Nanosecond gating properties of proximity-focused microchannel-plate image intensifiers

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981 · Proc. Soc. Photo-Opt. Instrum. Eng.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6615182

King, N S.P. ^[1]; Yates, G J; Jaramillo, S A; Ogle, J W; Detch, Jr, J L

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1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM

Some fundamental properties of 18-mm-diam gated proximity-focussed microchannel-plate (MCP) image intensifiers used as fast image shutters in the 1 to 10 ns range have been identified and studied. Light pulses (ca 5-ps-wide) from a modelocked dye laser optically sample the gated MCP. Shuttering is achieved by applying a forward-biasing electrical gate pulse to the quiescently reverse-biased photocathode-MCP interface. Variable delay (ca 30-ps jitter) between the gate pulse and the laser pulse permit tracing the MCP's optical response. Gating speeds, turn-on and turn-off patterns, the asymmetric spatial dependence of the MCP optical response, and resolution effects as functions of gate pulse width and photocathode-MCP bias have been characterized. Shutter times of greater than or equal to 750 ps and less than or equal to 5 1p/mm resolution with the MCP fully on were observed. Variations in the intensity profiles of the phosphor's spatial response for uniform photocathode illumination are measured with a calibrated silicon-intensified-target (SIT) focus projection, scan (FPS) television camera and a high-speed video digitizer while photomultipliers (PMTs) monitor the laser pulse and the phosphor's spatially integrated output intensities. The characterization system, gating and biasing circuits, and experimental results will be presented.

• OSTI ID: 6615182
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Proc. Soc. Photo-Opt. Instrum. Eng.; (United States) Journal Volume: 288
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

657005* -- Theoretical Physics-- Optics
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CATHODES
DATA
DYE LASERS
ELECTRODES
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GATING CIRCUITS
IMAGE INTENSIFIERS
INFORMATION
LASERS
LIQUID LASERS
MODE LOCKING
NUMERICAL DATA
PHOSPHORS
PHOTOCATHODES
RESOLUTION
SHUTTERS