Implementation of an optical TAP: preliminary results

The FIM Group of the University of Rouen is developing a new type of detector that can be used in atom probe and 3D atom probe applications. This detector consists of an array of conductive and transparent strips covered with a phosphorescent material. After having produced light, electrons generated by ionic impacts onto microchannel plates produce signals on strips that are used for timing. At the same time, light produced by ions on the phosphor screen is recorded by means of a CCD image sensor. Then, the comparison between positions and the distribution of time of flight on the strip array makes it possible to correlate positions and times for each event. In this contribution, preliminary results obtained with a 5 x 5 cm(2) detector having eight strips will be shown. Potential capabilities and performance will be discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.