<title>Optical Shutters Using Microchannel Plate (MCP) Intensifier Tubes</title>

Abstract

Optical shutters with exposure times approaching 1 ns have been achieved by gating either the photocathode or the microchannel plate of 18 -mm proximity-focused microchannel plate intensifier tubes. We present measurements of the shutter performance, including the total optical gate, uniformity vs time, resolution, linearity, and dynamic range, for a number of intensifier tubes under various types of pulsing configurations.Properties of intensifier tubes related to fast gating and limitations on the gating speed imposed by the intensifier tube geometry are discussed. We also give results with a specially modified intensifier in which all but a 3 mm x 18 mm portion of the photocathode was masked off by an opaque metallic undercoating, along with preliminary results of gating third -generation (GaAs photocathode) intensifier tubes. A characterization procedure used to evaluate the performance of each optical shutter is discussed, along with a review of fast electrical pulsers suitable for gating intensifier tubes.

Developments Of Optical Fast-Gated Imaging Systems

“…extensively as optical shutters of fast-framing cameras. [1][2][3][4] MCP intensifies. The MCP intensifier consists of a photocathode (PC), a MCP electron multiplier, and a phosphor screen that constitutes the photon source viewed by the camera.…”

“…Both coaxial termination geometry and microstnp transmission-line geometry are used. 1,4 Photo:! tod* For most high-speed imaging applications, the correlation of optical shutter speed to spatial resolution at a fixed contrast transfer function (CTI : ) must be precisely Tinined.…”

High image quality sub 100 picosecond gated framing camera development

“…electro-optic imaging tubes has been the objective of researchers for many years. Kotecki and Lear[2] summarize the technology using micro-channel plate (MCP) intensifier tubes. They conclude that the gating speed of conventional MCP image tubes is currently limited to slightly unaer a nanosecond.…”