AN IMPROVED APPROACH FOR MANUFACTURING LARGE AREA, HIGH GAINMICROCHANNEL PLATES FOR MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS.

A PROTOTYPE OF A REVOLUTIONARY NEW INSTRUMENT DESIGN HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AS A MANUFACTURING MEANS FOR BOTH LARGE AND SMALL FORMAT, HIGH GAIN MICROCHANNEL PLATES (MCP'S). THE METHOD USED FOR MANUFACTURE HAS BEEN CALLED THE SHEAR METHOD. CONSIDERABLE RESEARCH NEEDS TO BE PERFORMED TO ADDRESS THE MANY PARAMETERS WHICH GOVERN THE SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION OF THIS INSTRUMENT TO THE TASK OF FABRICATING A "SHEARED" MCP BLANK. THE PROGRAM HEREIN WILL TEST AND EVALUATE ALL ASPECTS OF THEINSTRUMENT DESIGN THEORY FOR 25MM AND 40MM WAFER SHEARS AND PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH INTO 75MM PLATES.