pco.flim (Fluroescence Lifetime Imaging)

pco.flim - Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging camera

The pco.flim camera system is the first luminescence lifetime imaging camera using a new modulatable CMOS image sensor. It offers all the required generation of frequency domain signals (5 kHz – 40 MHz) and also allows the use of external modulation signals in a limited frequency range (500 kHz – 40 MHz).

It has a USB 3.0 interface for image data transfer and control of all camera operation modes. Further, a variety of trigger input / output signals for integration of the camera into any application framework is available. The next tables gives an overview of the performance data of the camera system.

Features of pco.flim:

- 100ps - 100µs lifetimes measurable
- 5kHz - 40MHz modulation frequencies
- 500kHz – 40MHz external modulation signals
- Modulation signal shape sinusoidal / rectangular
- 1008 x 1008 pixel resolution
- Frequency domain FLIM
- USB 3.0 interface
- 39% quantum efficiency
- 1000:1 dynamic range
- 48 e- rms readout noise
- 45 double frames per s (2 tap readout)
- 1ms to 2 s selectable exposure times
- Vibration-free water cooling
- Special software for measurement and analysis

Simple setup to measure fluorescence lifetime decay with pco.flim camera system (frequency domain FLIM):

QE curve of pco.flim camera:

Click in this video to see the capabilities of pco.flim in Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging:

Principle of photoluminescence in frequency domain - pco.flim

This video shows the principle of photoluminescence in the time domain (pulsed excitation) and in the frequency domain (continuous, modulated excitation) using the pco.flim (a specialized camera for luminescence lifetime measurements in the frequency domain). The corresponding waveforms of light, shaped and delayed by a reflective target and a photoluminescent sample, are visualized. In the time domain a short light pulse excites a photoluminescent sample, which emits a decaying light pulse. In the frequency domain, the same sample introduces a phase shift to the luminescent response of the periodically modulated excitation light. This particular phase shift can be detected by the pco.flim, which provides a dedicated modulatable image sensor. Click here to see the video.