Development of Planacon Tubes with Cross Strip Readouts and Atomic Layer MCPs

Sealed tube MCP detectors have provided a valuable platform for high spatial resolution photon counting detectors. Specifically, electronic readout microchannel plate (MCP) based sensors have been used as photon counting, imaging, event time tagging detectors for astronomy, time resolved biological imaging, imaging LIDAR, Cherenkov (RICH), scintillation detection, and neutron imaging [1]–[10]. For future applications we have been developing novel atomic layer deposited MCPs, UV optimized photocathodes and high resolution cross strip readouts for sealed tube detectors. The Photonis Planacon is a useful sealed detector format (~50 mm square active area) to employ and demonstrate these novel technologies. The Planacon standard geometry has been used, but the standard anode pad array is replaced with a cross strip anode that demonstrates ~20 µm FWHM spatial resolution for single photon events at electron gains of the order 106. Atomic layer deposited MCPs with 10µm pores have been used in place of conventional MCPs, providing tight pulse amplitude distributions, enhanced gain stability and reduced gamma ray sensitivity. The entrance window (Sapphire or MgF2) permits the high UV sensitivity of bialkali photocathodes (>30% @180nm) to be utilized. Event encoding electronics implemented in surface mount components also provides high resolution imaging at event rates of up to 5 MHz. ASIC versions of the encoding electronics are in the prototype phase and show considerable promise for enhanced performance with lower power and smaller footprints.