Cryogenic Characterization of a Microchannel Plate Detector

A cryogenic test setup for microchannel plate detectors was built up and put into operation. Microchannel plates with a quality diameter of 120mm and an open area ratio of 0.6 are tested. During measurements they can be cooled down to 35K. A possibility to counteract the consequences of thermal contraction of different construction parts with CuBe cup springs was found. The thermal connection between the second stage of a coldhead and the channel plates was optimized using a copper braid and a suitable wiring of the detector. The final saturation and linearity measurements show that the used channel plates are nearly unaffected by a temperature change from room temperature to 35K. Only the supply voltage where the channel plates operate near the saturation region is assumed to decrease slightly. The setup has to be further refined to enable a lower temperature for channel plate tests