February 3, 2005, Bridgewater, NJ--Hamamatsu Corporation has introduced a PCI bus plug-in counting board that allows data collected from photon counting heads and photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) to be stored, viewed, and analyzed on a computer. Designed with two separate counting circuits, the M8784 incorporates a double counting method that is capable of counting input signals with no dead time and allows pulse counting over extended periods with a high-time resolution of 10 ms.
The design and overall performance of the M8784 make it well suited for long-term data collection applications, such as biological clock monitoring, as well as for time-resolved measurements of chemiluminescence. The M8784 is fully controlled by DLL (dynamic link library) functions for common measurements. For proprietary applications, users can also write custom software programs based on the DLL functions.
Windows-compatible, the M8784 easily installs into a PCI bus slot of any desktop computer. Two M8784 boards can be simultaneously controlled from the PC, making it possible to perform simultaneous dual-channel measurements. For applications in which laptops are used, Hamamatsu offers the C8855 counting unit.
The M8784 has a maximum count rate of 50 MHz, with a maximum counter capacity of 232 counts/counter gate. It can accept signal pulse widths greater than or equal to 8 ns and has input impedance of 50 W.