M E A S U R E M E N T OF N O I S E P O W E R S P E C T R U M IN P H O T O N

COUNTING PMT's
AND
T H E E F F E C T OF T H E O B S E R V E D ( l / f ) N O I S E ON
ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOMETRY

S. S. R A O U F and A. R . S A D I K
Space and Astronomy Research Center, Council of Scientific Research, Baghdad, lraq

and

N. K. W A F I and K. M. A B O U D
Electrical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, lraq

(Received 19 May, 1986)

Abstract. In astronomical photometry, the sensitivity of observations is limited by the dark counts of the
photomultiplier tube. In the present work, the effect of dark count noise in photon counting systems is
investigated by theory and experimental measurements. Dark counts are considered to be originating from
two sources, namely: dc fluctuations and random pulses.
Experimental measurements were carried out to determine noise effects in different operating regions of
noise dominance. The results provide strong evidence that: in normal operating mode, where the effect of
random pulses is dominant, dark counts do not follow Poisson statistics. The observed noise shows strong
(l/f) power spectrum, where the observed noise power is found to increase with time of observation.
The results are important in photon counting systems operating under dark count limited mode. The
conclusions drawn can be useful in obtaining more accurate error estimates and in assessing astronomical
photometric observations and data reduction techniques.

I. Introduction

Most high-sensitivity astronomical photometers operate in the photon-counting mode.

Photon counting offers several advantages over the classical dc-technique. It offers
better (S/N) ratio and facilitates digital interfacing which is preferred in modem
measuring equipment (Henden and Kaitchuk, 1982).
When faint celestial objects are observed with small aperture telescopes and/or
narrow band filters are used, the photon flux received at the photocathode may be of
the same order of the dark count level of the PhotoMultiplier Tube (PMT). In this case,
the photometer is said to be operating in the dark count limited regime; i.e., the
sensitivity of the system is determined by the dark count of the PMT tube.
In the data reduction procedure, the average of the dark count is subtracted from the
total (output) counts in order to obtain the 'photon counts' received from the object.
However, the effect of the fluctuations of the dark count with time cannot be eliminated.
This effect will show up as an increase in the variance of the received signal and
consequently a decrease in the (S/N) ratio.

Astrophysics and Space Science 127 (1986) 207-218.

9 1986 by D. Reidel Publishing Company
208 S. S. RAOUF ET AL.

In the data reduction practice, it is usually assumed (Henden and Kaitchuk, 1982)
that the dark current noise is dominated by 'shot noise' which follows Poisson statistics.
Therefore, it can be estimated directly from dark count average. Such an approach may
be justified practically if the photon counts are greater than the dark count and/or short
integration times, of the order of a few seconds, are used.
When the photon counts are of the same order of the dark counts and/or long
observing times are used, then more information about the statistical properties of the
dark counts is needed. Due to the special nature of the PMT's operating in the photon
counting mode, the noise sources are considered as a combination of continuous signal
noise (counts caused by current fluctuations) and discrete signal noise (random pulses).
The aim of the present work is two-fold. First, the theoretical basis of noise generating
mechanisms and their effects on photon counting PMT's are investigated. Second, the
statistical properties of dark counts at different discrimination levels are determined
experimentally. A comparison is made with Poisson statistics which are usually
assumed to apply in astronomical photometric data reductions.

2. Noise Sources and Their Effects in Photon Counting PMT's

2.1. NOISE SOURCES IN PMT'S

According to RCA (1963, 1970) technical manuals, dark current in PMT's can be
catagorized by origin into Ohmic leakage, thermionic emission from cathode and other
elements, and regenerative effects. The statistical behaviour is different for each current
type. To investigate the effect of dark current on Photon Counting System (PCS),
current sources are divided into two groups:
(1) Current type-I, which is caused by Ohmic leakage and current due to electrons
generated at dynodes by thermionic, nuclear, and regenerative effects. Such current is
characterized as randomly fluctuating (noisy) dc current.
(2) Current type-II, which is caused by electrons generated near the cathode by
thermionic, nuclear, and regenerative effects. These electrons are amplified by the
dynode chain of the PMT tube. This current appears as high amplitude pulses randomly
distributed in time. Such pulses are indistinguishable from photoelectrons generated at
the photocathode.
The stochastic properties of the current type-I are determined by the noise character-
istics of the PMT tube. While for current type-II, the stochastic properties of the
temporal distribution of the pulses are determined by the physical mechanisms gener-
ating electrons at the neighbourhood the cathode of the PMT tube.
To investigate the effects of current type-I on the dark count of the PMT, different
noise sources of the PMT on the dc level are considered first.

