Allows a user to operate a camera at a higher frequency and a second camera recording at a lower frequency. With SILC, a user does not need an external sync box with multiple outputs.

Example: If the main camera is running at 10,000fps and the second overview camera only needs to operate at 1,000fps, then the SILC can generate a sync pulse that skips nine frames before pulsing again.

Note: Here we are not using the SILC output to drive a light but to synchronize another camera.

Synchronize other cameras at double frequencies

A second camera or another piece of equipment may need to run twice as fast as the master camera.

This can be achieved using the double pulse option in the master camera.

Example: Shows the slave camera driving the light with its accurate SILC system.

The flexibility of the SILC system enables many different application demands.

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