Abstract

In order to improve the detection capability of the current low-light-level (LLL) imaging systems at room temperature, a new device, a magnetic mirror array image intensifier (MMAII), is proposed in this paper. A magnetic mirror array device (MMAD) is coupled into an image intensifier which sits between the photocathode and the microchannel plate (MCP). The trace photoelectrons, one after another, are first sufficiently accumulated by the MMAD over a long time at room temperature, and then they are released and enter the MCP for further gain. These two steps are used to improve the detection capability at the LLL imaging system at room temperature. After the two-dimensional magnetic field distribution of the magnetic mirror array (MMA) is calculated, the MMA is designed and optimized with a rubidium Nd–Fe–B permanent magnet. Three groups of ideal parameters for the Nd–Fe–B permanent magnet MMAD, with a magnetic mirror ratio of 1.69, for all of them have been obtained. According to the research results on the noise of the escape cone of the MMAII, the angle between the incident direction and the axis is greater than 57°, so the trace electrons must be constrained by the magnetic mirror. We made 54 MMAs from Nd–Fe–B permanent magnets and packaged them in a container. Then the system was evacuated to ${10}^{-3}\mathrm{Pa}$ at room temperature. It was found by experiment that the trace electrons could be actually constrained by the MMAD. The MMAII can be applied to images for static LLL objects.

© 2015 Optical Society of America

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