1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photomultiplier tube for detecting incident light from outside.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, compact photomultiplier tubes by utilization of fine processing technology have been developed. For example, there is known a thin-type photomultiplier tube where a photocathode, dynodes, an anode, etc., are arranged on a substrate constituting a casing (refer to Patent Document 1 given below). The above-described structure makes it possible to realize fine processing of a device in a two-stage manufacturing process.
Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,013
However, in the above-described conventional photomultiplier tube, there is a case where some of the photoelectrons emitted from the photocathode are not made incident onto electron multiplying parts but onto a side pipe, a substrate, etc., constituting the casing depending on a potential of the casing. Therefore, the photoelectrons are made incident away from the electron multiplying part, which is then the cause for a decrease in detection sensitivity.
Under these circumstances, the present invention has been made in view of the above problem, an object of which is to provide a photomultiplier tube capable of enhancing the detection sensitivity by causing photoelectrons emitted from a photocathode to be made efficiently incident onto electron multiplying parts.
In order to solve the above problem, the photomultiplier tube of the present invention is provided with a first substrate and a second substrate which are arranged so as to oppose each other, with the respective opposing surfaces made with an insulating material, a side wall part which constitutes a casing together with the first and the second substrates, a plurality of stages of electron multiplying parts which are arrayed so as to be spaced away sequentially from a first end side to a second end side on the opposing surface of the first substrate, a photocathode which is installed on the first end side so as to be spaced away from the electron multiplying parts, converting incident light from outside to photoelectrons to emit the photoelectrons, an anode part which is installed on the second end side so as to be spaced away from the electron multiplying parts to take out electrons multiplied by the electron multiplying parts as a signal, and a wall-like electrode which is arranged so as to enclose the photocathode when viewed from a direction directly opposite to the opposing surface and having a notched part at a site opposing the electron multiplying parts on the second end side.
According to the above-described photomultiplier tube, incident light is made incident onto the photocathode, by which the light is converted to photoelectrons, these photoelectrons are made incident onto a plurality of stages of electron multiplying parts on the opposing surface of the first substrate and multiplied accordingly, and thus multiplied electrons are taken out from the anode part as an electric signal. Here, the photocathode is enclosed with the wall-like electrode when viewed from a direction directly opposite to the opposing surface of the substrate, and the notched part is formed on the second end side of the wall-like electrode. Therefore, photoelectrons from the photocathode are efficiently guided into the electron multiplying parts and, as a result, it is possible to enhance the detection sensitivity of incident light onto the photocathode.
It is preferable that the photocathode is electrically connected to the wall-like electrode. In this instance, since there is formed an electric field preferable in guiding photoelectrons from the photocathode into the electron multiplying parts, the photoelectrons can be efficiently guided into the electron multiplying parts to further enhance the detection sensitivity of incident light.
It is also preferable that the notched part is formed at a site corresponding to a region of electron multiplying channels of the electron multiplying parts. The above constitution makes it possible to guide more efficiently the photoelectrons into an electron multiplying region at the electron multiplying parts and further enhance the detection sensitivity of incident light.
Further, it is preferable that focusing electrodes for focusing photoelectrons emitted from the photocathode and guiding them into the electron multiplying parts are installed inside the notched part. In this instance, the photoelectrons can be guided more efficiently into the electron multiplying parts to further enhance the detection sensitivity of incident light.
It is also preferable that the wall-like electrode is provided with a connecting part for electrically connecting to the photocathode. Further, it is also preferable that there are provided conductive layers installed on the upper surface of the connecting part and at a part of the opposing surface, the connecting part is formed in a flat-plate shape which is thinner than a plate-like part enclosing the photocathode of the wall-like electrode, and the photocathode is installed on the opposing surface and on the conductive layers. In this instance, the wall-like electrode can be reliably electrically connected to the photocathode.
Still further, it is preferable that the conductive layer installed on the upper surface of the connecting part is electrically connected to the conductive layer installed at a part of the opposing surface by using a wire member made with a conductive material. In this instance, even where there is a bump between the connecting part and the photocathode, the wall-like electrode can be reliably electrically connected to the photocathode.
Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given for preferred embodiments of the photomultiplier tube related to the present invention by referring to drawings. In addition, in describing the drawings, the same or corresponding parts will be given the same reference numerals to omit overlapping description.
The photomultiplier tube 1 shown in
It is noted that in the following description, the upstream side of an electron multiplying channel (the side of the photocathode) along a direction at which electrons are multiplied is given as “a first end side,” while the downstream side (the side of the anode part) is given as “a second end side.” Further, a detailed description will be given for individual constituents of the photomultiplier tube 1.
As shown in
The side wall frame 3 is constituted with a rectangular flat-plate like silicon substrate 30 as a base material. A penetration part 301 enclosed by a frame-like side wall part 302 is formed from a main surface 30a of the silicon substrate 30 toward an opposing surface 30b thereto. The penetration part 301 is provided with a rectangular opening and an outer periphery of which is formed so as to run along the outer periphery of the silicon substrate 30.
Inside the penetration part 301, the wall-like electrode 32, the focusing electrodes 31, the electron multiplying parts 33 and the anode part 34 are arranged from the first end side to the second end side. The wall-like electrode 32, the focusing electrodes 31, the electron multiplying parts 33 and the anode part 34 are formed by processing the silicon substrate 30 according to RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) processing, etc., and mainly made with silicon.
The wall-like electrode 32 is a frame-like electrode which is formed so as to enclose a photocathode 41 to be described later when viewed from a direction completely opposite to an opposing surface 40a of the glass substrate 40 to be described later (a direction approximately perpendicular to the opposing surface 40a and a direction opposite to a direction indicated by the arrow A of
The electron multiplying parts 33 are constituted with N stages (N denotes an integer of two or more) of dynodes (electron multiplying parts) set different in potential along a direction at which electrons are multiplied from the photocathode 41 to the anode part 34 and provided with a plurality of electron multiplying channels (electron multiplying channels) so as to be astride individual stages. Further, the anode part 34 is arranged at a position holding the electron multiplying parts 33 together with the photocathode 41.
The wall-like electrode 32, the focusing electrodes 31, the electron multiplying parts 33 and the anode part 34 are individually fixed to the lower frame 4 by anode bonding, diffusion joining and joining, etc., using a sealing material such as a low-melting-point metal (for example, indium), by which they are arranged on the lower frame 4 two-dimensionally.
The lower frame 4 is constituted with the rectangular flat-plate like glass substrate 40 as a base material. The glass substrate 40 forms an opposing surface 40a which opposes the opposing surface 20a of the wiring substrate 20, by use of glass which is an insulating material. The photocathode 41 which is a transmission-type photocathode is formed at a site opposing a penetration part 301 of the side wall frame 3 on the opposing surface 40a (a site other than a joining region with a side wall part 302) and at the end part opposite to the side of the anode part 34. Further, a rectangular recessed part 42 which prevents multiplied electrons from being made incident onto the opposing surface 40a is formed at a site where the electron multiplying parts 33 and the anode part 34 on the opposing surface 40a are loaded.
A further detailed description will be given for an internal structure of the photomultiplier tube 1 by referring to
Further, the photocathode 41 is installed so as to be spaced away from the 1st stage dynode 33 a on the first end side to the first end side on the opposing surface 40a behind the focusing electrode 31. The photocathode 41 is formed on the opposing surface 40a of the glass substrate 40 as a rectangular transmission-type photocathode. When incident light transmitted from outside through the glass substrate 40, which is the lower frame 4, arrives at the photocathode 41, photoelectrons corresponding to the incident light are emitted, and the photoelectrons are guided into the 1st stage dynode 33a by the wall-like electrode 32 and the focusing electrodes 31.
Further, the anode part 34 is installed so as to be spaced away from the final stage dynode 33b on the second end side to the second end side on the opposing surface 40a. The anode part 34 is an electrode for taking outside electrons multiplied inside the electron multiplying channels C of the electron multiplying parts 33 in a direction indicated by the arrow B as an electric signal.
