https://psec.uchicago.edu/Papers/mcpwiza.PDF

Microchannel plate detectors

Imaging [Ca2+]i with aequorin using a photon imaging detector

Microchannel plate (MCP) electron multipliers are described with reference to their role as detectors of high-energy photons. The gain characteristics, dark noise and quantum detection efficiency of MCPs are examined, together with the many designs of electronic image readout capable of encoding the position of the MCP output charge pulse.

X- and γ-ray imaging using microchannel plates

A theoretical and experimental study is report-ed of the gain of microchannel plate (MCP) electron multipliers under conditions of output charge satur-ation. Theoretical calculations, assuming a wall charge saturation mechanism, are used to interpret peak gain and pulse height distribution FWHM data obtained with a number of chevron MCP multipliers. A curved surface MCP intended for use with grazing incidence X-ray optics is described. The effects of an inter-plate voltage are described. Limiting pulse height FWHMs around 30% have been obtained. The properties of straight channel chevrons and single curved channel MCPs are briefly compared.

The Gain Characteristics of Microchannel Plates for X-Ray Photon Counting

A satellite-borne extreme-ultraviolet airglow spectrometer is described covering the 275–1420-A range with 8-A resolution. The spectrometer is of near normal incidence Rowland circle design and employs a holographically ruled concave grating. The detector is a microchannel plate with resistive anode providing a continuous readout of any 650-A ground-commandable subset of the total bandpass. This simultaneous wide spectral coverage results in a factor of 80 increase in sensitivity over a fixed exit slit design of equivalent resolution.

Continuous-readout extreme-ultraviolet airglow spectrometer.

Performance of microchannel plates in the high‐gain chevron configuration has been improved by the addition of an interplate voltage VB. For VB=100 V, and positive ion excitation, the output electron distribution FWHM decreased from 166% to 97%. Using a resistive anode encoder (RAE) readout, and 1216‐A uv excitation, we observed a corresponding spatial resolution improvement of 16%.

R. L. Roy

Papers

Improved microchannel plate performance with a resistive anode encoder