2.1.1. Shot Noise in P M T ' s

Shot (or quantum) noise is generated by the discrete nature of current flow by carriers
(electrons) in the PMT. However, the noise spectral density is not perfectly white (i.e.,
 NOISE POWER SPECTRUM 1N PHOTON COUNTING PMT'S 209

does not follow Dirac-function in the time domain) as is common in shot noise. This
is attributed to the finite transit-time of electrons between electrodes. Several authors
(cf. Rack, 1938; Fraser, 1949) treated shot noise in simple geometry vacuum tubes.
Ambrozy (1982) has shown that departure from white characteristics can only be
noticed at high frequencies. A reduction in noise power spectral density of 5-10 ~/o from
white level occurs at high frequencies depending on the geometry and cartier transit time.
Shot noise in vacuum tubes is given by
Ss(f) = 2qIF 2 , (1)

where/is the dc current; q, carrier (electron) charge; F < 1, which is a factor depending
on transit time and electrode geometry.

2.1.2. Partition N o i s e

Due to the complex structure of PMT's, partition noise is more effective than in
conventional vacuum tubes. Partition noise is generated by stray electrons which fail
to hit dynodes to the normal sequence. This is due to imperfect electron focussing
arrangements to guide electrons in the next dynode. The resultant noise spectrum is not
white due to the binomial probability distribution. However, for good focussing
geometries, the noise generated approximation white noise and is given (cf. Van Der
Ziel, 1976) by

I1(1 - I1)
Sp(f) = 2q , (2)
I

where 11 is the current due to stray electrons.

In PMT's, partition noise is higher than normal vacuum tubes because of the
cascaded stages of electron emission and collection. In addition, it has been noted that,
due to the complexity of PMT's and the multiple focussing arrangements, the Earth's
magnetic field, unlike conventional vacuum tubes, has a noticeable effect on electron
focussing. Therefore, partition noise depends on the orientation of the PMT tube with
respect to the Earth's magnetic field.

2.1.3. T h e r m a l Noise
Thermal noise, which is usually known as 'Johnson noise' is due to thermally excited
vibrating carriers in a conductor. Carrier motion is similar to 'Brownian motion'. This
was the first type of electron noise discovered. It was first observed at Bell Laboratories
by Johnson in 1927; in 1928 Nyquist provided the theoretical explanation.
In classical physics, thermal noise has been considered to have white spectral
characteristics and is given by

sv(f) = K r ~ G , (3)

where K is the Boltzmann constant; T~, absolute temperature; and G, the conductance.
However, Ekstein and Rostoker (1955) have shown that in a quantum-mechanical
210 S. S. RAOUF ET AL.

approach, the thermal noise is not perfectly white and increases at high frequencies as

Si(f) = 4Ghf
11]
+ exp ( h f / K T k ) - ' (4)

which is approximated to the form of Equation (3) for h f ~ K T k.

The effect of thermal noise in PMT's is usually reduced by cooling the tube until other
noise sources dominate.

2.1.4. Flicker Noise

Flicker noise was first observednin vacuum tubes (Motchenbacher and Fitchen, 1973).
The spectral response can be expressed as

18
Sf(f) = const. - - , (5)
f~
where e = 1 and/3 = 2.
The same spectral density is observed in several other phenomena (Halford, 1968)
and is commonly known as low-frequency noise. No general physical model exists
which explains the (l/f) noise generation (Ambrozy, 1982). This type of spectral density
is problematic because the total noise power between dc and any other frequency
(whatever is small) is not finite. The spectral behaviour was measured experimentally
down to 10- 6 Hz by Caloyannides (1974) with no apparent deviations.
The effect of (l/f) noise on the accuracy of estimating observed quantities cannot be
ignored. At some integration time when (l/f) noise becomes dominant, any increase in
observing time will not improve the (S/N) ratio significantly, due to the higher noise in
the low-frequency region.
The four major noise sources mentioned above are responsible for the fluctuations
in current type-I of the PMT. In PCS systems, these fluctuations will cause dark count
if the instantaneous value of the current exceeds the discrimination level. If gaussian
(normal) distribution of the instantaneous voltage level is assumed, then the dark photon
counts due to current type-I are given by

M exp , (6)

where Va, is the average dc voltage; Uo, discrimination level; o-2,variance of fluctuations
(noise power); T, observation time; M, pulse duration.
The number of dark counts can be minimized if [(Uo - Vav)2/~] is set high enough
(but not too high to count the photo-generated pulses). On the other hand, the dark
counts due to pulses of current type-II are nearly independent of the discrimination level
under the normal mode of operation; i.e., when this level is set below the threshold of
detecting pulses caused by electrons generated in the vicinity of the cathode.
 NOISE POWER SPECTRUM IN PHOTON COUNTING PMT'S 21 l

