Time-domain anode-decoupling co-design for a floating microchannel plate detector readout

TL;DR

This paper introduces a co-designed microchannel plate detector optimized for compact time-of-flight mass spectrometers, improving baseline stability and pulse fidelity through a novel time-domain anode-decoupling approach.

Contribution

It presents a new planar anode and decoupling network design that enhances pulse fidelity and baseline stability in miniaturized TOF-MS detectors.

Findings

Confines fields and preserves pulse amplitude with a planar circular patch anode.

Demonstrates waveguide-level pulse fidelity with reduced size and volume.

Shows that high-pass corner set by decoupling capacitance governs baseline recovery.

Abstract

We present a microchannel plate (MCP) detector for compact time-of-flight mass spectrometers (TOF-MS) that jointly optimizes the anode geometry and high-voltage AC-decoupling network for electrically floating operation. Undershoot-driven baseline artifacts and pulse broadening are addressed by a time-domain co-design of the anode geometry and decoupling network. The design is validated through a staged workflow that combines full-wave electromagnetic simulations, vector network analyzer measurements, circuit-level transient models, and end-to-end mass spectra. The resulting planar circular patch anode with anode-proximal decoupling confines fields, preserves peak amplitude, and suppresses post-pulse energy, leading to fast settling and minimal baseline wander. We show that the effective high-pass corner set by the decoupling capacitance directly governs undershoot decay and baseline recovery. Measurements in a representative TOF-MS test setup demonstrate waveguide-level pulse fidelity at a fraction of the mass and volume of heritage waveguide-based detectors, with residual ripples in the measured response originating from downstream cable and digitizer terminations rather than the detector itself. By limiting detector-induced temporal broadening and inter-peak baseline coupling, the design supports high mass resolution and dynamic range in miniaturized TOF-MS architectures. Variants of this planar flight-ready architecture are being implemented in several next-generation spaceborne TOF-MS instruments currently under development at the University of Bern.