US 11,835,667 B2
Photon counting device and photon counting method
Tadashi Maruno, Hamamatsu (JP); Eiji Toda, Hamamatsu (JP); Mao Nakajima, Hamamatsu (JP); Teruo Takahashi, Hamamatsu (JP); and Takafumi Higuchi, Hamamatsu (JP)
Assigned to HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS K.K., Hamamatsu (JP)
Filed by HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS K.K., Hamamatsu (JP)
Filed on Oct. 14, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/501,398.
Application 17/501,398 is a continuation of application No. 16/764,053, granted, now 11,215,717, previously published as PCT/JP2018/023141, filed on Jun. 18, 2018.
Claims priority of application No. 2017-225861 (JP), filed on Nov. 24, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2022/0066055 A1, Mar. 3, 2022
Int. Cl. G01T 1/24 (2006.01); H04N 25/65 (2023.01); H04N 25/74 (2023.01); H04N 25/75 (2023.01); H04N 25/767 (2023.01); H04N 25/772 (2023.01); H04N 25/778 (2023.01); G01T 1/208 (2006.01)
CPC G01T 1/247 (2013.01) [H04N 25/65 (2023.01); H04N 25/74 (2023.01); H04N 25/75 (2023.01); H04N 25/767 (2023.01); H04N 25/772 (2023.01); H04N 25/778 (2023.01); G01T 1/208 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A device for photon counting device comprising:
a CMOS image sensor including a plurality of pixels and an A/D converter, each of the plurality of pixels including i) a photoelectric conversion element configured to convert input light to charge, and ii) an amplifier configured to amplify the charge converted by the photoelectric conversion element and convert the charge to a voltage, and the A/D converter configured to convert the voltage output from the amplifier of each of the plurality of pixels to a digital value, wherein a readout noise of the CMOS image sensor is equal to or less than 0.4 e-rms; and
a computer configured to correct the digital value output from the A/D converter so that an influence of a variation in a gain and an offset value among the plurality of pixels is curbed, output a summed value obtained by summing the corrected digital values in at least two pixels, and convert the summed value to a number of photons by referring to reference data,
wherein the reference data is threshold value data for distinguishing between adjacent numbers of photons.