Speaker
Description
The PICosecond subMICron (PICMIC) is a new detection concept that intends to simultaneously exploit the remarkable intrinsic spatial and time precision of the MicroChannel Plate (MCP) detectors. PICMIC is based itself on two new concepts. The first is similar in principle to the one used in the GPS and allows, with a limited number of electronic channels, to obtain a precise measurement of the arrival time of particles crossing the MCP. The second, conceived to measure the position of these particles, uses tiny pixels that are interconnected in an original way. The new scheme leads to an excellent granularity without suffering from the usual ambiguity encountered in the strip-based readout systems. The new system is operated with a smaller number of electronic channels with respect to a pixel-based readout one.
Both the spatial and the time measurement systems were individually tested and validated before to be assembled in a first prototype. The prototype equipped with an alpha source allowed the validation of the whole concept. We present in this seminar the PICMIC concept, the realization of the measurement systems as well as the first results obtained with the prototype. Our preliminary results show a spatial resolution of 15 µm and a time resolution of around 20 ps. In addition, We will discuss the development of a new generation of MCP we call NanoChannel Plate (NCP) which intends to improve the time and spatial resolution by at least one order of magnitude. Such a new device could be fully exploited thanks to the PICMIC concept.