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Royal Philips Electronics has announced development of a digital silicon photomultiplier technology that will allow faster and more accurate photon (the basic quantum unit of light) counting in a wide range of applications where ultra-low light levels need to be measured.

Areas where the new technology could have a major impact include medical imaging, in particular positron emission tomography (PET), and in-vitro diagnostic tests such as DNA sequencing and protein/DNA microarrays, the company said. Other relevant areas include high-energy physics, night-vision systems and other applications that currently use light detectors that are based on so-called photomultiplier tubes.