Simple photomultiplier tube internal-gating method for use in subnanosecond time-resolved spectroscopy

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 Tg. When controlling the mth and the n(> m)th dynodes, a resolution time delta t is approximately given by delta t = Tg-(n-m) tau, where tau is a transit time of a lump of secondary electrons traveling between the two dynodes in the PMT. In principle, the resolution time delta t shorter than the pulse width Tg of the gate signal can be easily obtained. From a fundamental performance test, we found that a subnanosecond resolution time delta t = 0.31 ns was obtained for the case of m = 2 and n = 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.