Fast microchannel plate detector for particles

In this article we report on the timing capabilities of a new microchannel plate detector we designed and built. The detector assembly has an impedance-matched transition line (50 Ω line resistance) from anode to cable connector which is considerably smaller than other, commercially available solutions and at the same time has about four times the active area. The detector was tested with an alpha particle source and excellent time response was achieved. Using 10 μm pore size channel plates, a rise time of 300 ps and a pulse width of 520 ps are obtained. The details of the signal analysis are also given in the article.