Still further, the wall-like electrode 32 is a rectangular frame-like electrode constituted with a plurality of plate-like parts 32a extending substantially in a perpendicular direction only by as thick as the side wall part 302 inside the penetration part 301 so as to run along the inner wall of the side wall part 302 from the opposing surface 40a to the upper frame 2 and installed upright on the opposing surface 40a in a state that encloses a region of forming the photocathode 41 on the opposing surface 40a. An approximately rectangular notched part 35 which has been notched is formed at a site which is the second end side wall part of the wall-like electrode 32 and opposes a region where the electron multiplying channel C is formed at the 1st stage dynode 33a. Then, a columnar focusing electrode 31 is formed so as to extend substantially in a perpendicular direction from a thin plate-like member 35a installed so as to connect both end parts of the notched part 35 on the opposing surface 40a to the side of the upper frame 2. It is noted that in the present embodiment, the wall-like electrode 32, the thin plate-like member 35a and the focusing electrodes 31 are formed in an integrated manner. However, they may be formed individually.
Next, a description will be given for a wiring structure of the photomultiplier tube 1 by referring to
As shown in
The above constituted upper frame 2 and the side wall frame 3 are joined, by which the conductive terminal 203 is electrically connected to the side wall part 302 of the side wall frame 3. Also, the power supplying part 36 of the electron multiplying part 33, the power supplying part 37 of the anode part 34 and the power supplying part 38 of the wall-like electrode 32 are respectively connected to the corresponding conductive layers 202 independently via conductive members made with gold (Au), etc. The above-described connecting structure makes it possible to electrically connect the side wall part 302, the electron multiplying part 33 and the anode part 34 respectively to the conductive terminals 201A, 201C, 201D. Also, the wall-like electrode 32 is electrically connected to the conductive terminal 201B together with the focusing electrodes 31 and the photocathode 41 (
According to the photomultiplier tube 1 which has been so far described, incident light is transmitted through the lower frame 4 and made incident onto the photocathode 41, thereby converted to photoelectrons, and the photoelectrons are made incident onto the plurality of stages of electron multiplying parts 33 on the opposing surface 40a of the lower frame 4 and multiplied accordingly, and the multiplied electrons are taken out from the anode part 34 as an electric signal. Here, the photocathode 41 is enclosed by the wall-like electrode 32, when viewed from a direction directly opposite to the opposing surface 40a, and the notched part 35 is formed on the second end side of the wall-like electrode 32. Therefore, the photoelectrons from the photocathode 41 are prevented from being made incident onto the casing such as the side wall frame 3 and the photoelectrons are guided efficiently into the electron multiplying part 33. As a result, it is possible to enhance the detection sensitivity of incident light onto the photocathode 41.
Here, effects of the present embodiment will be described in detail by referring to
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, photoelectrons generated from the photocathode 41 can be efficiently made incident onto the 1st stage dynode 33a (a direction indicated by the arrow E4 in
Further, the photocathode 41 is electrically connected to the wall-like electrode 32 and set to be equal in potential. Therefore, there is formed an electric field where photoelectrons from the photocathode 41 are favorably guided into the electron multiplying part 33 without being made incident onto the wall-like electrode 32, by which the detection sensitivity is further enhanced.
Still further, the notched part 35 of the wall-like electrode 32 is formed at a site opposing a region of the electron multiplying channels C of the electron multiplying parts 33, by which photoelectrons guided into the electron multiplying parts 33 can be efficiently multiplied to further enhance the detection sensitivity of incident light.
It is noted that the present invention shall not be limited to the embodiments so far described. For example, as shown in a photomultiplier tube 1A in
Further, as shown in a photomultiplier tube 1B in
Further, various modified modes can be adopted in a wiring structure of the present embodiment. For example, as shown in
Still further, as shown in
In addition, in any of the embodiments and the modified examples, it is not always necessary that the wall-like electrode 32 encloses the photocathode 41 as a whole, but may be arranged so as not to enclose an edge part if it encloses a substantially effective region that can guide emitted photoelectrons into the electron multiplying parts 33.
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