Abstract
ABSTRACT Adaptive high speed low noise detector el ectronics are being developed for a UV imaging instrument for application to astronomy and planetary science space missions and for vari ous other terrestrial high speed imaging applications. Forthcoming space missions such as ESA JUICE 1 and the World Space Observatory 2 have requirements for UV photon counting imaging detectors with high dynamic range, high spatial resolution and high radiation tolerance. Imaging techniques that can adapt to different luminosity conditions and optimise the image spatial resolution against the incoming photon event rate can provide significant performance advantages. We introduce an imaging photon counting Microchannel Plate (MCP) detector utilising a low noise Capacitive Division Image Readout (C-DIR) 3 with adaptive pulse shaping capability. Our experimental setup provides controllable photon count rates for end-to-end detector performance measurement and system calibration. It uses a four channel fast digitiser which enables us to easily investigate various digital pulse shaping techniques and vary shaping time constants to assess their impact on detector performance. In this paper we describe our laborato ry experimental setup, illustrate the method of imaging from photon counting and describe techniques for quantifying the image spatial resolution. Finally we present our current set of results comparing the measured spatial resolution with the theoretical determined from the measured intrinsic electronic noise of the system. Keywords: Microchannel Plate, Adaptive digital pulse shaping, Image readout, Capacitive Division Image Readout, C-DIR, Ultraviolet imaging, High speed imaging, Photon counting.
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