Chapter 4 discusses a wide range of topics concerning image sensors as they are used in quantitative microscopy. An overview of different cameras is given. After that the properties of CCD cameras are examined and methods for characterizing CCD cameras are derived. These properties include the noise sources, linearity of response and spatial frequency response. These properties are also examined for image intensifiers.
Image intensifiers have some additional properties which have no equivalent in CCD cameras.
These properties are also examined and a theoretical model is given. The goal of the research described in this chapter is the development of a prototype commercial product. The developed system applies the Fourier method and homodyne detection to detect fluorescence lifetimes in the range of 1 to 100 ns in a standard wide-field fluorescence microscope. Image-processing and control software allow automatic acquisition of fluorescence lifetime images. The prototype system has been built and several tests have been performed to evaluate the quality of the system.