[Laser] Avalanche photodiodes

[Art]

>Thanks Joe and Art for the very useful replies.  Looks like I need to make a
>small but very well regulated DC -DC inverter.  385 Volts on a damp hillside
>should be fun (?!)

Usually they have very very small active areas, so you are limited to glass 
light collection optics of medium or better quality.

If you want a quick and dirty supply, use a disposable camera flash unit. 
Do some extra filtering with an RC filter and regulate it with a series 
pass transistor.

385 volts on a damp hillside can't be nearly as bad as a 1.3 Kv 
photomultiplier tube supply running on batteries.

Good luck and have fun. Be safe with high voltage please.

Art

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