Experimental study on new hybrid approach to electron multiplication

Abstract

An experiment to study new hybrid method for multiplying electrons based on a microchannel plate (MCP) and a silicon diode is described. The multiplication gain of the new method is jointly provided by the repetitive multiplication in the MCP operated in linear mode and the impact ionization in the silicon diode. The measured pulse height distribution from the MCP excited by UV light exhibits a peak and a negative-exponential tail regardless of MCP operating voltage above a minimum. Based on the Monte Carlo simulation, it is concluded that the characteristic shape of the measured pulse height distribution is primarily due to the spread of the first collision depth of a UV photon in the channel of the MCP and the bias angle of the MCP. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.