Purchase of Hamamatsu Streak Camera

The Hamamatsu C16910 Universal Streak Camera system is essential to restore a unique capability for ultrafast time-resolved spectral measurements at Cardiff University. This system enables time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) experiments with sub-picosecond resolution, which are critical for investigating the dynamic behaviour of photo-excited carriers in semiconductor materials and ultra-fast optoelectronic devices, such as quantum dot lasers.

The previously held system, also manufactured by Hamamatsu, is now non-functional, obsolete, and irreparable. It was approximately 25–30 years old and had been operating until recently. Replacement parts are incompatible with the legacy hardware, and thus repair is not possible. The replacement system must ensure continuity of prior capability, and for future uses must be able to satisfy the requirements of a number of research projects, with one requirement of this specification including a patented internal MCP technology, which drastically reduces dark noise by several orders of magnitude (e.g. 25,000 times) compared to external image intensifier configurations.