A single-photon sensitive ebCMOS camera: The LUSIPHER prototype

Processing high-definition images with single-photon sensitivity acquired above 500 frames per second (fps) will certainly find ground-breaking applications in scientific and industrial domains such as nano-photonics. However, current technologies for low light imaging suffer limitations above the standard 30 fps to keep providing both excellent spatial resolution and signal-over-noise. This paper presents the state of the art on a promising way to answer this challenge, the electron bombarded CMOS (ebCMOS) detector. A large-scale ultra fast single-photon tracker camera prototype produced with an industrial partner is described. The full characterization of the back-thinned CMOS sensor is presented and a method for Point Spread Function measurements is elaborated. Then the study of the ebCMOS performance is presented for two different multi-alkali cathodes, S20 and S25. Point Spread Function measurements carried out on an optical test bench are analysed to extract the PSF of the tube by deconvolution. The resolution of the tube is studied as a function of temperature, high voltage and incident wavelength. Results are discussed for both multi-alkali cathodes as well as a Maxwellian modelization of the radial initial energy of the photo-electrons. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.