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Absolute optical responsivity down to the photon counting level with a photomultiplier tube
M Tanabe1, K Niwa1, K Kinoshita1
1National Metrology Institute of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Umesono 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058563, Japan.
Abstract:
A novel method is presented for evaluation of the absolute optical responsivity of a photomultiplier tube (PMT) at optical powers down to the photon counting level under visible light. This method is based on a combination of the calibrated responsivity and nonlinearity corrections using a silicon photodiode and a PMT. The evaluation results with the PMT enable accurate determination of the absolute optical responsivity over a wide power range of 10-11 W to 10-16 W under visible light. This method provides validation of both the photon counting efficiency of a PMT and of accurate optical measurement with attenuators at the photon counting level.
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