Catalog: Photomultiplier Tubes

The photomultiplier provides extremely high sensitivity and ultra-fast response. Photomultiplier tubes (PMT) have high bandwidth and noise-free gain on the order of a million. This makes them ideal for the detection of extremely low light or short pulses of light.

A typical photomultiplier tube consists of photoemissive cathode (photocathode) followed by focusing electrodes, an electron multiplier and and electron collector (anode) in a vacuum tube. When light enters the photocathode, the photocathode emits photoelectrons into the vacuum. these photoelectrons are then directed by the focusing electrode voltages towards the electron multiplier where electrons are multiplied by a secondary emission process. The multiplied electrons then are collected by the anode as an output signal.