In short
Key benefits
Widefield camera
Released in 2021, SPAD512² is the first commercially available SPAD camera in the world. The camera features a 512×512 SPAD image sensor for both photon-counting and photon-time gating applications. This camera is ideal to replace scientific CMOS and CCD cameras in widefield microscopy and high-speed imaging applications.
Wide detection spectra and low noise
Our single-photon detectors are fabricated in a state-of-the-art CMOS process and offer an ultra-low dark count rate of less than 25 cps. Microlenses enhance the sensor's detection efficiency.
Time gating
The sensor features time gating to study time varying signals of interest, such as FLIM. This makes it a perfect addition to any widefield FLIM microscopy setup.
Plug and Play
The system requires just a 5V power adapter and two USB3 cables to run. For full flexibility, 2 additional control lines can be connected to the SMA connectors. The industry standard C/CS-mount optical port and the M4 screw mounting positions offer a flexible integration into any existing optical setup.
System integration
The detector is bundled with an intuitive software interface. The software gives easy access to all functionalities offered by our detectors, allows for fast prototyping and makes acquiring widefield single-photon data easier than ever. For the advanced users, we offer full remote control through a standard TCP/IP interface. This enables the user to take full control of the system from any TCP/IP capable software package, such as Matlab, Octave, Labview and Python.
Widefield video-rate imaging
Thanks to its large 512×512 SPAD image sensor, our camera is an ideal candidate to complement a widefield microscope. Time gating makes the camera a suitable candidate for widefield, video-rate FLIM applications. Other applications include high-speed imaging and quantum correlation imaging.
Applications
To showcase real life examples of our camera in various applications, we refer to our applications page.
SPAD512² applications
White paper
Learn more about the comparison of our SPAD technology versus sCMOS in low-light conditions.
SPAD512² vs. sCMOS white paperTypical specifications
| Standard system | High-speed system | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microlensed | ✖ | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ |
| Array size | 512×512 pixels | |||
| Peak detection probability | 50% @ 520 nm | |||
| Wavelength window | 400—950 nm | |||
| Pixel pitch | 16.38 um | |||
| Active area size | 6×6 um | 16×16 um | 6×6 um | 16×16 um |
| Microlens efficiency (collimated light) | n.a. | >50% | n.a. | >50% |
| Median dark count rate | <25 cps | |||
| Maximum system bandwidth (2× USB-3) | 6 Gbps | |||
| Maximum frame rate (1-bit, 1 second burst) |
70,000 fps | 100,000 fps | ||
| Maximum frame rate (4-bit, semi-continuous) |
4,300 fps | 6,200 fps | ||
| Maximum frame rate (6-bit, continuous) |
1,080 fps | 1,600 fps | ||
| Maximum frame rate (7-bit, continuous) |
540 fps | 800 fps | ||
| Maximum frame rate (8-bit, continuous) |
270 fps | 400 fps | ||
| Minimum gate width | 6 ns | |||
| Minimum gate step size | 17 ps | |||
| Power consumption | 5—10 W | |||
| External SMA triggers | frame/gate trigger laser clock |
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| Peltier and air cooling | ✔ | |||
| Protective glass window | ✔ | |||
| Robust metal enclosure | ✔ | |||
