Fast time-correlated multi-element photon detector and method
US7310142B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 22, 2005 |
| Grant date | Dec 18, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 26, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2021/6441
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Photons emitted from a sample responsive to being excited by laser pulses are directed through a prism onto a photomultiplier tube having several spaced-apart anodes. The prism alters the path of each photon as a function of its wavelength so that the wavelength determines the anode to which the photon is directed. Taps of first and second delay lines that are coupled to respective alternating anodes. When an anode receives the photon, it generates a pulse that propagates through the delay line in opposite directions from its associated tap. A timer determines first and second times from the laser pulse to the pulse reaching the first and second ends of the delay line. The difference between the first and second times corresponds to the wavelength of the emitted photon and the sum of the first and second times corresponds to the emission delay of the emitted photon.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.