Progress of NUV and FUV MCP-based photon-counting imaging detectors

Abstract

In the World Space Observatory-Ultraviolet (WSO-UV) mission, the Long Slit Spectrograph (LSS) instrument will provide low resolution spectra in the range 102-320nm. Both the NUV (160-320nm) and the FUV (102-170nm) channels of LSS use microchannel plates (MCP) working in photon-counting modes as detectors. In this paper, the progress and parameters of NUV and FUV photon-counting imaging detectors were described. For the NUV detector, we developed the detector based on a sealed MCP-image intensifier which comprises input window, photocathode, MCP stack, Ge-layer and its ceramic substrate. To maximize the quantum efficiency, we adopted a Caesium Telluride (C s 2Te) photocathode, which was deposited on input window and mounted close to the MCP. For the FUV detector, because of the lower cut-off wavelength, there are no suitable window materials in this band and the open-faced design should be used to meet the requirements of the detection. Therefore, a Caesium Iodide (CsI) photocathode deposited on the input surface of the MCP was used to optimize detector efficiency. By using an existing wedge and strip anode (WSA), the imaging performance of the NUV and FUV detectors was tested respectively. Experimental results show that the quantum efficiency of Cs 2 Te is 12.1% (at 230nm), the spatial resolution of NUV and FUV detectors is better than 110μm, the dark count rate of NUV and FUV detectors is about 10.5- and 2.3-counts/s*cm2 respectively.