Review of multianode microchannel array detector systems

Abstract

Abstract. Multianode microchannel arrays (MAMAs) are a family of digital photon-counting imaging arrays designed specifically for use in space. Two MAMAs with formats of 1024×1024 pixels were included in the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) to cover the far-ultraviolet (FUV) from 115 to 170 nm and the near-ultraviolet (NUV) from 165 to 310 nm. STIS was installed on orbit in the Hubble Space Telescope in February 1997. The flight-spare FUV MAMA was installed on orbit in the Advanced Camera for Surveys in March 2002, and the flight-spare NUV MAMA was installed on orbit in the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph in May 2009. This paper describes the construction, modes of operation, and on-orbit performances of the MAMAs and the resulting lessons for future space astrophysics missions.