FIELD: physics.
SUBSTANCE: single-photon sensor has a multichannel photosensor having a linear photomultiplier array which forms photosensor channels, having photosensitive pixels for receiving different light spectra from a light spectra separator, to which optical fibres transmit polychromatic light consisting of fluorescent spectra generated by a mixture of multiple fluorescent dyes. Each photosensor channel generates current pulses in response to separate photons, which are amplified by a multichannel amplifier and then received by a multichannel photon counter having an integrator for summing up the amplified current pulses. In another version of the invention, the single-photon sensor has a predetermined set of optical fibres whose input ends form a certain angle of acceptance of a single wavelength of incident polychromatic light. The method of detecting colour coded microparticles involves labelling microparticles with fluorescent dyes, suspending said microparticles in a buffer liquid, passing the buffer liquid through a fibre-optic capillary, illuminating the microparticles with a laser to generate fluorescence spectra, illuminating optical fibres with the fluorescence spectra and further detection of fluorescent radiation using a single-photon sensor.
EFFECT: enabling accurate and high-speed detection of polychromatic radiation.
20 cl, 25 dwg
