Andor’s iKon-XL is a thermoelectrically (TE) cooled, very large area CCD camera platform, accommodating large field of view sensors that are ideally suited to long exposure astronomy applications. Using the unique, patent-pending ColdSpace™ technology, the ultrasensitive iKon-XL is capable of TE cooling a 16.8 Megapixel sensor (e2v back-illuminated) down to -100 °C, avoiding the requirement for liquid nitrogen or unreliable cryo coolers. The iKon-XL also uses an exclusive Extended Dynamic Range technology, facilitating lowest noise and maximum well depth within one scan, complemented by up to 18-bit digitization capability. Flexible connectivity is standard through either USB 3.0 or a long distance direct fibre optic interface.

The iKon-XL 231 model uses the e2v CCD231-84 ‘astro’ back-illuminated sensor, offering a very large 61.4 x 61.4 mm imaging area from a 4096 x 4112 array format and 15 µm pixel size. Available with a range of sensor QE coatings, in both standard and deep depletion formats (the latter for extended NIR coverage), the model also offers the absolute best CCD performance available, combining exceptionally low read noise of 2.1 e- with a very large well depth of 350,000 e-. Facilitated by iKon-XL’s unique Extended Dynamic Range technology, even a non-binned image requires 18-bit digitization in order not to under-sample the resulting extraordinary dynamic range!