Advanced Coating Technology for Enhanced Performance of Microchannel Plates for High-efficiency UV and Cherenkov Light Detection

Nuclear physics research has a need to develop inexpensive, position-sensitive, large-sized photon detection devices for Cherenkov counters. A UV photon detector is an essential part of Cherenkov counters. Currently, microchannel plate (MCP) detectors are used extensively in UV instruments. MCPs have many advantages over the conventional photomultiplier tube (PMT) currently used in Cherenkov detectors. These advantages include much higher time resolution, stable gain in high magnetic fields, position-sensitive capabilities, and high spatial resolution. However further performance improvements in commercial lead-glass MCPs ¿ such as increasing secondary electron emission (SEE) yield ¿ are limited by low process temperatures and difficulty in modifying high-aspect-ratio pore channel structures. This project will develop an advanced coating technology to enhance the secondary electron emission (SEE) yield and thereby improve the performance of MCP-based UV and Cherenkov detectors. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee If successful, this technology should dramatically improve the gain of conventional MCPs and subsequently the performance of UV detectors, leading to low-cost photodetectors and electron emitters for many scientific, industrial, and military applications