ULTRA-FAST TIME-RESOLVED SPECTROFLUOROMETER

A FAST AND HIGH SENSITIVITY TIME-RESOLVED SPECTROFLUOROMETER IS BEING DEVELOPED INTO A COMMERCIAL PRODUCT. IN CONTRAST WITH THE CLASSICAL FLUOROMETRIC METHOD, SUCH AS TIME-CORRELATED SINGLE PHOTON COUNTING AND PHASE MODULATION, THE NOVEL INSTRUMENT IS BASED ON THE INTRODUCTION OF TWO RECENTLY DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGIES: (1) SINGLE PULSE LASER EXCITATION AND NANOSECOND WAVEFORM ANALYZING BY ELECTRONIC IMAGING, AND (2) ACOUSTOOPTICAL TUNABLE FILTER AS AN ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED MONOCHROMATOR. THE INSTRUMENTS HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF SIMULTANEOUSLY ACQUIRING A COMPLETE SET OF DECAY AND SPECTRAL CURVE SUFFICIENT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 3-D MANIFOLD WITHIN 1 SECOND. THE SENSITIVITY OF THE INSTRUMENT CAN BE AS HIGH AS AT FEMTOMOLE (10(-15) MOLE) AND ATTOMOLE (10(-18) MOLE) LEVEL. THESE ARE FAR BEYOND THE CAPABILITIES OF CURRENT INSTRUMENTS. THE INSTRUMENT IS COMPACT, LIGHTWEIGHT, LOW-COST, AND SUITABLE FOR FACILITATING WIDE APPLICATIONS OF THE FLUOROSCOPIC METHOD. THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO USE THE METHOD TO DEVELOP NUMEROUS SPECIALIZED INSTRUMENTS FOR BASIC RESEARCH AS WELL AS FOR CLINICAL AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS.