QE65000

Ocean Optics offers highly sensitive spectrometers specifically suited for low light-level applications such as fluorescence, DNA sequencing and Raman spectroscopy. The QE65000 achieves up to 90% quantum efficiency with high signal-to-noise and excellent signal processing speed. Although the QE65000 features a back-illuminated detector that has great response in the UV, the Maya2000 Pro is an even better choice for deep-UV response (<190 nm).

User-configured and Application-ready Options
Both the QE65000 and Maya systems can be optimized for your application needs by specifying various optical bench accessories and grating options. In addition, the QE65000 is available in three applicationready models:
- QE65000-ABS
Preconfigured for absorbance measurements and includes an
HC1-QE grating (starting at 200 nm), an OFLV-QE-200 order sorting filter
and a 10 μm entrance slit. Spectrometer Operating Software and our
Annual Service Package are also included.
- QE65000-FL
Preconfigured for fluorescence measurements and includes an HC1-QE
grating (starting at 350 nm), OFLV-QE-350 and a 200 μm entrance slit.
Spectrometer Operating Software and our Annual Service Package are
also included.
- QE65000-RAMAN
Preconfigured for low light-level Raman spectroscopy and includes an H6 grating (starting at 780 nm) and a 50 μm entrance slit. Operating
software and service packages are available separately.


The QE65000 Spectrometer is the most sensitive spectrometer we’ve developed. Its Hamamatsu FFT-CCD detector provides 90% quantum efficiency as well as superior signal-to-noise ratio and signal processing speed. QE65000’s onboard programmable microcontroller puts you in command of the spectrometer and its accessories and provides 10 user-programmable digital inputs/outputs as well as a pulse generator for triggering other devices. The QE65000’s great quantum efficiency is not its only distinguishing feature. Its 2D area detector lets us bin (or sum) a vertical row of pixels. That offers significant improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio (>1000:1) performance and signal processing speed of the detector compared with a linear CCD, where signals are digitally added by an external circuit. Because the QE65000’s detector is back-thinned, it has outstanding native response in the UV. It’s an excellent option for low light-level applications such as fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy, DNA sequencing, astronomy and thin-film reflectivity. Its TE-cooled detector features low noise and low dark signal, enabling low lightlevel detection and long integration times from 8 ms to 15 minutes.
Features
- Onboard programming
- Multiple interface and bench options
- Quantum efficiency of 90%
- Ideal for low light level applications

The QE65000’s Hamamatsu S7031-1006 FFT-CCD area detector provides 90% quantum efficiency (defined as how efficiently a photon is converted to a photoelectron). The TE-cooled detector features low noise and low dark signal, which enables low-light-level detection and long integration times, thus achieving a wide dynamic range. Maya2000 Pro Spectrometers have a similar detector but without the TE cooling device. The S7031 is a 2D array, which allows us to bin pixels in a vertical column to acquire light from the entire height of the spectrometer’s slit image. This improves light collection and signal-to-noise significantly. Because the detector is back-thinned (or back-illuminated), it has great native response in the UV and does not require the UV detector upgrade that we apply to other detectors. In our spectrometers with linear CCDs, the slit’s width, not its height, regulates the amount of light entering the bench because linear CCDs cannot efficiently collect the light from the entire height of the slit. But in the QE65000, the 2D area detector can better take advantage of the height of the entrance slit and the additional light, greatly improving system sensitivity.