Abstract

In order to be able to compare light intensity measurements derived from the anode current of a photomultiplier with measurements derived from photoelectron pulse counting, a systematic investigation of the properties of some photomultiplier tubes has been made. This has led to a correlation of the properties of a photomultiplier based on an over-all quantum efficiency ηF, the gain G, a photoelectron noise factor S, and an effective dark rate D. In terms of these quantities the signal-to-noise ratio of an experimental measurement can be calculated, given the light flux and measurement technique. It is shown that the noise power spectral density is constant for a photomultiplier, down to about 10⁻² Hz, and that pulse counting and current measurement will give similar signal-to-noise ratios under most experimental conditions.

© 1971 Optical Society of America

The Use of Photomultiplier Tubes for Photon Counting

R. Foord, R. Jones, C. J. Oliver, and E. R. Pike
Appl. Opt. 8(10) 1975-1989 (1969)

Experimental and Theoretical Comparison of Photon-Counting and Current Measurements of Light Intensity

R. Jones, C. J. Oliver, and E. R. Pike
Appl. Opt. 10(7) 1673-1680 (1971)

Dependence of Signal-to-Noise Ratio on Operating Voltage in Photomultipliers

M. Jonas and Y. Alon
Appl. Opt. 10(11) 2436-2438 (1971)

Direct Measurement of the Quantum Counting Efficiency of RCA C31000E/F Photomultipliers at 6328 Å

R. S. Lakes and S. K. Poultney
Appl. Opt. 10(4) 797-800 (1971)

The Efficient Use of Photomultiplier Tubes for Recording Spectra

J. Rolfe and S. E. Moore
Appl. Opt. 9(1) 63-71 (1970)