Fast photomultiplier tube gating system for photon counting applications

A normally "on'' linear-focused 14-stage end-window photomultiplier tube (PMT) (Electron Tubes Limited 9893Q/100B), designed for fast photon counting, has been gated through control of the voltage applied to the first dynode. The gating circuit reduces the gain of the PMT during a laser pulse, in order to discriminate against the detection of scattered light, and then increases the gain promptly to observe extremely low levels of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). An extinction factor for the laser scattered photons of > 10(5) was observed, and has enabled count rates for photons due to LIF as low as 1 Hz to be measured for a laser pulse-repetition frequency of 7 kHz. The rise of the PMT gain is monitored directly by observation of the fluorescence using time-resolved photon counting, and the PMT turn-on time is 30 ns. No significant distortion of the temporal profile of the fluorescence was observed during PMT turn-on. The system, which can also be operated in ungated mode, is rugged and reliable, and has been employed outdoors during atmospheric field measurements of the hydroxyl radical using LIF. The gating circuit is suitable for the rejection of laser scattered light in applications with extremely low levels of fluorescence on the submicrosecond timescale. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(98)02212-6].