Multi-Channel Fluorescence Lifetime Measuring Instrument Using a Novel Low-Cost Digitizer

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project concerns the development of a multi-channel fluorescence lifetime measuring instrument using a novel low-cost digitizer. The key to bringing the well-known utility of fluorescence lifetime measurements "to the masses" is to have a low-cost instrument with excellent speed and accuracy. This work will pioneer a measuring technique that, by taking advantage of recent developments in lasers, goes a long way toward meeting the needs of such an instrument. However, there is one vital component, the digitizer that presently accounts for more than half of the cost. Commercially available digitizers do not match the needs of the application and are therefore too expensive or lack essential capabilities. However, This work has found a unique custom ASIC that appears to be a good match. This ASIC is a waveform digitizer developed at Berkeley National Laboratory for the AMANDA neutrino telescope. This work will prototype and characterizes a multi-channel fluorescence lifetime measuring instrument that uses this ASIC as the digitizer. If the phase I objectives are achieved, this work will be able to build exceptionally affordable instruments that can enable and greatly expand the use of fluorescence lifetime measurements in a vast range of applications.