High-Quantum-Efficiency Photocathode for Photomultiplier Tubes

Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) have long been recognized as the detector of choice for very weak light detection. The high gain of the PMT, in excess of 10 ×106, makes it a useful detector for applications such as LIDAR, bioluminescence, fluorescence, and chemiluminescence. However, a requirement for higher sensitivity has always existed within the detector community. Now Hamamatsu scientists have incorporated III-V semiconductor photocathodes of GaAsP(Cs) and GaAs(Cs) offering high quantum efficiency and low dark noise for applications requiring the detection of very weak light signals with high signal-to-noise ratios.