Nanosecond Image Shuttering Studies at los Alamos National Laboratory

Experimental results comparing gated imaging capabilities of proximity-focused microchannel-plate intensifiers and electrostatically-focused silicon-intensified-target vidicons are presented. A brief summary of previous response data obtained from several standard and modified versions of both image sensors and current efforts on (1) sector gating of segmented photocathodes (2) pre-pulsing of photocathodes with infrared light to increase conductivity and (3) gate pulse injection techniques are discussed. Segmented photocathodes increased gating speed by simultaneous turn-on of individual sectors whereas preliminary analyses indicate no improvements from infrared illumination.