Abstract
TimepixCam is a novel fast optical imager based on an optimized silicon pixel sensor with a thin entrance window and read out by a Timepix Application Specific Integrated Circuit. The 256 × 256 pixel sensor has a time resolution of 15 ns at a sustained frame rate of 10 Hz. We used this sensor in combination with an image intensifier for wide-field time-correlated single photon counting imaging. We have characterised the photon detection capabilities of this detector system and employed it on a wide-field epifluorescence microscope to map phosphorescence decays of various iridium complexes with lifetimes of about 1 μs in 200 μm diameter polystyrene beads.
Highlights
The detection of single photons in the visible portion of the spectrum and the timing of their arrival with nanosecond resolution are important in many fields of science and technology, for example, in fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy, Geiger mode lidar, optical tomography, and quantum cryptography.1–4 In the life sciences, lifetime imaging in the microsecond regime is often used to image microenvironments, for example, oxygen concentrations or viscosities.5,6 The long lifetime of the probe increases the sensitivity by giving the probe more time to interact with the environment and allowing short-lived autofluorescence from the sample to be discarded
TimepixCam is a novel fast optical imager based on an optimized silicon pixel sensor with a thin entrance window and read out by a Timepix Application Specific Integrated Circuit
To evaluate the detection system response prior to imaging the test pattern and bead samples, the TimepixCam in combination with the image intensifier was illuminated by a faint light source and the resulting performance parameters were evaluated
Summary
The detection of single photons in the visible portion of the spectrum and the timing of their arrival with nanosecond resolution are important in many fields of science and technology, for example, in fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy, Geiger mode lidar, optical tomography, and quantum cryptography. In the life sciences, lifetime imaging in the microsecond regime is often used to image microenvironments, for example, oxygen concentrations or viscosities. The long lifetime of the probe increases the sensitivity by giving the probe more time to interact with the environment and allowing short-lived autofluorescence from the sample to be discarded. The detection of single photons in the visible portion of the spectrum and the timing of their arrival with nanosecond resolution are important in many fields of science and technology, for example, in fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy, Geiger mode lidar, optical tomography, and quantum cryptography.. Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) as a method to measure and map decay times has been reported to have the best signal-to-noise ratio of the standard timeresolved imaging methods.. Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) as a method to measure and map decay times has been reported to have the best signal-to-noise ratio of the standard timeresolved imaging methods.11–14 It is independent of probe concentration or excitation intensity variations, and further advantages include a high dynamic range, high sensitivity, linearity, well-defined Poisson statistics, and easy visualization of photon arrival time data. Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) as a method to measure and map decay times has been reported to have the best signal-to-noise ratio of the standard timeresolved imaging methods. It is independent of probe concentration or excitation intensity variations, and further advantages include a high dynamic range, high sensitivity, linearity, well-defined Poisson statistics, and easy visualization of photon arrival time data.
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