Time-domain diffuse optics can break the pile-up bottleneck thanks to high light harvesting single-photon detectors

Thanks to the use of solid-state detectors such as silicon photomultipliers, time-domain diffuse optics (TD-DO) instruments are moving from bulky to compact forms, while allowing increased light harvesting capabilities, high throughput, and improved signal-to-noise ratio acquisitions. Very large area single-photon detection modules have been created within the SP-LADOS project (supported by the EU ATTRACT project), improving light harvesting capabilities and allowing the possibility of pushing towards the ultimate limits of TD-DO. However, to fully leverage the potential of this cutting-edge detector, there is a need to move beyond the limitations of single photon statistics. Thus, the unknown operating regime of the very high count rates must be investigated. Indeed, the use of very large count-rates causes a considerable signal distortion, which must be corrected. In this study, we show the large-area SiPM modules’ improved sensitivity, as well as preliminary in-silico results on the advantages of operating in a high-count rate environment.