The time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) technique combined with clock oscillator set by the pulsed laser provides a precise measurement of the arrival time of the detected photons with picosecond resolution for a time-scale of hours. If TCSPC is combined with other experimental techniques such as optical spectroscopy and mechanical manipulation, it is possible to coincide the detected fluorescence signal with the changes of the sample properties. High temporal resolution achieved in TCSPC (down to ps) allows us to monitor fast mechanical processes in single molecules. Here we present recent developments in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) as well as the combination of TCSPC with optical scanning microscopy and mechanical manipulation by means of an atomic-force microscope (AFM).

Date Published: 25 October 2006
PDF: 13 pages
Proc. SPIE 6372, Advanced Photon Counting Techniques, 637203 (25 October 2006); doi: 10.1117/12.685366

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6372:
Advanced Photon Counting Techniques
Wolfgang Becker, Editor(s)