TimepixCam: a fast optical imager with time-stamping

Fisher-Levine, Merlin; Nomerotski, A.

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/11/03/c03016

Cited by 68 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The fast cameras described below are based on the so-called hybrid pixel detectors: a pixelated optical sensor with a high quantum efficiency (QE) is bump-bonded to a Timepix ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). The design of the back-side illuminated silicon sensor, in particular its thin entrance window, was inspired by the fully depleted astronomical CCDs, such as used, for example, in LSST [10], while the readout chip is a product of the Medipix [5], TimepixCam [12], was built in 2015, followed in 2017 by the next generation camera, Tpx3Cam [13], based on Timepix3 [6]. Both cameras employ the same sensor.…”

Section: Fast Optical Cameras Based On Timepix2 and Timepix3mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Nomerotski

2019

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

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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

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Section: Fast Optical Cameras Based On Timepix2 and Timepix3mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Nomerotski

2019

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

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“…29 Briefly, TimepixCam is based on the XRI UNO X-ray camera (X-Ray Imatek S.L., Spain) which has a maximum continuous readout rate of ∼10 fps, which is limited by the bandwidth of the USB2 readout. The camera is fitted with a Timepix readout chip, with a specialized silicon sensor bump bonded to the chip.…”

Section: A Timepixcammentioning

confidence: 99%

“…29 Here, we have used the TimepixCam camera in combination with an off-the-shelf image intensifier for wide-field timecorrelated single photon counting (TCSPC) imaging, to map phosphorescence decays of iridium complexes with lifetimes of ∼1 µs. The image intensifier is needed since the sensitivity of TimepixCam by itself is not sufficient to register single photons in the visible with an energy of 2-4 eV.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photon counting phosphorescence lifetime imaging with TimepixCam

Hirvonen

Fisher-Levine

Suhling

et al. 2017

Review of Scientific Instruments

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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.

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“…An 8 8 × pixel anode read-out with 43 ps time resolution that uses application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) originally developed in CERN has been demonstrated, and a 32 32 × pixel detector has been planned, but the large pixel size of 0.5 mm and limited number of pixels mean that the development of these detectors is aimed more at highcontent screening applications [126]. Another CMOS pixel read-out chip (also developed in CERN for particle physics applications), the MediPix2/TimePix ASIC with 10 ns time resolution, 256 256 × pixels and 55 μm pixel size, has been combined with an MCP for single photon detection [127,128]. The main drawback of this detector is the 266 μs frame readout time which limits the global count rate.…”

Section: Anode Readoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, new generation Timepix3 chips [129] improve the timing resolution by an order of magnitude to 1.5 ns and allow asynchronous readout of the hit pixels with only 0.5 μs dead time, effectively allowing multi-hit functionality at the pixel level. Combined with a faster read-out in the kHz regime [128], these detectors could soon find more applications in wide-field TCSPC imaging.…”

Section: Anode Readoutmentioning

confidence: 99%