Design of a fast multi-hit position sensitive detector based on a CCD camera

A new position sensitive detector has been designed for time-of-flight mass spectrometry. It combines a double micro-channel plate stage with a phosphor screen, the conductive coating of which is divided into an array of strip-like-shaped anodes. Time-of-flight signals are measured on the strip array with a 0.5 ns resolution, while a CCD camera records light-spots generated by ion impacts on the phosphor screen. With this particular imaging device, it is possible to accurately assign time-of-flight to positions recorded by the camera. This paper describes the main features of this new position sensitive detector and results obtained with a three-dimensional atom probe are presented.