Performance of FIMS Microchannel Plate Detector System

Abstract

We describe some performance of the detector electronics system for the FIMS (Far-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph) mission. The FIMS mission to map the far ultraviolet sky uses MCP (micro-channel plate) detectors with a crossed delay line anode to record photon arrival events. FIMS has two MCP detectors, each with a ˜25mm×25mm active area. The unconventional anode design allows for the use of a single set of position encoding electronics for both detector fields. The centroid position of the charge cloud, generated by the photon-stimulated MCP, is determined by measuring the arrival times at both ends of the anode following amplification and external delay. The temporal response of the detector electronics system determines the readout's positional resolution for the charge centroid. High temporal resolution (< 35 ps×75 ps FWHM) and low power consumption (<6W) were achieved for the FIMS detector electronics system.

Keywords

• astronomical and space-research instrumentation
• space-based ultraviolet telescopes
• spectrograph