The HydraHarp 400 is a high-end, easy-to-use, plug and play Time Interval Analyzer (TIA) and Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) system with scalability for multiple channels*. Dependent on the chosen frame size up to 4 or up to 8 channels can be installed. It is connected to a PC through a USB 2.0 high speed interface. It provides identical synchronized but independent input channels. They can be used as detector inputs for coincidence correlation experiments as well as independent stop inputs for TCSPC. A dedicated common sync input is provided for TCSPC with fast excitation sources. This allows forward start-stop operation at the full repetition rate of mode locked lasers with stable repetition rate up to 150 MHz. Experiments with low repetition rate benefit from the HydraHarp's multi-stop capability.
The HydraHarp 400 offers 65536 histogram bins per input channel and allows to collect more than 4 billion counts (32 bits) per bin. Each input channel even has an internal adjustable delay with ±100 ns range at picosecond resolution. This unique feature eliminates the need for specially adapted cable lengths or cable delays for different experimental setup. The design of the HydraHarp 400 allows high measurement rates up to 12.5 million counts/sec per channel and provides a highly stable, crystal calibrated time resolution of 1 ps. Along with the extremely low differential non-linearity of the instrument, excellent data quality can be obtained. As a special feature, an external time base can be used to synchronize the internal clock in relation to other timing devices. The instrument's timing resolution is well matched to SPAD detectors of the PDM series or micro-channel plate photomultiplier tubes (MCP).