CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OLEN MICROCHANNEL-PLATE SECONDARY MULTIPLIER

We investigate the operation of the Olen' secondary electron multiplie r. It is based on microchannel plates and in the study was irradiated by He, Ar, and Xe atoms with energies of 1-4 ke V and photons with a w avelength of 121.6 nm. The output-signal amplitude distribution with r espect to multiplier's supply regime, the load, and particle energies and zonal characteristics were studied. It was discovered that when de tecting atoms at a load less than some critical value, a quasi-Gaussia n distribution over the multiplier's output amplitude is established ( saturated regime), while an exponential dependence for photon detectio n was observed (unsaturated regime).