Intensified optical camera with Timepix4 readout

Erik Hogenbirk; Andrei Nomerotski; Bram Bouwens; Gabriel Diaz; Shazia Farooq; Sergei Kulkov; Erik Maddox; Ondrej Matousek; Peter Svihra; Henrique Zanoli

arXiv · 2509.14649

Intensified optical camera with Timepix4 readout

Erik Hogenbirk·Andrei Nomerotski·Bram Bouwens·Gabriel Diaz·Shazia Farooq·Sergei Kulkov·Erik Maddox·Ondrej Matousek·Peter Svihra·Henrique Zanoli

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Abstract

We report the first characterization results of an optical time-stamping camera based on the Timepix4 chip coupled to a fully depleted optical silicon sensor and fast image intensifier, enabling sub-nanosecond scale, time-resolved imaging for single photons. The system achieves an RMS time resolution of 0.3 ns in direct detection mode without the intensifier and from 0.6 to 1.5 ns in the single-photon regime with an intensifier for different amplitude-based signal selections. This shows that Timepix4 provides a significant improvement over previous Timepix3-based cameras in terms of timing precision, and also in pixel count and data throughput. We analyze key factors that affect performance, including sensor bias and timewalk effect, and demonstrate effective correction methods to recover high temporal accuracy. The camera's temporal resolution, event-driven readout and high rate capability make it a scalable platform for a wide range of applications, including quantum optics, ultrafast imaging, and time-correlated photon counting experiments.

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Erik Hogenbirk, Andrei Nomerotski, Bram Bouwens, Gabriel Diaz, Shazia Farooq, Sergei Kulkov, Erik Maddox, Ondrej Matousek, Peter Svihra, Henrique Zanoli. 2025-09-18. Intensified optical camera with Timepix4 readout. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.14649

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