Microdynode Photomultiplier Tube

136 Microdynode Photomultiplier Tube--Nano Systems Inc., 83 Prokop Road, Oxford, CT 06478-1108; (203) 881-2827 Dr. John Steinbeck, Principal Investigator Dr. John Steinbeck, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-97ER82438 Amount: $75,000 Photomultiplier tubes are an important class of radiation sensor used in nuclear physics research. Present photomultiplier tubes are bulky, expensive, and not amenable to integration into large arrays despite recent advances in tube miniaturization. The solution to this problem is to construct an integrated photomultiplier tube that uses semiconductor integrated circuit technology. The photomultiplier tubes are constructed from metal mesh microdynode chains that can be integrated directly on silicon wafers. The use of semiconductor processing techniques affords the ability to produce large numbers of photomultiplier tubes at low cost by eliminating the hand assembly of individual tubes. The anticipated performance advantages of these photomultiplier tubes over conventional phototubes are that these photomultiplier tubes are vastly smaller, more rugged, have faster response, and can be readily integrated into arrays. These advantages come without sacrificing low noise performance as well as having lower cost per unit detection area. The Phase I project will demonstrate the microdynode technology by building one-and-two-stage microdynodes and measuring their performance characteristics. The Phase II project will further develop the microdynode chain and culminate with the construction of a complete photomultiplier tube having an eight-stage microdynode chain. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Microdynode photomultiplier tubes will dramatically reduce the cost of these sensitive detectors by eliminating many manufacturing steps while not sacrificing sensitivity. The proposed technology will enable large arrays of photomultiplier tubes to be built that can be used to open new markets in telecommunications for high-gain, low-cost fiber optic detectors for local telephone service.