Imaging and time stamping of photons with nanosecond resolution in Timepix based optical cameras

Abstract

This contribution describes fast time-stamping cameras sensitive to optical photons and their applications.Keywords: time-stamping camera, imaging mass spectrometry, fluorescent lifetime imaging, single photon imaging, Tpx3Cam, TimepixCam Imaging with photon countingImaging of fast processes with nanosecond-scale timing resolution is necessary in many applications. Detection of individual photons is ultimately the best route to capture all available information for the process in which they were created. This information then can be used to do basic imaging by counting all detected photons or, if desired, to perform more complex operations with the data, which could involve timing of individual hits or some correlation analysis.Photon counting is already a widely used modality in x-ray imaging, where the signal is large enough to detect individual photons directly without external amplification, and to enable measurement of the time and energy for each of them.Here, we describe the concept of time stamping for optical photons, including single optical photons, and review recent results on TimepixCam and Tpx3Cam cameras, which can be used for this purpose.Framing versus time-stamping: In conventional imagers the signal is integrated in a slice of time and stored in the pixel for consequent readout, frame by frame. Currently, this approach makes it impossible to achieve nanosecond

A new imaging technology based on Compton X-ray scattering

“…While it is possible to build on the existing NEXT experience, it seems just timely to consider an alternative that largely simplifies the above aspects, by resorting to ultra-fast (1.6 ns resolution) hit-based TimePix cameras (e.g. Amsterdam Scientific Instruments, 2019;Nomerotski, 2019). The camera would be coupled to a suitable VUV lens so a larger scintillating area can be fully imaged in small sensor, allowing 256 Â 256 pixel readout at 80 Mhits s À1 , more than sufficient for this application.…”

Angle-dependent strong-field ionization and fragmentation of carbon dioxide measured using rotational wave packets

“…Since the Even-Lavie valve operates at 1 kHz, we get four combinations of pump and gas (the probe is always present) pulses in each chopper cycle: pump-probegas, pump-probe-no gas, probe-gas and probe-no gas. A velocity map imaging (VMI) spectrometer [42] using a thick-lens design [43] with micro-channel plate detector (MCP) and fast phosphor screen was used in Time-of-Flight (ToF) mode for measuring ion yields, or in imaging mode with the images captured by a Tpx3Cam detector [44,45] in order to determine the angular distribution of fragment ions.…”

Counting of Hong-Ou-Mandel Bunched Optical Photons Using a Fast Pixel Camera

“…Typically these designs also need to be intensified, requiring additional amplification in a micro-channel plate (MCP) to be sensitive to single photons. Readout schemes include the direct registration of electrons after MCP [ 28 , 29 , 30 ] or an optical arrangement mediated by a scintillating layer between MCP and the optical sensor [ 31 , 32 ]. In our work here we focus on the latter devices, which offer superior flexibility and which we believe are a promising venue for the QIS applications.…”