ADVANCED MICROCHANNEL PLATE BASED LASER DETECTOR INTENSIFIERS

IN A WIDE VARIETY OF APPLICATIONS, THE DETECTION OF EXTREMELY LOW LEVELS OF LIGHT IS NECESSARY. CERTAIN, PRESENT DAY SYSTEMS USED BY THE U.S. ARMY INCORPORATE HIGH SPEED PIN SILICON DETECTORS. FOR EXAMPLE, THESE DETECTORS FORM THE HEART OF SOME LASER RANGING SYSTEMS AND ARE INVALUABLE BECAUSE OF THEIR SHORT RISE TIMES AND HIGH SENSITIVITY. HOWEVER, THE INCLUSION OF A LIGHT AMPLIFICATION STAGE BEFORE THE PIN PHOTODIODES CAN EXTEND THEIR RANGE SIGNIFICANTLY. FOR THIS APPLICATION, AN IDEAL CHOICE IS THE MICROCHANNEL PLATE (MCP). THE MCP HAS FOUND WIDESPREAD USE IN IMAGE SENSING, SPECTROSCOPY AND OTHER APPLICATIONS REQUIRING HIGH RESOLUTION, LOW LIGHT LEVEL DETECTION. THE HIGH GAIN AND FAST TIME RESPONSE OF THE MCP CAN BE EXPLOITED TO PRODUCE A COMPOUND DETECTOR FOR MEASURING EXTREMELY LOW LIGHT LEVELS INCLUDING DIRECT PHOTON COUNTING. THE EXTENDED SURFACE OF THE MCP OPENS POSSIBILITIES FOR SPATIALLY RESOLVED DETECTION OF SOURCES WHEN COUPLES TO PIN PHOTODIODE ARRAYS. THE PROPOSED PHASE I EFFORT WILL OPTIMIZE THE COUPLING OF AN MCP TO A PIN SILICON DETECTOR INCLUDING AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS TO MODEL THE INCREASE IN PERFORMANCE EXPECTED FROM THIS COMPOUND SYSTEM. THIS STUDY WILL SERVE AS A FOUNDATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING OF THE DETECTOR SYSTEM IN PHASE II.