2.2. EFFECT OF DARK COUNT NOISE ON THE OBSERVED (S/N)

To study the effect of integration time on the observed (S/N), let us consider the
observed stochastic signal XT(t ) of duration T in time.
The mean value of the signal is the quantity to be measured. It is given by the first
moment of the stochastic signal M(XT(t)) as (cf. Papoulis, 1965)

M(Xr(t)) = T - I f Xr(t )dt. (7)

The power of the signal (including noise and dc power) is given by the second moment
of the stochastic signal M(X2(t)) (cf. Papoulis, 1965) as

M(X~(t)) = T - I f X2(t) dt. (8)

The variance of the observed signal D2(Xr(t)) is given by

D2(Xr(t)) = M(X2r(t)) - M2(Xr(t)). (9)
Hence, the (S/N) is given by

M(Xr(t)) / M2(XT(t))
S/N
- D(Xr(t)~ - ~ / M ( X ~ = M - ~ X r ( t ) ) " (10)

In the frequency-domain, the observed power density function S t ( f ) is given by

ST(f) = T -I HFr(f)IF 2 , (11)
where Fr(f) is the Fourier transform of Xr(t ).
By use of Parseval's theorem, M(X2(t)) can be evaluated in the frequency domain by

M(X2(t)) f St(f) df. (12)

The observed noise spectrum is band-limited. The low cut-off frequency is determined
by the finite total observing time T. The high cut-off frequency for photon counting is
determined by the average count rate (B). Hence, the observed noise power (variance
D2(Xw(t)) is given by

fh
t*
D2(Xr(t)) / S t ( f ) df, (13)
fl
where fl = 1/T and fh = B.
To study the effect of integration time on the observed noise power, Equation (13)
is integrated using the general form of S ( f ) = K/f ~, with the following results:
( a ) c~ = 0 (white noise):

D2(XT(t)) = K(B - T- i) . (14)

212 S. S. R A O U F E T AL.

(b) O< cz< 1:

K
D 2 ( X T ( t ) ) _- - [BI-~- T~-I]. (15)
1-~

(c) ~ = 1:

D E ( X r ( t ) ) = K log~(BT). (16)

(d) 1 < ~ z < 2 :

K
D2(Xr(t)) = - - [T ~-~ - B ~- ~]. (17)
~-1

Normalized noise power and (S/N) are plotted in Figures 1 and 2, respectively, for
different values of a. As is clear, in c~= 0 (white noise) case, (S/N) shows the best
improvement with time and the noise power remains constant during observation. The
situations gets worse with increasing a, where noise power increases with observing time
and (S/N) improves at a slower rate.
In practical situations, noise is observed as a superposition of (l/f) noise and white
noise. The resultant noise power spectrum will show a dominating (l/f) noise in the
low-frequency region and a dominating white-noise source in the high-frequency region.

~ x5

i:i:~
Z

t [ I I I t I I I ! 1 1 I I I I ., ! ! I
0 --
Time
Fig. 1. Theoretical noise power vs observing time for (1/if) noise.
 NOISE POWER SPECTRUM IN PHOTON COUNTING PMT~S 213

10

Z 5
r~

4
~,0.I
3
~= 0.0
2

0 I 1 I I l f ....... L. t I

--, Time
Fig. 2. Theoretical (S/N)2 vs observingtime for (1/f~) noise.

A typical noise power spectrum can be expressed as

S(f) = -KI
- +/(2, (18)
f~
where K~ and K 2 are constants.
The cross-over frequency (fc) is the frequency at which (l/f) and white-noise sources
make equal contributions to the total-noise spectral density (i.e., fc = K1/K2).
To utilize observing time efficiently, the integration time T should be selected so that
f~ in Equation (13) is higher than fc (i.e., T < 1/fc). In this case Equation (14) applies
and (S/N) improves with the square root of the observing time (T).
In some applications (e.g., IR photometry), where integration times longer than (1/fc)
are necessary to achieve the required (S/N), special observing techniques have been
developed. In these techniques, the low cut-off frequency is determined independently
from the total integration time. An example is the use of a chopper and detecting the
output signal synchronously with the chopper via phase-sensitive-detector. In this
arrangement, the low cut-off frequency is determined by the chopper frequency. This
technique is known as Dicke switching in radio astronomy.

