PRODUCT FOCUS SINGLE PHOTON COUNTING Every photon counts A round of up the latest products for single photon counting
Aurea Technology has launched SPD_NIR_OEM, a near-infrared OEM single photon counting module (SPCM) offering both continuous and gated mode operation. Thanks to its high performance Geiger-mode, InGaAs single-photon avalanche photodiode and enhanced embedded electronics, the SPD_NIR_OEM is a fast, compact (~10x7 x 5cm), high-performance NIR SPCM, ideal for high-demanding analytical quantum applications. In gated-mode the ‘champion’
version achieves low DCR of <1000cps at 10 per cent quantum- efficiency (QE), and up to 30 per cent QE at trigger rates from CW to 120MHz with very fast timing resolution/jitter of <150ps. Aurea’s easy-to-use GUI enables set-up and data transmission via USB or Bluetooth and the SPD_NIR_OEM is supplied with a full DLL library compatible with LabView and popular programming languages.
www.aureatechnology.com
Excelitas’ SPCMs are based on a silicon avalanche photodiode (SiAPD) design with super-
low ionisation ratio, delivering high detection efficiency with very low dark count across 600-900nm range. The SPCM-AQ4C is a four channel
array module capable of detecting single photons from each channel simultaneously and independently. Each SiAPD is thermoelectrically cooled and temperature controlled, ensuring stable performance in changing ambient temperatures. The SPCM-AQ4C card uses a circuit with a peak count rate >4 M c/s for short bursts of time on all four
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channels and 1.5 M c/s count rate for continuous operation. The output of each channel – a TTL pulse that is 4.5V high (into a 50 Ω load) and 25ns wide – is available at the card edge behind the circuit board. Each TTL pulse corresponds to a detected photon. All input and output signals are available at the optional card connector.
www.excelitas.com
The Count T from Laser Components is equipped with an avalanche photodiode with an active area of 150µm and features a high detection efficiency of more than 80 per cent and a temporal resolution of up to 350ps. In time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC), single photons are not only counted, but the time of
ID Quantique has introduced a 900- 1,700nm photon counter – the ID230 – with a multimode fibre input and a low dark count rate of <200Hz, at 20 per cent quantum efficiency. For applications that require asynchronous photon detection, IDQ has developed a new series of single photon detectors operating in free-running mode. The ID230, a photon detector product based on an InGaAs/InP avalanche
photodiode working in Geiger mode, provides fast avalanche quenching. This limits afterpulsing and allows operations to be run at reasonably short deadtimes, which can be set between 2-100µs. In addition, a
new cooling system enables temperatures to be reduced to 100°C. The ID230 combines low afterpulsing and low dark count rate with high quantum efficiency.
www.idquantique.com
detection is also determined based on a reference signal. Here, a laser pulse generally serves as a reference. This is a statistical counting method. TCSPC is used particularly in fluorescence lifetime measurements. This is often compared to a stop watch: a laser pulse excites a sample (time start); just a few pico or nanoseconds later, a ‘fluorescence photon’ is released (time stop). This time is recorded in a histogram. After many start-stop passes, a conclusive histogram is created that displays the intensity of the fluorescence depending on time.
In addition to fluorescence lifetime measurement (FLIM), the timing module is used in time-resolved fluorescence and single-molecule spectroscopy, as well as lidar applications.
www.lasercomponents.com
Photonic Solutions offers the complete product range from Becker
and Hickl (BH), including control and measurement systems and complete TCSPC systems. The manufacturer provides TCSPC systems with both high speed and detectability, and offers the option of customising systems around individual photon counting requirements. Becker and Hickl hold the World Record in an ultrafast TCSPC Time Resolution: 17.8ps FWHM recorded with bh card SPC-150NX and Scontel Superconducting NbN Detector. Products include photon counters, TCSPC cards, detectors, sampling modules, diode lasers, lock-in amplifiers, delay generators and amplifiers. These products are integrated into fluorescence systems and laser scanning microscopes for FRET and FLIM.
www.photonicsolutions.co.uk
Photonis released a new photocathode designed to produce a combination of low dark counts, fast response time, and high quantum efficiency (Hi-QE). Hi-QE photocathodes are engineered to provide heightened spectral sensitivity in specific wavelength ranges for use in photon-starved applications.
The Hi-QE photocathode increases quantum efficiency by 50 per cent when compared to standard S20 photocathodes, while lowering dark counts as much as 10 times with near- symmetrical pulse height distribution. Currently, the spectral ranges cover UV, blue and green wavelengths. The new
photocathodes are offered as an option to a number of Photonis photon counting products, including the hybrid photodiode, image intensifier, and MCP-PMT families of detectors. The Hi-QE option can also be specified for the Imaging Photon Camera, which provides high spatial resolution (<40µm in X and Y) as well as high timing resolution, less than 100ps. Cross strip, cross delay line, and resistive anode readouts are available for the camera. The new Hi-QE Photocathode is ideal for use in extremely low light level applications, including astronomy, biology, fluorescence, plasma research or nuclear physics. Additionally, the combination of detection efficiency, speed and low signal-to-noise ratio enhances the capabilities in single photon counting applications.
www.photonis.com
JUNE 2016 l ELECTRO OPTICS 35
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