Vacuum silicon photo multiplier tube (VSiPMT): Towards a new generation of photon detectors

Photomultiplier tubes (PMT) technology has been improved continuously in the last years: the quantum efficiency of the photocathode has now reached a level of 40%, close to the theoretical maximum; single photon sensitivity and time resolution have been improved by a careful design of electrostatic focusing on the 1st dynode; with new coatings the secondary electron yield of dynodes has greatly improved, reducing the required number of dynodes and their size.