The effect of gain variation in micro-channel plates on gamma-ray energy resolution.
A Monte Carlo simulation of micro-channel plate (MCP) with particular interest in its effect on energy resolution performance is presented. Important physical processes occurring in MCP channels are described and modeled, including secondary electron (SE) yield, SE emission, and primary electron reflection. The effects causing channel saturation are also introduced. A two dimensional Monte Carlo simulation is implemented under the assumption of unsaturated channel. Simulation results about basic MCP performances and especially gain and energy resolution performances are presented and analyzed. It's found that energy resolution as an intrinsic property of MCP cannot be improved simply by adjusting system parameters; however it can be improved by increasing input signal or number of photoelectrons (PEs) in the context of image intensifier. An initial experiment with BazookaSPECT detector and CsI(Tl) scintillator is performed to validate and correlate with the simulation results and good agreement is achieved.
College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
Ling
L
Han
College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 ; CGRI, Department of Radiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
Harrison H
HH
Barrett
College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 ; CGRI, Department of Radiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
H Bradford
HB
Barber
College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 ; CGRI, Department of Radiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
Lars R
LR
Furenlid
BazookaSPECT detector; Micro-channel plate (MCP); Monte Carlo simulation; electron multiplier; energy resolution; gain variation; image intensifier; secondary electron emission