Abstract: The present invention relates mainly to a detection cell, a matrix detector using such cells, a sensor including such a detector, and a spectroscope including such a sensor. The invention provides a photon detection cell comprising a superconducting element, in particular of niobium, that is sensitive to photons of the radiation to be detected or to phonons generated by such photons, in particular by breaking Cooper pairs into quasi-particles and by means of a superconducting tunnel junction including a superconducting electrode, the cell being delimited by a plurality of spaced-apart superconducting tunnel junctions that are distributed around the periphery of the cell. The device of the invention is applicable to counting photons, and thus mainly to acquiring and processing information coming from faint radiation sources.

Abstract: A photon signal received on a CCD is digitized and coupled to a 3.times.3 pixels data analysis array (DAA). The digital signals read out from the penultimate three pixels of the DAA are used to address a first look up table held in a memory, the digital signals read out from the last three pixels of the DAA are used to address a second look up table held in a memory. The data stored at the two addressed locations are then read out and logically ANDed to produce an output signal only when both ANDed data correspond to a valid photon event. The output signal thus defines the position of the center of the photon signal at a high level of precision.