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PicoHarp 330

PicoHarp 330

Precise and Versatile Time Tagging & TCSPC Unit

Boost your time-resolved experiments with a flexible, high-precision time tagging and TCSPC unit for materials science and quantum sensing.
PicoHarp 330 time tagging and TCSPC unit front view
Table of contents

Key Features

Exceptional timing precision
Flexible trigger options
Upgradable channel configuration
High thoughput via USB
Smart on-board event filters

Precise and Versatile Time Tagging & TCSPC Unit

High-Performance Timing Electronics for Demanding Experiments

PicoHarp 330 is PicoQuant’s signature timing electronics and the world’s first device that combines best timing resolution with flexible trigger options. At heart it offers a base resoltion of 1 ps, a timing jitter of 2 ps and an ultrashort dead time of below 680 ps together with selectable and configurable level triggers and constant fraction discriminators (CFD). Following an upgradable design with up to 5 input channels, the device is equipped with powerful on-board event filters, options for external synchronization and supports external markers.

PicoHarp 330 is ideally adapted for demanding experiments in material science and quantum sensing stretching, inter alia, time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) studies, quantum emitter characterization and optically-detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) techniques.

Specifications

Number of detector channels (in addition to Sync input)1 (Base model); 2, 3 or 4 (Base model + channel upgrades)
Input voltage operating range (pulse peak into 50 Ohms)- 1500 mV to 1500 mV
Input voltage max. range (damage level)U ≤ - 2000 mV; U ≥ 3000 mV
Trigger methodLevel Trigger: falling or rising edge, software adjustable; CFD: falling edge
Minimum time bin width1 ps
Timing precision*3 ps RMS typ.
Timing precision / √2*2 ps RMS typ.
Dead time680 ps for edge trigger, 4.2 ns with CFD
Differential non-linearity< 6 % peak, < 0.9 % RMS (over full measurement range)
Maximum sync rate (periodic pulse train)640 MHz
Count depth32 bit (4 294 967 295 counts)
Maximum number of time bins65 536 (via GUI), 524 288 (via DLL)
Peak count rate per input channel1.47 Gcps for 1000 events
Sustained count rate per input channels**80 Mcps
Total sustained count rate, sum over all input channels**85 Mcps via USB 3.0 interface
PeriodProgrammable, 0.1 μs - 1.678 s (0.596 Hz - 10 MHz)
Number4
Ref. IN10 MHz, 100 MHz, or 500 MHz, 200 … 1500 mV p.p., 50 Ohm; AC coupled
Ref. OUTDefault: 10 MHz, 1000 mV, 50 Ohm; DC coupled

*In order to determine the timing precision it is necessary to repeatedly measure a time difference and to calculate the standard deviation (RMS error) of these measurements. This is done by splitting an electrical signal from a pulse generator and feeding the two signals each to a separate input channel. The differences of the measured pulse arrival times are calculated along with the corresponding standard deviation. This latter value is the RMS jitter which we use to specify the timing precision. However, calculating such a time difference requires two time measurements. Therefore, following from error propagation laws, the single channel RMS error is obtained by dividing the previously calculated standard deviation by √(2). We also specify this single channel RMS error here for comparison with other products

** Sustained throughput depends on configuration and performance of host PC.

Technical Documentation and Data

Technical Downloads

Datasheet PicoHarp 330

Provides detailed specifications of this precise TCSPC and time-tagging unit, offering picosecond timing, multichannel options, and fast data acquisition

Technical Note: TCSPC

Explaining the principles of time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC), including photon statistics, detectors, timing electronics, and applications.

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Scientific Insights & Resources

Latest Blog Articles

Diagram illustrating T2 and T3 time tagging architectures used in TCSPC systems to record photon arrival times.
March 9, 2026

How PicoQuant Measures Time

Experimental setup for temperature-dependent SPAD timing jitter measurements using picosecond lasers and TCSPC electronics.
January 23, 2025

SPAD Timing Jitter Revealed by TCSPC

Diagram illustrating T2 and T3 time tagging architectures used in TCSPC systems to record photon arrival times.
March 9, 2026

How PicoQuant Measures Time

Experimental setup for temperature-dependent SPAD timing jitter measurements using picosecond lasers and TCSPC electronics.
January 23, 2025

SPAD Timing Jitter Revealed by TCSPC

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Flexible Control and Software Integration

PicoHarp 330 is supported by a comprehensive software environment that enables both immediate operation and advanced integration. An included Windows-based control software provides full access to measurement settings, real-time visualization and data management, while libraries for custom programming support integration into user-defined workflows and automated setups. Depending on the application and workflow, PicoHarp 330 can be operated using different software tools that cover data acquisition, custom programming, and advanced analysis.

