Opt Lett. 2021 Jan 15;46(2):424-427. doi: 10.1364/OL.413577.
Fast time-gated single-photon detectors demonstrated high depth sensitivity in the detection of localized absorption perturbations inside scattering media, but their use for in vivo clinical applications-such as functional imaging of brain activation-was impaired by their small (<0.04) active area. Here, we demonstrate, both on phantoms and in vivo, the performance of a fast-gated digital silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) that features an overall active area of 8.6, overcoming the photon collection capability of established time-gated single-pixel detectors by orders of magnitude, enabling deep investigations within scattering media and high signal-to-noise ratios at late photon arrival times.
快速时间门控单光子探测器在探测散射介质内部局部吸收扰动方面表现出了高深度灵敏度，但由于其小(<0.04)的有效面积，它们在体内临床应用中的应用，如大脑激活的功能成像，受到了限制。在这里，我们在体模和体内都证明了一种快速门控数字硅光电倍增管(SiPM)的性能，它具有 8.6 的整体有效面积，比现有的时间门控单像素探测器的光子收集能力高出几个数量级，从而能够在散射介质中进行深入研究，并在后期光子到达时获得高信噪比。
