PicoQuant TimeHarp 260 Time Correlated Single Photon Counting System
Software version 3.2.0.0
PicoQuant GmbH - February 2020


Introduction

The TimeHarp 260 PCIe board is a Time Correlated Single Photon Counting 
System for applications such as time resolved fluorescence measurements. 

The system requires at least a dual core computer with 2 GB 
of memory and 1.5 GHz CPU clock (2 GHz and 4 GB recommended). 
The TimeHarp software is suitable for Windows 8.1 and 10. 


What's new in Version 3.2.0.0

- Fixes an issue with small time shifts (a few hundred ps) on the histogram 
  time axis, occurring from one hardware initialization to the next 
- Fixes an an inversion of the selected input edge (TimeHarp 260 NANO only) 
- Fixes a display overflow of the elapsed time shown in TTTR mode 
- Fixes an issue where the sync divider was set incorrectly upon return
  from TTTR mode, this resulting in wrong warnings
- Fixes an issue where on dual monitor systems the enlarged rate meters
  would appear off screen and hence invisible  
- The menu entry and button for access to the old (discontinued) PicoQuant 
  user forum have been removed 
- Provides updated file access demos
- Fixes some minor documentation errors 
- The file format remains unchanged 


What was new in Version 3.1.0.3

- Fixes an issue with sporadic timeout errors upon hardware initialization 
- Fixes an issue where errors occurred when Windows was set to 1 or 2 ms 
  timer resolution 
- Provides a new driver to support Windows 10 with "secure boot" enabled 
- The file format remains unchanged 


What was new in Version 3.1.0.2

- Fixes an issue with stopping measurements on some PCs 
- Fixes an issue with unresponsive user interface on some PCs in 
  histogramming mode 
- Improves histogramming throughput while reducing CPU load 
- The file format remains unchanged 


What was new in Version 3.1.0.1

- Supports new hardware versions manufactured after February 2017 
- Improves histogramming throughput 
- Fixes an issue with DMA buffer alignment occuring with some recent PCs
- Fixes an issue where debug information was not properly retrieved
- Fixes an issue where opening multiple devices in multiple software
  instances worked only in one specific order of devices
- Provides some documentation improvements 
- The file format remains unchanged 


What was new in Version 3.0.0.1

- Fixes a bug that could lead to the loss of status information 
- Fixes an issue where clipboard data was truncated at long time spans 
- Fixes missing input channels in the TTTR correlator in T3 mode
- Provides some documentation improvements 
- The file format remains unchanged 


What was new in Version 3.0

- Supports the latest hardware improvement of the TimeHarp 260 N - 
  running at 250 ps resolution (owners of older models with 1 ns 
  resolution can request a quote for a hardware upgrade to 250 ps) 
- Officially supports Windows 10 
- Fixes some minor bugs 
- The file format remains unchanged 


What was new in Version 2.0
 
- Some minor bugfixes 
- A new file format. The idea is to place individual header data items not 
  in a strict file position and order but to tag the items by name, so that 
  future additions do not harm existing software. 
- A new device driver in order to meet new driver signing requirements imposed 
  by Microsoft. The new driver can now be conveniently installed by setup exe. 
  Note that Windows versions prior to 7 are no longer supported. If you must 
  use an older Windows version you can still use the driver of the TimeHarp 
  260 release version 1.1. 
- Supports a new hardware feature to change the dead time of the input 
  channels for suppression of some detector artefacts. Note that this works 
  only for TimeHarp 260 P purchased after April 2015. Old boards can be 
  updated but must be returned to PicoQuant for a hardware modification. 


Software Installation Instructions

This is only a quickstart guide. Read the manual for full instructions,
especially if you have not yet installed the TimeHarp hardware.

You need administrator rights to perform the software setup.
The TimeHarp data acquisition software is installed by setup.exe.
This includes the driver installation.

Before starting the setup, uninstall all older versions of the TimeHarp 
software. You can run Setup.exe directly from the CD/DVD. In case of 
electronic distribution in a zip file, unpack the zip file to hard disk 
and run Setup there. Before starting the setup, make sure to close all 
programs. Consult your manual for detailed installation instructions. 

In your chosen installation folder Setup will create a subfolder FILEDEMO 
which contains demo source code for accessing the TimeHarp 260 data files 
from various programming languages.

To uninstall the TimeHarp software choose the uninstall icon under
'PicoQuant - TimeHarp 260 vx.x' for de-installation. Alternatively you can 
uninstall the softare via the Windows Control Panel.
Uninstallation will remove all files that were installed by the TimeHarp 
setup program but not any user files. For safety, back up your data anyway.
The driver must be uninstalled separately, if intended, through the 
Windows Control Panel.


Disclaimer

PicoQuant GmbH disclaims all warranties with regard to this software 
and associated documentation including all implied warranties of 
merchantability and fitness. In no case shall PicoQuant GmbH be 
liable for any direct, indirect or consequential damages or any material 
or immaterial damages whatsoever resulting from loss of data, time 
or profits arising from use or performance of this software.


License and Copyright Notice

With this product, you have purchased a license to use the TimeHarp
software. You have not purchased any other rights to the software. 
The software is protected by copyright and intellectual property laws. 
You may not distribute the software to third parties or reverse engineer, 
decompile or disassemble the software or any part thereof. Copyright 
of all product documentation belongs to PicoQuant GmbH. No parts of it 
may be reproduced or translated into other languages without written 
consent of PicoQuant GmbH. You may use and modify demo code to create 
your own software. Original or modified demo code may be re-distributed, 
provided that the original disclaimer and copyright notes are not
removed from it.


Trademark Disclaimer

HydraHarp, PicoHarp, TimeHarp and NanoHarp are registered trademarks 
of PicoQuant GmbH. Other products and corporate names appearing in the 
product manuals or in the online documentation may or may not be registered 
trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners. They are used only 
for identification or explanation and to the owner’s benefit, without 
intent to infringe.


- Contact and Support -

PicoQuant GmbH
Rudower Chaussee 29
12489 Berlin, Germany
Phone +49 30 1208820-0
Fax   +49 30 1208820-90
email info@picoquant.com
www   http://www.picoquant.com
