Evolution of ideas in photon detection
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volution of Ideas in Photon Detection1, 2 B. K. Lubsandorzhiev Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia e-mail: [email protected] Abstract⎯In this paper we consider an evolution of ideas in vacuum photodetector developments. Diverse approaches in developments of vacuum photodetectors (classical photomultipliers and hybrid phototubes) for the last half of century are covered. A particular emphasis is made on large area vacuum photodetectors developments. Some other issues concerning WLS and light guide techniques for increasing photodetectors sensitivity are highlighted as well. DOI: 10.1134/S1063779616060150
INTRODUCTION Marcel Proust once wrote “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but inhaving new eyes” [1]. These great Frenchman words are quoted not casually here. Developments of new experimental instruments always provide new opportunities for scientific endeavors and open roads to discoveries. My great teacher Aleksandr Evgen’yevich Chudakov liked to say that every physics experiments should develop new experimental techniques which in their turn will bring experiments to great discoveries and new understanding of nature. Photon detectors are an exemplary case for this claim. Indeed, photon detectors play key roles in the overwhelming majority of present day physics experiments, in high energy and astroparticle physics experiments in particular. It would not be an exaggeration at all to claim that photon detectors are a real “workhorse” in Nature studies. For a long time human beings studied Nature using just “natural” photon detectors—their eyes. Human eye is one of evolution’s summits which puzzled Charles Darwin. It should be noted that it is not perfect summit because it has some evolutionary inherited shortcomings but still it is very good photon detector with 576 Mega pixels. For the most part of human beings history human eye was the only photon detector. A bit more than 400 years ago humans started to invent instruments to help their eyes—lens, telescopes and microscopes. Galileo Galilei revolutionized experimental observations using telescopes. Even in 20th century some great fundamental breakthroughs in physics like discovery of atomic structure by H. Geiger and E. Marsden [2, 3] in 1908–1909 and discovery of Cherenkov Effect by P.A. Cherenkov and S.N. Vavilov [4, 5] in as late as 1 Talk
at The International Workshop on Prospects of Particle Physics: “Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics” February 1–8, 2015, Valday, Russia. 2 The article is published in the original.
1933 were made by just naked eyes. The former was made by detecting light pulses produced by α-particles in ZnS luminescent screen and the latter –by registering visible photons produced in transparent liquids by relativistic particles from radioactive sources. It is noteworthy to note that even Albert Einstein was awarded by Nobel Prize for his explanation of photoeffect as it was formulated by the Nobel committee: “for his services to theoretical physics, and especi
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