Picosecond fluorescence spectroscopy with a streak camera

Abstract

Streak cameras have enabled kinetic data in the picosecond time regime to be obtained from single laser shots. Digitization of the streaked image with an optical multichannel analyser results in accurate fluorescent decay curves from which accurate fluorescence lifetimes may be calculated, and in which non-exponential decays are readily detected. This paper describes the characteristics of the picosecond laser system at the University of Melbourne. For excitation, a Nd³⁺ : glass mode-locked laser, Pockels cell pulse selector and various harmonic generators are used; a streak camera/OMA system linked directly to a computer is used to detect fluorescence.