Further Development of Large-Area Micro-channel Plates for a Broad Range of Commercial Applications

Micro-channel plates (MCPs) are used in high energy physics (HEP), homeland security, medical imaging, and space applications. They provide high gain, low noise, and unmatched spatial and temporal resolution. However, their high cost and availability in only relatively small sizes remains a critical barrier to their widespread use in these markets. In this program high-resolution micro-channel plates (MCPs) will be produced in 203 mm x 203 mm size, far larger than currently available MCPs. MCPs developed in this program will have high, uniform, and stable gain, and will leverage a key advantage of this technology: that MCPs can be made from glasses chosen to offer attributes such as greater physical durability and lower dark current. High spatial and temporal resolution is important for applications such as vertex separation and particle identification in ToF measurements as well as water Cherenkov counters and high-resolution sampling calorimeters. It will also benefit commercial applications such as detectors for mass spectrometers, PET scanners, and neutron detectors. The advancements made in this program will enable MCP technology to be applied to a much broader range of applications in these markets.Phase I and Phase II accomplishments included demonstrations of high spatial and temporal resolution in 10 µm pore MCPs made from a preferred alkali-free glass, as well as a clear path for producing these MCPs in 203 mm x 203 mm size with 10 µm pores. Pairs of 203 mm sq. MCPs produced in Phase II had gains of 107 @ 1050 V with gain variation of <15% across the full area. In Phase IIA the processes for making these MCPs will be further developed and extended to 10 µm pore MCPs at 203 mm sq. size and 6 µm pore MCPs at 127 mm sq. size. Preferred alkali-free glasses will be used in these MCPs to enable their use in long-duration detector applications. Large-area MCPs will be incorporated into Incom’s Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors (LAPPD™s) for use in experiments such as particle identification time-of-flight measurements.