Measuring fluorescence decay times by phase-shift and modulation techniques using the high harmonic content of pulsed light sources

Springer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 56 - Trang 110-124 - 2007
E. Gratton1, R. Lopez-Delgado1
1Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, USA

Tóm tắt

In the present work we discuss the possibility to measure fluorescence lifetimes by coupling pulsed excitation with phase-shift and amplitude-modulation detection techniques. We show that, because of the high harmonic content of narrow light pulses, the sample may be considered as simultaneously excited with a set of modulation frequencies up to the GHz region with noticeable power. By measuring then the phase-shift and modulation ratio of fluorescence with respect to the exciting light in the high-frequency region, impressive time resolutions may be achieved. On the other hand, since we dispose of a wide range of modulation frequencies, the problem of the multiexponential decay may be easily handled and has an exact analytical solution, provided the signal-to-noise ratio is good enough. We anticipate the possibility to introduce cross-correlation methods in order to perform the experiment in the very-low-frequency region. A short discussion about the notion of time resolution for this kind of measurement is also included.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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