3. Measurement and Analysis of Noise Power Spectrum

Dark count measurements were carried out using PMT type (EMI-9863Q/B). The total
integration time (T) is divided into N subintervals each of (T/N) duration. The signal
214 S. S. R A O U F ET AL.

is averaged for each subinterval by the counting (integration) process. The averaging in
each subinterval acts as a low pass filter with power response given (cf. Papoulis,
1962) by

2 sin(wT/2N) 2
P(w) = w' ' (19)

and cut-off frequency given by

fl = NIT. (20)
The (N) samples forming the time-sequence X(n) are processed digitally. The estimate
of the noise power spectral density sequence St(m) in the spectral band (1/T, N/T) is
computed by performing D F T on the auto-covariance sequence of the time-sequence
X(n) (cf. Oppenheim and Schafer, 1975). The observed noise power can be calculated
from
N--1

M(X2(t)) - M2(Xr(t)) = ~', S t ( m ) . (21)

m=l

Since the noise spectrum of current type-I in the PMT may be different from current
type-II. Three sets of measurements were made with different discrimination levels. The
measured noise spectrum in the three cases is shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5. Effects of
integration time on the normalized observed noise power and (S/N) are shown in
Figures 6 and 7, respectively.

6
"O
5

_/
O
e~

4
O

N 3
t~

O
Z 2

0 1 I I l T I i

o t-~ oo

x 1.25 x 10-2 Hz
Fig. 3. Observed noise power spectrum for case 1.
 NOISE POWER SPECTRUM IN PHOTON COUNTING PMT'S 215

7 84

.~ 6
o

5
o

.~@ 4

Z 2

1 l, f I f I I I
0
---, x 1.15 x 10 - 2 Hz

Fig. 4. O b s e r v e d noise p o w e r s p e c t r u m for case 2.

5
O

.~ 4
O

Z 2

0 I i I i i

--* x 7 . 1 5 x 1 0 - 3 H z
Fig. 5. O b s e r v e d noise p o w e r s p e c t r u m for case 3.
216 S. S. RAOUF ET AL.

2.0

Case-3

1.5

o
Z

1.0

Case-1

9 I , ,1 I | '1 I ...... I 1 f I I t

xlOs

Fig. 6. Normalized observed noise power vs observing time.

10

Z
5

0 1 I ..... | I I ,, I t t ~! I ! I .......

xlOs

Fig. 7. Normalized observed (S/N) 2 vs observing time.

 NOISE POWER SPECTRUM 1N PHOTON COUNTING PMT'S 217

When the discrimination level is set below the optimum value (case 1), the measured
counts are mainly due to fluctuations in current type-I. It is clear from Figure 3 that,
in this case, noise power fluctuates randomly with frequency. Such behaviour is
characteristic of white noise in a relatively short integration time (Oppenheim and
Schafer, 1975). The observed variation of (S/N), and noise power with time, shown in
Figures 6 and 7, respectively, are similar to the theoretical plots shown in Figures 1
and 2 for (e = 0) case.
However, when discrimination level is set either at (case 2) or higher than (case 3) the
optimum value, results obtained are similar to each other, but different from (case 1).
The observed noise power spectral density is shown in Figures 4 and 5 for both cases.
Where the domination of low-frequency (l/f) noise is clear in the frequencies plotted.
The observed variation of noise power and (S/N) with time, as shown in Figures 6 and 7
is similar to the theoretical curves shown in Figures 1 and 2 for (c~ = 1). In this case,
noise power increases with time logarithmically and (S/N) improves less quickly than
that of white noise. Dark counts in the second and third cases are mainly due to current
type-II.
4. Conclusions

In astronomical photometry practice, the dark count of the PMT's is assumed to follow
Poisson statistics, i.e., dominating shot noise with white noise spectral density. How-
ever, it is pointed out in the present paper that theoretical investigations indicate the
probable existance of low-frequency (l/f) noise. Thus the Poisson distribution assump-
tion may not be accurate. A conclusion which affects data reduction in dark-current-
limited observations.
Results from our experimental measurements show evidence that count statistics
depend on the setting of the discrimination level of the PCS, assuming time of
observation of the order of several tens of seconds. This result confirms the fact that
different statistics govern counts due to current type-I and current type-II.
When the discrimination level is set at (or higher than) the optimal value (i.e., normal
operating mode) then (I/f) noise is found to be dominating. In this case, the observed
counts are mainly due to mechanisms generating free electrons in the vicinity of the
photocathode region of the PMT tube.
On the other hand, when the discrimination level is set lower than the optimal value,
then white noise is found to be dominating and dark current follow Poisson statistics.
In this case, the dark current are mainly due to the fluctuations in the dc current of the
PMT tube.
The existence of (l/f) noise in dark current affects the observed (S/N) ratio because
of an increase in the variance of the dark current with time. The effect of the (l/f) noise
becomes more noticeable with increasing time of observation due to the fact that noise
power increases with time in contrast with white noise where power remains constant.
-This Conclusion is important, as it provides astronomers with information pertaining
to the limitations of photometers operating in the dark-current-limited mode using
lengthy integration times.
218 S. S. RAOUF ET AL.

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