Photon Counters & Instrumentation for Optical SETI

The Heart of the Matter

In 2001, which marks 40 years of Optical SETI, ETI Photonics (The Columbus Optical SETI Observatory) hopes to be making available photon counters suitable for use with professional and amateur OSETI observatories at prices yet to be determined.  If you are a potential professional or amateur OSETI researcher and would like to purchase photon counter(s), photon counting instrumentation or complete photon counting turnkey systems for undertaking searches for pulsed ETI laser beacons in the visible and near-infrared spectrum, would you please express your interest by emailing me at: contact info.

Here is a list of links to companies manufacturing fast photon counters (PMT or solid-state) and fast photon counting instrumentation, both stand-alone and PC-based.  All prices are based on manufacturer's US list:

Hamamatsu - PMTs and Systems	Brief Specifications
	Huge range of PMT and Photon Counting systems.  Some selected devices: R7400U PMTs (PDF) H4721 Photon Counting Module (PDF) H4721 Spectral Response (Excel) Main Catalog (PDF) Spectral Response Characteristics (PDF) Photon Counting (PDF)

Electron-Tubes - PMTs and Systems	Brief Specifications
	Range of PMT and Photon Counting systems. Note that Electron-Tubes was formerly Thorn-EMI.

Perkin-Elmer (formerly EG&G) - Solid-State Systems	Brief Specifications
	Pulse pair resolution = 30 ns.  Sub-nanosecond response time.  Dark count = 100 cps. Basic Cost = $4,600 Technical Information (PDF) Mechanical Drawing (PDF) Spectral Response

ORTEC (formerly EG&G) - Multichannel Analyzer	Brief Specifications
	Minimum 5.0 ns dwell time. Basic Instrument Cost = $7,335

Stanford Research Systems - Photon Counting Instrumentation	Brief Specifications
	Dual channel gated photon counter with 5.0 ns pulse pair resolution. Basic Instrument Cost = $5,350

FAST ComTec - Photon Counting Instrumentation	Brief Specifications
	0.5 ns time resolution. Basic Instrument Cost = $12,250 1.0 ns time-resolution. Basic Instrument Cost = $9,750 Manual (PDF)

This may be the fastest and most expensive instrumentation available for pulsed-beacon OSETI.  This PCI card would have the capability to detect more than the attention-getting laser beacon signals.  It should also be capable of detecting and demodulating the conjectured wideband ETI channel when hooked up to a "great telescope".  US Distributor is Quantar Technology Inc.

GuideTech - Instrumentation	Brief Specifications

• What Photon Counter?
• Optical Beam Splitters
• Flip Mirrors
• Light Pulsers
• SBIG Spectrometer
• Buy PMTs
• Buy APDs
• Buy Photon Counting Instruments

• Most recent COSETI PowerPoint 97 Presentation
• PowerPoint 97 Viewer

Revised: March 25, 2000