A fully automated test facility for multi anode photo multiplier tubes

F. SUAREZ; A. LUCERO; A. ETCHEGOYEN; A. ALMELA; C. REYES; D. ALONSO; E. PONSONE; F. BARABAS; G. DE LA VEGA; M. VIDELA; M. PLATINO; O. WAINBERG

Beijing

Conferencia; 32nd International Cosmic Ray Conference, Beijing 2011; 2011

Multi-anode photo multiplier tubes (PMT) are commonly used in astroparticle physics observatories as well as in other applications. They need to be automatically tested when they are to be used in large numbers. Such a test facility has been developed to evaluate multi-anode PMTs. The facility, located at ITeDA in Buenos Aires, is capable of fully testing a 64 pixel PMT per day. It automatically measures the following parameters for each pixel: gain, dark pulse rate, single photoelectron distribution, and cross-talk. The test system is able to perform all relevant data analyses both in pulse amplitude and/or charge. It can also make uniformity plots of relevant parameters for all pixels. Using this facility, ultra bi-alkali PMTs have already been tested and evaluated. The test results and the schematics of the test system are presented in this work.