Abstract
After the shutdown of the Hubble Space Telescope in a few years, new astronomical missionsfor the ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range between 91 and 300 nmwith improved optics and detectors will be necessary. This factdrives our development of solar blind photon counting microchannelplate (MCP) UV detectors with high quantum efficiency, high spatialresolution, and low power readout electronics. We plan to use across-strip anode (XSA), which has a high spatial resolution andadditionally allows a low gain operation of the MCPs which leads to anincreased lifetime of the MCPs compared to detectors with other anodetypes. The main difficulty in implementing an XSA in a detector forspace applications is the need for a (pre-) amplifier, a shaper, andan ADC for each of the strips, which means large power consumption andspatial requirements. The solution we are studying is the applicationof the so-called Beetle chip. This allows for animplementation of a readout electronics for an XSA with a powerconsumption of less then 10 W. For the tests of our readoutelectronics prototype, and for the burn-in of the MCPs, we recentlyfinished a setup in a vacuum chamber that is similar to theconfiguration in the final detector. We present a brief overview ofour detector design and details of the readout electronics setup aswell as details of the setup in our vacuum chamber.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call