Speaker
Description
We introduce a novel single-photon detector that incorporates a vacuum tube design featuring a photocathode, a microchannel plate (MCP), and a Timepix4 CMOS ASIC serving as the readout anode. Designed to handle detection rates of up to $10^9$ photons per second over a $7\,\text{cm}^2$ active area, the system achieves spatial resolution between $5$-$10\,\mu\text{m}$ and timing resolution better than $100\,\text{ps}$. The Timepix4 ASIC contains approximately 230{,}000 pixels and integrated analog and digital front-end electronics, it operates in a data-driven acquisition mode with data transmission rates reaching a maximum of $160\,\text{Gb/s}$.
Control and readout of the Timepix4 are executed via FPGA-based external electronics. Initial experimental validation was performed using a prototype coupled to a $100\,\mu\text{m}$ thick n-on-p silicon sensor and exposed to a pulsed infrared picosecond laser. This setup yielded a timing resolution of $110\,\text{ps}$ per individual pixel hit, which improved to below $50\,\text{ps}$ when analyzing clusters of pixels, with the silicon layer contribution taken into account.
Hamamatsu Photonics produced six prototype detectors featuring different MCP stack configurations and varying end-spoiling depths. These were characterized through measurements of gain, dark count rate, spatial and timing resolution, both in laboratory settings and in a test-beam environment at CERN's SPS facility. The results of these activities will be presented.
