Single-photon camera for high-sensitivity high-speed applications

We present a high-speed Single-Photon Camera for demanding applications in biology, astrophysics, telecommunications, 3D imaging and security surveillance. The camera is based on a 32-by-32 array of "smart pixels" processed in a standard high-voltage technology. Every pixel is a completely independent photon-counting channel. Sensitivity is at the single-photon level and no readout noises affect the measure. The camera has high Photon-Detection Efficiency (PDE) in the blu/green visible spectrum (45% at 450 nm) and low Dark-Counting Rate (DCR) even at room temperature (usually lower than 2 kcps). The use of microlenses makes it possible to further increase the effective pixel fill-factor. The camera can be configured by means of a cross-platform user-friendly software that communicates with the camera through a fast USB link. The integration time window may range from few tens of nanoseconds to milliseconds. The maximum frame rate for the whole 1,024 pixels is about 100 kframe/s, while the minimum 20 ns dead-time between frames boosts the sensor dynamic range. The camera is equipped with a standard C-Mount connector. A gating input pin can be used to quickly gate on/off the integration. The camera works in One-Shot mode for the maximum acquisition speed, Real-Time mode for very long measurements and Live mode for setups alignment purposes.