Fully parallel correction algorithm for real-time distortion-free TCSPC operation via direct dead time measurement

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optical Measurement Techniques
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) is crucial for high-temporal-resolution photonic applications.
• Conventional TCSPC is limited by pile-up distortion at high count rates, causing statistical bias.
• Existing methods to extend TCSPC to higher speeds are computationally intensive and not real-time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a fully parallel TCSPC strategy to overcome real-time operation limitations.
• To eliminate pile-up distortion in TCSPC by directly measuring detector availability.
• To enable practical, high-speed TCSPC applications beyond laboratory environments.

Main Methods:

• Developed a closed-form mathematical formulation for a parallel TCSPC strategy.
• Implemented an auxiliary histogram to map detector availability in real-time.
• Validated the approach experimentally on modern processing architectures.

Main Results:

• Successfully removed the computational bottleneck of sequential auxiliary histogram construction.
• Demonstrated distortion-free TCSPC operation in the multi-photon regime at high speeds.
• Achieved experimental validation of the proposed parallel TCSPC strategy.

Conclusions:

• The fully parallel TCSPC approach enables real-time, distortion-free measurements at high count rates.
• This advancement significantly broadens the applicability of TCSPC in various scientific and industrial fields.
• The presented strategy paves the way for more accessible and robust time-resolved photonic measurements.