PicoQuant has released version 6.1 of its data acquisition software for use with the company's TimeHarp 200 time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) board. The upgrade provides several new features, including a new real-time correlator for fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), which calculates auto-correlation and cross-correlation simultaneously. The software also supports control for further monochromator models, permitting the automated recording of time-resolved emission spectra (TRES). Device drivers for the latest 64-bit versions of Windows Vista are included.
The software supports multi-detector routing with PMTs or TTL SPAD detectors, as well as an optional time-tagged time-resolved (TTTR) mode, with or without routing. External markers for synchronisation with other processes can be recorded in TTTR mode. This provides synchronisation with virtually all existing imaging devices including laser scanning microscopes (LSM). Dedicated upgrade kits for widespread microscope models are available. This allows the user to record fluorescence lifetime images with these systems at any resolution and size. The new version 6.1 of the system software is provided free of charge to all owners of a TimeHarp 200 board.
The board itself features a bin width of less than 40ps, 3MHz maximum count rate, and a very low differential non-linearity. These specifications qualify the TimeHarp for use with all common single photon detectors such as photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), and single photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs). The TimeHarp 200 system is software reconfigurable and can operate in various modes.