Single-photon camera for high-sensitivity high-speed applications

Fabrizio Guerrieri; Simone Tisa; Alberto Tosi; Franco Zappa

doi:10.1117/12.838958

25 January 2010 Single-photon camera for high-sensitivity high-speed applications

Fabrizio Guerrieri, Simone Tisa, Alberto Tosi, Franco Zappa

Proceedings Volume 7536, Sensors, Cameras, and Systems for Industrial/Scientific Applications XI; 753605 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.838958
Event: IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging, 2010, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

We present a high-speed Single-Photon Camera for demanding applications in biology, astrophysics, telecommunications, 3D imaging and security surveillance. The camera is based on a 32-by-32 array of "smart pixels" processed in a standard high-voltage technology. Every pixel is a completely independent photon-counting channel. Sensitivity is at the single-photon level and no readout noises affect the measure. The camera has high Photon-Detection Efficiency (PDE) in the blu/green visible spectrum (45% at 450 nm) and low Dark-Counting Rate (DCR) even at room temperature (usually lower than 2 kcps). The use of microlenses makes it possible to further increase the effective pixel fill-factor. The camera can be configured by means of a cross-platform user-friendly software that communicates with the camera through a fast USB link. The integration time window may range from few tens of nanoseconds to milliseconds. The maximum frame rate for the whole 1,024 pixels is about 100 kframe/s, while the minimum 20 ns dead-time between frames boosts the sensor dynamic range. The camera is equipped with a standard C-Mount connector. A gating input pin can be used to quickly gate on/off the integration. The camera works in One-Shot mode for the maximum acquisition speed, Real-Time mode for very long measurements and Live mode for setups alignment purposes.

Citation Download Citation

Fabrizio Guerrieri, Simone Tisa, Alberto Tosi, and Franco Zappa "Single-photon camera for high-sensitivity high-speed applications", Proc. SPIE 7536, Sensors, Cameras, and Systems for Industrial/Scientific Applications XI, 753605 (25 January 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.838958

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available