TCSPC FIFO mode

A variation of the TCSPC technique does not build up photon distributions but stores information about each individual photon. This is called time tag , time stamp , list , or FIFO mode. The memory is configured as a FIFO buffer. For each photon, this method stores the time in the signal period ( micro time ), the time from the start of the experiment ( macro time ), and the data word at the channel input. During the measurement, the FIFO is continuously read, and the photon data are transferred into the main memory or to the hard disc of a computer. Advanced TCSPC devices often can be configured either to build up a multidimensional photon distribution or to store the individual photons. The FIFO mode is described in Sect. 3.6, page 43. 

Spectroscopy of single molecules is based on fluorescence correlation, photoncounting histograms, or burst-integrated-lifetime techniques. Each case requires recording not only the times of the photons in the laser period, but also their absolute time. Modem time-resolved single molecule techniques therefore use almost exclusively the FIFO (time-tag) mode of TCSPC. The FIFO mode records all information about each individual photon, i.e. the time in the laser pulse sequence (micro time), the time from the start of the experiment (macro time), and the number of the detector that detected the photon (see Sect. 3.6, page 43). 

The structure in the time-tag mode is shown in Fig. 3.15. It contains the channel register, the time-measurement block, a macro time" clock, and the FIFO buffer for a large number of photons. It has some similarity to the multidimensional TCSPC described in the paragraphs above. In fact, many advanced TCSPC modules have both the photon distribution and the time-tag mode implemented, and the configuration can be changed by a software command [25]. The sequencer then turns into the macrotime clock, and the memory turns into the FIFO buffer. 

The afterpulsing probability can be measured by illuminating the detector by a source of continuous classic light, such as an incandescent lamp or an LED, and recording the detector pulses in the FIFO (time-tag) mode of a TCSPC module. 

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