Citation

Abstract

Calibration measurements for the cooled (253 K) photomultiplier tube (PMT) detector, used on the receiver channel of the transmit/receive (T/R) switch for GOPEX, were conducted in the laboratory. A pulsed frequency-doubled neodymjum.-ytérium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser was used to direct 532-nm light on the PMT. By monitoring the energy per pulse of the light incident on the PMT, the minimum number of photons detected could be determined. These results agreed with the photon flux back-caleulated from the PMT output waveform. Approximately 700 incident photons arriving during a temporal pulse width of ~65 nsec were detected with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of ~1. Other receiver channel characteristics, such as PMT dark currents, optical transmission, and interference filter sensitivity to angle of light incidence, were also measured.

Details

Volume
42-114
Published
August 15, 1993
Pages
205–212
File Size
307.5 KB