Position of ion impact determined via detection of secondary electrons

The factors affecting the performance of a Position Sensitive Timing Detector (PSTD), which is based on detecting secondary electrons rejected from a foil by the passing ion in a position sensitive detection device, were investigated. We studied effects of multiple scattering in the foil, electron transport from the foil to the micro-channel plate (MCP) detector surface, and signal processing hardware. We conclude that, for detectors with foil-to-MCP distance of 5-10 cm, which use only electrostatic acceleration, electron transport limits the devices currently in use to resolution worse than 2 mm (FWHM).