title: Fast-gated single-photon counting technique widens dynamic range and speeds up acquisition time in time-resolved measurements.
abstract: In many time-domain single-photon measurements, wide dynamic range (more than 5 orders of magnitude) is required in short acquisition time (few seconds). We report on the results of a novel technique based on a time-gated Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) able to increase the dynamic range of optical investigations. The optical signal is acquired only in well-defined time intervals. Very fast 200-ps gate-ON transition is used to avoid the undesired strong signal, which can saturate the detector, hide the fainter useful signal and reduce the dynamic range. In experimental measurements, we obtained a dynamic range approaching 8 decades in few minutes of acquisition.
authors.affiliation: Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Elettronica e Informazione, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milano, Italy. alberto.tosi@polimi.it
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tosi
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dalla Mora
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zappa
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gulinatti
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Contini
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pifferi
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spinelli
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torricelli
authors.forename: Rinaldo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cubeddu
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D005453:Fluorescence; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007834:Lasers; D055100:Optical Fibers; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D017785:Photons; D012825:Silicon; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon