Introducing the
ALV-MultiCorr Digital Real Time Correlator Series

Langen, 1st of July 2007

After serving as a successful and reliable tool in many photon correlation experiments for nearly 20 years (accounting for all its predecessors), sales and production of the ALV-5000/60X0 Multiple Tau Digital Real Time Correlator series will be discontinued from 30. September 2007 on (latest orders accepted by this date).

As an enhanced replacement for the ALV-5000/60X0 Multiple Tau Digital Real Time Correlator Series, ALV introduces the ALV-MultiCorr Digital Real Time Correlator Series per July 2007 with taking orders on the first models of this series by this date with delivery by early Q4/2007.

The ALV-MultiCorr Series offers a completely new platform of digital correlators, not simply designed to act as “one to one” replacement of the ALV-5000/60X0 correlators, but to offer most flexible and powerful solutions for the increasing experimental demands in the various fields of use in photon correlation experiments, such as DLS, DWS and FCS in particular.

Besides using the powerful and well known (which was introduced by ALV in commercial hardware more than two decades ago) Multiple Tau Correlation scheme, offering 100% real-time operation along with individual channel and group monitors to allow correct correlation function normalisation and  being 100% software compatible to the well established ALV-5000/60X0 correlator series, the major design features of the ALV-MultiCorr Digital Real Time Correlator Series are :

• The capability to operate on a high (4) to massively high (48+) number of parallel correlation inputs
• The capability to operate for all these inputs in parallel using deep sub-µs initial sampling time and, of course, with 100% real-time efficiency
• The capability to use initial sampling times in the small ns regime, 100% real-time, for some models (FCS, DWS)
• The capability of a parallel time-tagged counting mode for some models (FCS) with sub 10 ns resolution
• Being able to operate on sustained input count rates of more than 80 Mcps without any input scaling required
• Having a small footprint and exceptionally low power requirement in the “1/4 W per input channel” regime
• Featuring integrated “Detector Protection Unit” for each counting input
• Of course being fully RoHS compliant

As of today, the ALV-7002, the ALV-7002/USB, the ALV-7004 and ALV-7004/FAST (3,125 ns instead of 25 ns initial sampling time, four times 336 instead of four times 312 correlator channels) are available items with (usually) from stock delivery.

The ALV-7004 and ALV-7004/FAST are optimally suited as massively enhanced replacements of the ALV-5000/EPP and ALV-6000, respectively the ALV-60X0-160/200, featuring maximum performance at exceptionally small footprint and power consumption.

Further models of the ALV-MultiCorr series are scheduled to be introduced within 2009, such as the ALV-7032/USB  series featuring 32 parallel input channels at deep sub-µs (50 ns) initial sampling time at 100% realtime efficiency.