Quantitative optical detection serves as the foundation for all of spectroscopy. However, the intrinsic dynamic range of intensities detected can pose significant practical bottlenecks in quantitative analysis. In the present study, statistical methods coupled with high-speed digitization are shown to allow optical detection spanning up to 8 decades with a common photomultiplier tube (PMT), limited only by dark counts on the low end and space-charge effects in the PMT on the high end. Real-time data-mining allows raw data throughputs of >3 GB/s to be stored as files of only a few kB.  Extension of the statistical approach to pixel array detectors enable a ~100-fold improvement in the dynamic range of photon counting at each pixel in a megapixel array. Initial applications are described for quantitative second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy of active pharmaceutical ingredient crystallization, where the intensities within a single image can easily span 7 decades.

Real-time data mining for high dynamic range optical detection

246th National Meeting (2013)

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