A novel ultra-high speed camera for digital image processing applications

Multi-channel gated-intensified cameras are commonly used for capturing images at ultra-high frame rates. The use of image intensifiers reduces the image resolution and increases the error in applications requiring high-quality images, such as digital image correlation. We report the development of a new type of non-intensified multi-channel camera system that permits recording of image sequences at ultra-high frame rates at the native resolution afforded by the imaging optics and the cameras used. This camera system is based upon the concept of using a sequence of short-duration light pulses of different wavelengths for illumination and using wavelength selective elements in the imaging system to route each particular wavelength of light to a particular camera. As such, the duration of the light pulses controls the exposure time and the timing of the light pulses controls the interframe time. A prototype camera system built according to this concept comprises four dual-frame cameras synchronized with four dual-cavity pulsed lasers producing 5 ns pulses in four different wavelengths. The prototype is capable of recording four-frame full-resolution image sequences at frame rates up to 200 MHz and eight-frame image sequences at frame rates up to 8 MHz. This system is built around a stereo microscope to capture stereoscopic image sequences usable for 3D digital image correlation. The camera system is used for imaging the chip-workpiece interface area during high speed machining, and the images are used to map the strain rate in the primary shear zone.