A position sensitive detector for EUV remote sensing

The authors describe a photon-counting extreme ultraviolet (EUV) detector system used in a rocket-borne spectroscopic instrument for remote sensing of upper atmospheric composition and temperature. The detector uses a KBr coated microchannel plate (MCP) Z stack in combination with a wedge-and-strip image readout system. Three separate detector fields of view are used to sense the Earth dayglow spectrum (980 Å to 1040 Å, and 1300 Å to 1360 Å) and the solar EUV spectrum (250 Å to 1400 Å). The authors demonstrate high gain (2×10⁷), tight pulse-height distribution (35% FWHM), and a spatial resolution of ~35 μm FWHM (full width at half maximum), which is the highest resolution for a wedge-and-strip anode MCP detector flown to date. The background, image linearity, and flat-field performance are discussed. Raw spectra from the rocket flight are also presented