A STATISTICAL MODEL OF THE PHOTOMULTIPLIER GAIN PROCESS WITH APPLICATIONS TO OPTICAL PULSE DETECTION

Abstract

The complete statistical behavior of the random gain of a photomultiplier tube (PMT) has not previously yielded to exact analysis. In this paper a Markov diffusion model is used to determine an approximate probability density for the random gain. This approximate density preserves the correct second order statistics and appears to be in reasonably good agreement with previously reported experimental data. The error performance of a simple binary direct detection optical communication system is analyzed using this density.