The Owl/Airwatch Experiment: the Focal Plane Detector

We propose to observe Extensive Air Showers (EAS) produced by Extreme Energy Cosmic Rays (EECR) with an opto-electronic instrument mounted on a satellite (Owl/Airwatch concept, OA). EAS will be detected by measuring the fluorescence produced by their interaction with atmospheric N2. One key element of the system is the detector. The requirements of large sensitive area and curved surface to match the focal plane design can be satisfied by using a mosaic of detectors. Commercial detectors exist with the required single photon sensitivity, pixel size, gain, fast response time, low intrinsic noise, weight and dimensions. Other characteristics still require a dedicated R&D program with the industry in order to get the final detector.