MULTIPURPOSE ANALYZERS FOR PHOTOELECTRON STATISTICS - IMPLEMENTATION AND USE

The statistical properties of variously scattered laser light can be d erived from photocount data through the estimate of different function s. Even if the second-order correlation usually plays the main role, o ther function (e.g., triggered and nontriggered distributions, moments of various order, and higher-order correlations) may give more approp riate results in many experimental conditions. We present a multifunct ion analyzer whose working principle is based on the acquisition of a long sequence of interpulse intervals (through a circuitally simple pe rsonal-computer front-end interface), which is followed by the off-lin e calculation of one or more of the functions for which an algorithm i s available. Up to 5 x 10(5) photopulse intervals can be recorded at a maximum rate of approximately 2 x 10(5) data points/s. A short descri ption of the algorithms used to calculate the different functions is g iven together with some useful hints and a table of typical processing times.