About Us

Company History

Now combined with Acton Research, designer and manufacturer of world renown monochromators and spectrographs as well as high-performance optical coatings, .Princeton Instruments (PI) is the world's leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance light detection systems for spectroscopy, imaging and X-ray applications. Princeton Instruments has shaped the "state of the art" in CCD, EMCCD, and ICCD camera technologies since the early 1980s.

Princeton Instruments' key innovations include a first-in-the-industry spectroscopy camera which included a photodiode array (and later, the first to use a CCD), as well as the first high-performance, gated, intensified CCD camera.

In addition to breaking new ground in the field of spectroscopy over the years, we have designed CCD cameras with the highest sensitivity available for scientific imaging applications (~2 e- rms read noise with QE >90%). And for high speed, low-light applications, we now offer our no-compromise EMCCD cameras.

Princeton Instruments timeline

1981 - Founded by Yair Talmi, selling high performance cooled array light detectors.
1995 - World's first scientific-grade gated ICCD Camera
1997 - PentaMAX ICCD camera revolutionizes low-light-level single-molecule fluorescence applications
2002 - World's first scientific-grade microscopy EMCCD camera
2003 - Offers lifetime vacuum guarantee
2004 - PIXIS CCD camera offers ultra-deep cooling and low noise
2005 - OMA V is world's first scientific-grade 2D InGaAs camera for low-light NIR detection
2009 - ProEM professional-grade EMCCD Camera introduced with GigE interface

Add Acton's Expertise - Highest Quality Spectrometers and Optical Coatings

Founded in 1961 - Began providing high-performance coatings for analytical instruments and burgeoning space program
1970s - Worked with Excimer laser developers to produce high-power mirror coatings
1978 - Began manufacturing VUV/UV spectrometers for government and research labs
Mid-1980s - Began working with Princeton Instruments to superior provide spectroscopic detection systems
1987 - Introduced SpectraPro world-renown triple-grating monochromators & spectrographs

The Acton brand of spectroscopy products - now part of Princeton Instruments Spectroscopy Group - continuously delivers new technological standards, including:

Acton Series of multi-grating monochromators and spectrographs
Acton LS Series - Lens Spectrographs
TriVista Triple Spectrograph Systems

Acton Optics & Coatings, now available from Princeton Instruments, has a history of innovative design and manufacturing processes which began in the early 60's with the development of VUV coatings and optical filters used primarily in analytical and aerospace applications. In the 1970s, Acton was involved in providing laser mirrors to the first excimer laser developers. Presently, Acton optics and optical coatings are produced for cutting-edge applications including semiconductor laser systems and excimer laser vision-correction instruments (LASIK), as well as a variety of analytical instrumentation systems.

Princeton Instruments operates under the Scientific and Industrial Imaging segment of Roper Industries, Inc.