1. Apr 29, 2007

### r-dizzel

Hello all!

does anyone know how to calculate the readout noise of a ccd?
i have found values for proffesional and amateur ccds on the net but as far can't find any method of calculation. what does the value depend on? charge transfer time? number of electrons collected? temperature? array size?

any input would be greatly appreciated

cheers all

2. May 1, 2007

### fasterthanjoao

The signal readout of a CCD is:
$$S=\frac{1}{G}*(N_{e}\pm \epsilon_{RN})$$

where $\epsilon_{RN}$ is the readout noise. $N_{e}[/tex] is the number of photons detected and [itex]G$ is the gain (the number of electrons per count).

Calculating the read noise if you have the above values is obviously very easy; but calculating a breakdown of read noise is not. Read noise is composed of many different factors (noise in the amplifier, thermal noise etc) and calculating each of these can be annoying

So I guess it might be wise to get some more information to answer your question properly: do you want to calculate the read noise of a CCD in your posession or is this a theoretical thing?