TECH TIP: AVOIDING SATURATED DATA

Much like a glass left out in the pouring rain, the glass will eventually overflow. Like that glass, digital detectors (PMTs on the scanning confocals, cameras on the other microscopes) can only hold so much signal; 0-4095 for 12-bit and 0-65535 for 16-bit. If the detector is full and you “pour” in more photons like this final rain drop from your sample, the detector will saturate (overflow) and you will not be able to quantify that data.