Becker & Hickl

Becker & Hickl GmbH is a German photonics company based in Berlin that describes itself as "The Original TCSPC Since 1993" and "The Inventor of FLIM." Founded in 1993, the company introduced a proprietary time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) principle that, according to its own account, made TCSPC more than 100 times faster than the devices existing at the time. This breakthrough established the company as a technology leader in photon counting and laid the foundation for fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) as a practical laboratory technique. The company designs, manufactures and sells a broad portfolio of instrumentation for advanced optical measurement. Its product lines include pulsed diode lasers, detectors, TCSPC / FLIM / time-tagging modules, complete FLIM systems, FLIM laser scanning microscopes, FLIM upgrade kits, precision TCSPC systems, system integration components and control/analysis software. Flagship offerings include the DCS-120 FLIM system — a new generation of the company's confocal FLIM platform promising high temporal resolution, timing reproducibility, spatial resolution, sensitivity and near-ideal photon efficiency — and the SPC-QC-008 time tagger, developed to record APD pulses in quantum-optics and quantum-cryptography applications, with added Linux support for integration into data-acquisition systems. Becker & Hickl serves scientific and industrial customers across a range of application areas. Its stated application fields include FLIM in life sciences, clinical FLIM, correlation techniques, diffuse optical tomography, TCSPC principles, plasma physics and material sciences. The company supports this ecosystem with an extensive literature program: application notes, brochures, DLL descriptions, a product catalog, posters, books and book chapters, and the well-known bh TCSPC Handbook, whose 11th edition runs to 1058 pages and covers the general principles of classic and multi-dimensional TCSPC techniques, detector principles and the performance achievable with various detectors. As a privately held German Mittelstand-style technology company, Becker & Hickl operates worldwide through direct sales and support as well as a distributor network, and maintains a multilingual web presence including a Chinese-language section. Its brand identity rests on deep technical specialization in photon counting and lifetime imaging rather than on mass-market products, making it a reference supplier for research groups and instrument builders who need precise, fast time-resolved optical measurement.

Becker & Hickl GmbH was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. From its earliest years the company focused on time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC), a technique for measuring the arrival times of individual photons with picosecond precision. According to the company's own account, it introduced a proprietary TCSPC principle that made the technique more than 100 times faster than the devices that existed at the time. This speed advantage transformed TCSPC from a slow, specialized method into a practical tool for routine laboratory measurement. The most consequential outcome of that work was fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). Becker & Hickl describes itself as "The Inventor of FLIM," reflecting its role in turning lifetime measurement into an imaging modality that could be combined with laser scanning microscopes. Over the following decades the company built a complete product ecosystem around this core: pulsed diode lasers as excitation sources, detectors, TCSPC/FLIM/time-tagging electronics, complete FLIM systems, FLIM laser scanning microscopes, upgrade kits that add FLIM capability to existing microscopes, precision TCSPC systems, system integration components and software. By the 2010s and 2020s the company had accumulated what it describes as 25 years of experience in photon counting and had become a reference supplier for research groups worldwide. Its application scope expanded beyond life-science FLIM into clinical FLIM, correlation techniques, diffuse optical tomography, plasma physics and material sciences. It also invested heavily in documentation and education, publishing application notes, brochures, DLL descriptions, a product catalog, posters, books and book chapters, and the bh TCSPC Handbook — a book-length reference whose 11th edition runs to 1058 pages and covers classic and multi-dimensional TCSPC principles, detector principles and achievable performance. Product development continued with the DCS-120 Black FLIM system, a new generation of the company's DCS-120 platform offering high temporal resolution, timing reproducibility, spatial resolution, sensitivity and near-ideal photon efficiency, and with the SPC-QC-008 time tagger for quantum-optics and quantum-cryptography applications, which gained Linux support for easier integration into data-acquisition systems. The company also announced GPU-based global fitting for TCSPC FLIM data, reflecting the growing role of computation in lifetime imaging. Becker & Hickl remains a privately held German photonics company selling worldwide through direct channels and distributors, with a multilingual web presence that includes a Chinese-language section.

• 1993

  Becker & Hickl GmbH founded; introduces proprietary TCSPC principle more than 100 times faster than existing devices.

• Established as inventor of FLIM and technology leader in photon counting.

• DCS-120 Black FLIM system released as a new generation of the DCS-120 platform.

• SPC-QC-008 time tagger for quantum-optics and quantum-cryptography applications announced with Linux support.

• 11th edition of the bh TCSPC Handbook (1058 pages) made available for download.

• Fast GPU-based global fit of TCSPC FLIM data announced.

Technology leader in photon counting and the inventor of FLIM; supplier of high-precision TCSPC and lifetime-imaging instrumentation for scientific research.

• DCS-120 Black FLIM System

  New generation of bh's DCS-120 FLIM system with unprecedented temporal resolution, timing reproducibility, high spatial resolution, high sensitivity and near-ideal photon efficiency.

• SPC-QC-008 Time Tagger

  Developed to record APD pulses in quantum-optics and quantum-cryptography applications; added Linux support facilitates integration into data-acquisition systems.

• Pulsed diode lasers

  Pulsed lasers for precise research applications.

• FLIM laser scanning microscopes

  Laser scanning microscopes with integrated FLIM capability.

• FLIM upgrade kits

  Kits to add FLIM capability to existing microscope systems.

• Precision TCSPC systems

  High-precision time-correlated single-photon counting systems.

• bh TCSPC Handbook

  1058-page reference covering classic and multi-dimensional TCSPC techniques, detector principles and achievable performance.

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