Single quantum emitters detection with amateur CCD: Comparison to a scientific-grade camera

Abstract

Fluorescence imaging of single quantum light emitters (atoms, molecules, quantum dots, color centers in crystals) is an inherent experimental problem of modern photonics and its numerous applications. In these measurements, highly sensitive cameras are of the key significance. Recent progress in technologies of charge-coupling devices (CCD) and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors opens up possibilities for detection of extreme low light signals up to a single photon counting. Here, we investigate the parameters of high-professional scientific- and amateur-grade cameras in the view of their use in the fluorescence nanoscopy with the detection of single molecules and, in general, quantum emitters of different nature. A series of photoluminescence imaging experiments have been conducted with single colloidal semiconductor core-shell nanocrystals CdSeS/ZnS (quantum dots, QD), which are usually considered as a basis of various sensors and actuators technologies. We find parameters of the experiment for the amateur-grade camera to obtain images of single QDs with signal-to-noise ratio compared to the scientific-grade camera at exposure times ranging from 1s to 1000s.