Small SPAD-arrays for confocal fluoresence lifetime imaging

Abstract

Confocal microscopy is an essential tool in many academic disciplines due to its intrinsic sectioning capability. The combination with time-resolved single photon detectors and time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) devices has established it as the leading platform for time resolved investigation methods such as fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM). Recently, high-performance SPAD-arrays featuring few tens of pixels have become available. In this work we present the two central hardware building blocks: PicoQuant's latest multi-channel TCSPC device and a cooled high-performance 23-pixel SPAD-array developed jointly with Pi Imaging Technologies. We discuss how these open up new possibilities in time-resolved confocal microscopy.