The PhotoniQ MCPC618 eight-channel, high-speed photon counting system from Vertilon (Westford, MA) for photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) uses photon counting as the primary signal measurement technique. Each independent channel can resolve photon occurrences at an event pair resolution of less than 4 ns at sustained counting rates exceeding 250 MHz per channel. A microGate feature, when synchronized to a user-supplied timing signal, allows the counting process to be selectively enabled or disabled with sub-nanosecond resolution.
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PRESS RELEASE
Vertilon Launches MCPC618 Eight Channel High Speed Photon Counting System
Specialized System for PMTs and Silicon Photomultipliers Reaches Speeds up to Two Billion Photon Counts per Second
WESTFORD, MA - Vertilon Corporation (http://www.vertilon.com), a leader in high performance multichannel data acquisition systems for optical sensors, announced today that it has launched the PhotoniQ MCPC618 eight channel high speed photon counting system. Positioned as a complementary product to the company's line of charge integrating DAQ systems, the MCPC618 is Vertilon's first data acquisition product for photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) that uses photon counting as the primary signal measurement technique.
By building on its experience with PMTs and SiPMs in low light applications, the company said that it developed the MCPC618 to meet the needs of customers requiring precision ultra-low light level sensing at extremely high speeds. The instrument is designed to directly interface to high gain optical devices without the need for external preamplifiers or other electronics.
Each independent channel is capable of resolving photon occurrences at an event pair resolution of less than four nanoseconds at sustained counting rates exceeding 250 MHz per channel. When triggered, signal count data is simultaneously acquired across all channels and transferred to a PC through a high speed USB connection. Data can be displayed on the PC using an included graphical user interface or streamed to the user's real-time custom software application.
The MCPC618 also includes a unique microGate feature that when synchronized to a user-supplied timing signal allows the counting process to be selectively enabled or disabled with sub-nanosecond resolution. This feature is particularly useful in applications where counting must be inhibited while an excitation source such as a laser is active.
"The MCPC618 is a perfect complement to our PhotoniQ product line," said Vincent Palermo, President of Vertilon. "With the introduction of this product, we now offer the most comprehensive line of data acquisition products for PMTs and silicon photomultipliers." Targeting particle sensing, DNA sequencing, fluorescence detection, LIDAR, and other low light level applications, the MCPC618 is in production and available now.