MICROCHANNEL PLATE ELECTRON MULTIPLIER CALIBRATION USING A DISCRETE DETECTOR ARRAY

The performance of a microchannel plate electron multiplier (MCP) is k nown to vary with time and exposure to ions, the atmosphere, and other factors. Clearly the recognition of deterioration in experimental wor k is of great importance. In the present work the performance of an MC P is straightforwardly measured using a detector array integrated on a silicon chip and results presented. The objective of this work is not to accurately quantify the MCP gain distribution but rather to find t he distribution shape to enable straightforward monitoring of variatio ns in gain distribution and identification of conditions under which e ssentially all MCP output pulses are recorded. Thus, isotope ratios of high quality can be measured. This work further demonstrates the vers atility of a discrete detector array developed at Aberystwyth. It enab les straightforward remote monitoring of the MCP performance and is es pecially valuable in space-borne experiments. (C) Elsevier Science B.V .