Hamamatsu Photonics

Hamamatsu Photonics is a Japanese company headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan, founded in 1953, that is the world's leading manufacturer of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), photodiodes, CCD and CMOS image sensors, and related photon-sensing devices used across scientific, medical, and industrial applications. In basic research, Hamamatsu PMTs are the detector of choice in scintillation counters, flow cytometers, confocal laser scanning microscopes, and positron emission tomography (PET) scanners due to their exceptional sensitivity, low dark current, and dynamic range. Their silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have replaced traditional PMTs in many next-generation PET and gamma camera applications. Hamamatsu's ORCA series scientific CMOS cameras deliver back-illuminated sensors with near-unity quantum efficiency and extremely low read noise, making them essential for demanding single-molecule fluorescence, TIRF, light-sheet microscopy, and super-resolution imaging applications. Their InGaAs area and line scan cameras enable NIR imaging in spectroscopy, semiconductor inspection, and hyperspectral imaging. Hamamatsu produces vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) detectors and synchrotron radiation detectors used at particle physics facilities and national synchrotron light sources worldwide. Their flat panel x-ray detectors are integrated into digital radiography, computed tomography, and digital mammography systems. The company's X-ray tubes, including micro-focus sources for laboratory micro-CT and diffraction applications, are components in many scientific instruments sold by other manufacturers.