At high count rates the photon numbers recorded in TCSPC FLIM are impaired by counting loss effects. The photon numbers in the pixels therefore becomes a nonlinear function of the pixel intensity. Consequently, the images are more and more losing contrast with increasing count rate. In the new SPC-160 TCSPC FLIM modules we therefore implemented a parallel counter channel that delivers pixel photon number with virtually no counting loss. FLIM images built up from lifetimes of the TCSPC data and intensities from the parallel counter show substantially improved contrast compared to conventional FLIM images.
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