UniHarp software interface displaying time resolved histogram measurement data

UniHarp Data Acquisition Software

UniHarp provides real time visualization, flexible data handling, intuitive parameter control and continuous monitoring of key metrics such as count rates, peak position and timing stability. Its streamlined interface supports a wide range of workflows from measurement classes such as histogramming and correlation to Manipulators such as Coincidence and Herald and offers a robust starting point for time-resolved experiments.

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snAPI Python interface for controlling PicoQuant Time Tagging & TCSPC electronics.

snAPI: High-Level Python Interface

snAPI is PicoQuant’s high level Python interface for custom programming and automated workflows. It provides efficient device control, access to the raw time tag stream and ready to use demo scripts for histogramming, time traces, coincidence extraction, g2 correlation and FCS. snAPI enables fast integration into complex experimental and data processing environments.

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SymphoTime 64 software interface for fluorescence lifetime imaging analysis

Extended Analysis with SymPhoTime 64 and QuCoa

The PicoHarp 330 integrates with PicoQuant’s advanced software suites including SymPhoTime 64 for time resolved imaging and QuCoa for quantum optics correlation analysis. These tools offer extended capabilities for specialized workflows and complement the core functionality of UniHarp and snAPI.

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Product Highlights

PicoHarp 330 combines advanced time-tagging capabilities with flexible trigger configurations to support a wide range of time-resolved photon experiments.

Diagram illustrating T2 and T3 time tagging architectures used in TCSPC systems to record photon arrival times.

Time-Tagged Time-Resolved (TTTR) Mode

PicoQuant‘s revolutionary TTTR mode records every detected photon as an individual time-tag event without early data reduction, preserving the full timing information of the experiment. This enables advanced analyses such as photon burst detection, detailed fluorescence dynamics, FCS, g2 correlation and high speed FLIM with unlimited image size. TTTR is also widely used in single molecule spectroscopy, time interval analysis and quantum optics. A dedicated blog article will provide a deeper introduction to TTTR, its modes and its application range.

Comparison of level trigger and constant fraction discriminator timing detection

Flexible Trigger Methods

In order to support the widest possible variety of single photon detectors, the PicoHarp 330 provides different input circuitry. For optimal timing with e.g. Single-Photon Avanlanche Diodes (SPADs) the inputs can be configured as level triggers while for best performance with Hybrid Photodetectors (HPD), Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs), Micro Channel Plates (MCPs) or Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors (SNSPDs) at high count rates they can be configured as Constant Fraction Discriminators (CFD). This way the overall system IRF may be tuned to become narrower. The same could not be achieved with a simple level trigger (comparator). Particularly with PMTs and MCPs, constant fraction discrimination is very important as their pulse amplitudes vary significantly.

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In-Depth Scientific Resources

Scientific Resources

Access in-depth application notes and scientific posters with detailed methods, measurement data, and real-world use cases.

Application Note: Visualize Dynamic Processes with rapidFLIM HiRes

Application note on rapidFLIM HiRes for fast FLIM imaging with 10 ps resolution, enabling high-speed analysis of dynamic processes in biological samples

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Advanced Measurement Classes with PicoHarp 330

Powered by UniHarp and snAPI

Schematic illustration of time trace photon count rate binning as implemented in UniHarp software and accessible through the snAPI interface for time-resolved photon counting experiments.
Conceptual illustration of the time trace measurement used in UniHarp and accessible via snAPI, where photon detection events are grouped into fixed time bins to generate a time-dependent trace of photon count rates. This approach enables monitoring of temporal intensity fluctuations such as emitter blinking, fluorescence changes, or detector stability.
Schematic diagram of TCSPC histogramming of photon arrival times relative to a sync signal, as implemented in UniHarp software and accessible via the snAPI programming interface.
Conceptual illustration of histogram-based photon timing analysis used in UniHarp and accessible through snAPI. Photon arrival events are assigned to time bins relative to a sync signal, forming a TCSPC histogram that reveals fluorescence lifetimes and decay dynamics in time-resolved experiments such as TRPL.
Schematic illustration of photon correlation analysis between detection channels as implemented in UniHarp software and accessible through the snAPI interface for g² and FCS measurements.
Conceptual illustration of photon correlation analysis used in UniHarp and accessible via snAPI. The method evaluates time differences between photon detection events on one or more channels to build correlation functions, enabling studies of photon statistics and dynamic processes such as antibunching, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), or cross-correlation measurements.
Schematic illustration of photon coincidence detection across two channels within a defined time window as implemented in UniHarp software and accessible through the snAPI interface.
Conceptual illustration of coincidence detection used in UniHarp and accessible via snAPI. Photon events detected on multiple channels within a defined temporal window are identified as coincidences, enabling the analysis of correlated photon pairs in multi-detector experiments such as photon correlation and quantum optics measurements.
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