Time-correlated single photon counting light sources

In the time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) technique, the sample is excited with a pulsed light source. The light source, optics, and detector are adjusted so that, for a given sample, no more than one photon is detected. When the source is pulsed, a timer is started. When a photon reaches the detector, the time is measured. Over the course of the... 

Time correlated single photon counting is a well-established technique that has been used to measure fluorescence lifetimes since the mid-1960 s. These early experiments, which used a variety of flashlamps and gaseous gap-discharge arcs as the excitation source, were reviewed by Ware [47, 48] in 1971. The traditional light sources have been replaced by laser sources in recent experiments, thus markedly extending the range of applications of this technique. Particularly well suited excitation sources for this method are the mode-locked lasers and synchronously pumped dye lasers which are capable of operation at MHz repetition rates. 

A block diagram of a time correlated single photon counting apparatus is shown in Fig. 7.8 there is the housing of a pulsed light source directly connected to a light detector (called start photomultiplier, start PMT), an optional (exciting)... 

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