How can I analyze my data using non-PicoQuant software?

faq, file format, ptu, open source, analysis, software

The PicoQuant raw-data format is freely accessible. PicoQuant has published some demo scripts for reading the different TCSPC/TTTR data formats on Github: https://github.com/PicoQuant/PicoQuant-Time-Tagged-File-Format-Demos

There you also find a description of the headers and the file format(s): https://github.com/PicoQuant/PicoQuant-Time-Tagged-File-Format-Demos/tree/master/doc

These scripts are meant as a starting point for your own analysis software.

There are also different open source software packages most notably snAPI (https://picoquant.github.io/snAPI/) that can read (and analyze) PicoQuant files. You can find a list here:

https://www.tcspc.com/doku.php/software?s#open_source

Keep in mind that files created by different TCSPC devices (“Harps”), will have different formats. Some open source software packages are designed for only one specific device file format.