Abstract
We propose a simple photomultiplier tube (PMT) internal-gating method for use in the field of subnanosecond time-resolved spectroscopy. In the proposed method, we control two dynodes in the PMT by applying a gate signal whose pulse width is <i>T</i><sub>g</sub>. When controlling the <i>m</i> th and the <i>n</i> (><i>m</i>)th dynodes, a resolution time Δ<i>t</i> is approximately given by Δ<i>t</i> = <i>T</i><sub>g</sub> - (<i>n</i> - <i>m</i>)τ, where τ is a transit time of a lump of secondary electrons traveling between the two dynodes in the PMT. In principle, the resolution time Δ t shorter than the pulse width <i>T</i><sub>g</sub> of the gate signal can be easily obtained. From a fundamental performance test, we found that a subnanosecond resolution time Δ<i>t</i> = 0.31 ns was obtained for the case of <i>m</i> = 2 and <i>n</i> = 5. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we carried out a time-resolved spectroscopic measurement of emission obtained from a white-light-emitting diode (LED) driven by a nanosecond current pulse.
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