IEC 60462:2010

IEC 60462 ®
Edition 2.0 2010-07
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Nuclear instrumentation – Photomultiplier tubes for scintillation counting –
Test procedures
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IEC 60462 ®
Edition 2.0 2010-07
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Nuclear instrumentation – Photomultiplier tubes for scintillation counting –
Test procedures
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
PRICE CODE
T
ICS 27.120 ISBN 978-2-88912-041-3
– 2 – 60462 © IEC:2010(E)
CONTENTS
FOREWORD.3
1 Scope and object.5
2 Normative references .5
3 Terms, definitions, symbols and abbreviations.5
3.1 Terms and definitions .5
3.2 Symbols and abbreviations.7
3.2.1 Symbols .7
3.2.2 Abbreviations .8
4 Test conditions .8
5 Test procedures for photomultiplier characteristics .9
5.1 General .9
5.2 Pulse height characteristics.9
5.2.1 General .9
5.2.2 Pulse height resolution measurement .9
5.2.3 Pulse height linearity measurement .12
5.2.4 Pulse height stability measurement .13
5.3 Test procedure for determination of dark current .15
5.4 Test procedure for time characteristics.15
5.4.1 General .15
5.4.2 Photomultiplier rise time measurements .15
5.4.3 Fall time measurements .16
5.4.4 Single photo-electron rise time measurements .16
5.4.5 Transit time spread measurements .17
Annex A (informative) Light sources.20
Annex B (informative) Definition of the PMT spectrometric constant.22
Bibliography.23

Figure 1 – Pulse height distribution.10
Figure 2 – Two-pulse method.12
Figure 3 – Definition of rise, fall time and electron transit time .15
Figure 4 – Determination of single photo-electron rise time.17
Figure 5 – Transit time spread .19
Figure A.1 – Light-emitting diode circuitry .20

60462 © IEC:2010(E) – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTATION –
PHOTOMULTIPLIER TUBES FOR SCINTILLATION COUNTING –
TEST PROCEDURES
FOREWORD
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International Standard IEC 60462 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 45: Nuclear
instrumentation.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 1974 and constitutes a
technical revision.
The main technical changes with regard to the previous edition are as follows:
• to review the existing requirements and to update the terminology, definitions and
normative references.
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
45/706/FDIS 45/711/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.

– 4 – 60462 © IEC:2010(E)
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

60462 © IEC:2010(E) – 5 –
NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTATION –
PHOTOMULTIPLIER TUBES FOR SCINTILLATION COUNTING –
TEST PROCEDURES
1 Scope and object
This International Standard establishes test procedures for photomultiplier tubes (PMT) for
scintillation and Cherenkov detectors.
This standard is applicable to photomultiplier tubes for scintillation and Cherenkov detectors.
Photomultiplier tubes are extensively used in scintillation and Cherenkov counting, both in the
detection and analysis of ionizing radiation and for other applications. For such uses, various
characteristics are of particular importance and require additional tests to those conducted to
measure the general characteristics of PMT. This has made desirable the establishment of
standard test procedures so that measurements of these specific characteristics may have the
same significance to all manufacturers and users.
The tests described in this standard for PMT to be used in scintillation detectors are
supplementary to those tests described in IEC 60306-4, which covers the basic characteristics
commonly requiring specification for photomultiplier tubes.
This recommendation is not intended to imply that all tests and procedures described herein
are mandatory for every application, but only that those tests carried out on PMT for
scintillation and Cherenkov detectors should be performed in accordance with the procedures
given in this standard.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document.
For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition
of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
IEC 60306-4, Measurement of photosensitive devices – Part 4: Methods of measurement for
photomultipliers
3 Terms, definitions, symbols and abbreviations
3.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1.1
photomultiplier tube
multiplier phototube
PMT (abbreviation)
vacuum tube consisting of a photocathode and an electron multiplier intended to convert light
into an electric signal
[IEC 60050-394:2007, 394-30-12]

– 6 – 60462 © IEC:2010(E)
3.1.2
Cherenkov detector
radiation detector designed to detect relativistic particles, using a medium in which the
Cherenkov effect is produced
NOTE The medium is optically coupled to a photosensitive device, either directly or through light guides.
[IEC 60050-394:2007, 394-29-17]
3.1.3
scintillation detector
radiation detector consisting of a scintillator that is usually optically coupled to a
photosensitive device, either directly or through light guides
NOTE The scintillator consists of a scintillating material in which the ionizing particle produces a burst of
luminescence radiation along its path.
[IEC 60050-394:2007, 394-27-01]
3.1.4
light guide
optical device designed to transmit light without significant loss
NOTE It may be placed between a scintillator and a photomultiplier tube.
[IEC 60050-394:2007, 394-30-15]
3.1.5
dark current (of a photomultiplier tube)
electric current flowing from the anode circuit in the absence of light on the photocathode
[IEC 60050-394:2007, 394-38-14]
3.1.6
gain (of a photomultiplier tube)
ratio of the anode output current to the current emitted by the photocathode at stated
electrode voltages
[IEC 60050-394:2007, 394-38-15]
3.1.7
collect
...