XUV IMAGE DETECTOR ARRAY

IN MOST CURRENT XUV IMAGE SENSORS, THE PHOTOCATHODE IS EVAPORATED ON THE SURFACE OF A MICROCHANNEL PLATE. HOWEVER,THE DETECTIVE QUANTUM EFFICIENCY OF THESE DEVICES IS DEGRADED BY THE MICROCHANNEL PLATE SURFACE AND THE ATTENDANTPHOTOELECTRON BALLISTIC PATH IN REACHING THE CHANNELS. IN COMPARISON WITH PHOTOCATHODES ON SMOOTH METAL SUBSTRATES. SUCH PHOTOCATHODES IN WINDOWLESS IMAGE TUBES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY USED IN XUV ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS, BUT THEIR ADOPTION HAS BEEN RESTRAINED BY THE SIZE AND WEIGHT OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC ASSEMBLY EMPLOYED TO ACCELERATE AND FOCUS THE PHOTOELECTRONS ONTO THE ANODE. THE PROPOSED PHASEI EFFORT IS TO DESIGN A DETECTOR ARRAY SUITABLE FOR USE IN SPACEBORNE XUV SENSORS. IN PHASE II, A PROTOTYPE WILL BE BUILT AND EVALUATED. THESE XUV DETECTORS WOULD FIND APPLICATION IN ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS. IN MOST CURRENT XUV IMAGE SENSORS, THE PHOTOCATHODE IS EVAPORATED ON THE SURFACE OF A MICROCHANNEL PLATE. HOWEVER,THE DETECTIVE QUANTUM EFFICIENCY OF THESE DEVICES IS DEGRADED BY THE MICROCHANNEL PLATE SURFACE AND THE ATTENDANTPHOTOELECTRON BALLISTIC PATH IN REACHING THE CHANNELS. IN COMPARISON WITH PHOTOCATHODES ON SMOOTH METAL SUBSTRATES. SUCH PHOTOCATHODES IN WINDOWLESS IMAGE TUBES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY USED IN XUV ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS, BUT THEIR ADOPTION HAS BEEN RESTRAINED BY THE SIZE AND WEIGHT OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC ASSEMBLY EMPLOYED TO ACCELERATE AND FOCUS THE PHOTOELECTRONS ONTO THE ANODE. THE PROPOSED PHASEI EFFORT IS TO DESIGN A DETECTOR ARRAY SUITABLE FOR USE IN SPACEBORNE XUV SENSORS. IN PHASE II, A PROTOTYPE WILL BE BUILT AND EVALUATED. THESE XUV DETECTORS WOULD FIND APPLICATION IN ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS.