Study and test of micro-channel plates used in the dual ion spectrometer of the MMS mission by NASA

The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission led by NASA has been designed to study the micro-physics of Magnetic Reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere by using four identical spacecrafts with instruments with high temporal and spatial resolutions. Among these instruments are the Dual Ion Spectrometers (DIS) engineered to measure the 3D distribution of ion flux in space. The detector assembly of the DIS consists of Micro-Channel Plates (MCP) mounted in Chevron configuration. Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements (CESR), Toulouse is responsible for the provision and testing of all fifty MCP pairs for this mission. The goal of the work was to participate in the testing and characterization of the first prototype of the MCPs. It was achieved by understanding the working and characteristics of the MCPs in general and getting familiar with the detector assembly of the DIS i.e. the MCP pair and the detector circuit board in particular. To perform the testing, it was necessary to understand the testing system as well. These topics are described in this report along with the testing procedure and the data analysis. The testing procedure was developed eventually after facing several problems during the testing. MCP pair characteristics like pulse height distributions, gain, resistance and the MCP operating voltages for the mission were determined on analyzing the data. Crosstalk was found in the circuit board of the detector assembly and has also been discussed.
Validerat; 20101217 (root)