Abstract
In order to be able to compare measurements derived from the anode current of a photomultiplier with measurement 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 the quantum efficiency {eta}, the gain G, a photoelectron loss 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. The fluctuations in a photomultiplier output are divided into two parts; Poisson fluctuations, and those due to excess noise. It is experimentally shown, from measurements on a 931A photomultiplier, that the excess noise exceeds the Poisson fluctuations only at very low frequencies, or long DC measurement times (> 10 s), for both pulse counting and anode current measurements. The Poisson fluctuations are found to be approximately the same for both pulse counting and anode current measurements, at both high light levels where the dark current, or dark pulses, are negligible, as well as at low light levels where the dark current is dominant. The excess noise is found
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Citation Formats
Robben, F.
Noise in the Measurement of Light with Photomultipliers.
Sweden: N. p.,
1968.
Web.
Robben, F.
Noise in the Measurement of Light with Photomultipliers.
Sweden.
Robben, F.
1968.
"Noise in the Measurement of Light with Photomultipliers."
Sweden.
@misc{etde_20956273,
title = {Noise in the Measurement of Light with Photomultipliers}
author = {Robben, F}
abstractNote = {In order to be able to compare measurements derived from the anode current of a photomultiplier with measurement 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 the quantum efficiency {eta}, the gain G, a photoelectron loss 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. The fluctuations in a photomultiplier output are divided into two parts; Poisson fluctuations, and those due to excess noise. It is experimentally shown, from measurements on a 931A photomultiplier, that the excess noise exceeds the Poisson fluctuations only at very low frequencies, or long DC measurement times (> 10 s), for both pulse counting and anode current measurements. The Poisson fluctuations are found to be approximately the same for both pulse counting and anode current measurements, at both high light levels where the dark current, or dark pulses, are negligible, as well as at low light levels where the dark current is dominant. The excess noise is found to be somewhat greater in the case of anode current measurements. Thus both pulse counting and anode current measurement techniques have nearly identical noise properties, as far as the photomultiplier is concerned, and selection of either experimental technique depends primarily on the properties of the electronic equipment. By use of a synchronous detection technique, the variance of the pulse count was measured experimentally to an accuracy of {+-} 4 %, and was shown to be in agreement with that predicted by Poisson statistics.}
place = {Sweden}
year = {1968}
month = {May}
}
title = {Noise in the Measurement of Light with Photomultipliers}
author = {Robben, F}
abstractNote = {In order to be able to compare measurements derived from the anode current of a photomultiplier with measurement 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 the quantum efficiency {eta}, the gain G, a photoelectron loss 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. The fluctuations in a photomultiplier output are divided into two parts; Poisson fluctuations, and those due to excess noise. It is experimentally shown, from measurements on a 931A photomultiplier, that the excess noise exceeds the Poisson fluctuations only at very low frequencies, or long DC measurement times (> 10 s), for both pulse counting and anode current measurements. The Poisson fluctuations are found to be approximately the same for both pulse counting and anode current measurements, at both high light levels where the dark current, or dark pulses, are negligible, as well as at low light levels where the dark current is dominant. The excess noise is found to be somewhat greater in the case of anode current measurements. Thus both pulse counting and anode current measurement techniques have nearly identical noise properties, as far as the photomultiplier is concerned, and selection of either experimental technique depends primarily on the properties of the electronic equipment. By use of a synchronous detection technique, the variance of the pulse count was measured experimentally to an accuracy of {+-} 4 %, and was shown to be in agreement with that predicted by Poisson statistics.}
place = {Sweden}
year = {1968}
month = {May}
}