Ultra-fast streaming camera platform for scientific applications

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a method for non-destructive investigation. Three-dimensional images of internal structure can be reconstructed using a two-dimensional detector. The poly-chromatic high density photon flux in the modern synchrotron light sources offers hard X-ray imaging with a spatio-temporal resolution up to the μm-μs range. Existing indirect X-ray image detectors can be adapted for fast image acquisition by employing CMOS-based digital high speed camera. In this paper, we propose a high-speed visible light camera based on commercial CMOS sensor with embedded processing implemented in FPGA. This platform has been used to develop a novel architecture for a self-event trigger. This feature is able to increase the original frame rate of the CMOS sensor and reduce the amount of the received data. Thanks to a low noise design, high frame rate (kilohertz range) and high speed data transfer, this camera can be employed in modern synchrotron ultra-fast X-ray radiography and computed tomography. The camera setup is accomplished by high-throughput Linux drivers and a seamless integration in our GPU computing framework. Selected applications from life sciences and materials research underline the high potential of this high-speed camera in a hard X-ray micro-imaging approach.