A performance evaluation system for photomultiplier tubes

A comprehensive performance evaluation system for Photomultiplier tubes has been built up. The system is able to review diverse cathode and anode properties for PMTs with different sizes and dimensions. Relative and direct methods were developed for the quantum efficiency measurement and the results are consistent with each other. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional scanning platforms were built to test both the cathode and anode uniformity for either the plane type or spherical type photocathode. A Flash Analog-to-Digital Convertor module is utilized to achieve high speed waveforms sampling. The entire system is highly automatic and flexible. Details of the system and some typical experimental results are presented in this paper.