Measurements of photomultiplier single photon counting efficiency for the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

A knowledge of the absolute efficiency of the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) used in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) is important for modelling the behaviour of the detector. While the quantum efficiencies for the PMTs are known, the efficiency in single-photon counting mode (which includes collection efficiency and counting efficiency) is of more relevance. A calibration of the 8 in. Hamamatsu R1408 photomultipliers in this mode requires a known flux of incident light at the very low level of 10−16 W cm−2 (250 photons cm−2 s−1). A method of performing such measurements, utilising the extreme linearity obtainable with silicon photodiodes, is presented in this paper. The results of efficiency measurements on four PMTs are given and a comparison is made with previous results obtained using a Cherenkov source of known intensity.