Micro-Channel Plate detectors and Time-of flight spectrometer instrumentation for atomic physics experiments

In recent years technical improvements in the instrumentation for imaging time-of-flight spectroscopy (commonly referred to as COLTRIMS, Reaction Microscopy or Vector Correlation Spectroscopy) permit nowadays remarkably more precise and selective investigations of molecular and atomic physics processes for a variety of target species in distinct physical states. In this lecture, state-of-the-art detection systems based on position- and time-sensitive micro-channel plate devices will be reviewed for their potential in atomic physics applications. Furthermore, typical COLTRIMS setups will be discussed regarding their use for momentum imaging of fragmenting targets like atoms, molecules and clusters by presenting a few exemplary experiments.