Incom Inc. is developing and commercializing a new type of microchannel plate (MCP) electron multiplier, as well as MCP-based photodetectors such as the Large-Area Picosecond Photodetector, LAPPD(TM), and the High-Resolution Picosecond Photodetector, HRPPD. This new class of MCPs is called “ALD-GCA-MCPs” because these are MCPs that are made from glass capillary arrays (GCA) – glass plates with a regular array of hollow glass capillaries – that are functionalized using atomic layer deposition (ALD) thin film coating technology. ALD-GCA-MCPs are a technology advancement that affords MCPs with significantly improved performance, as compared to conventional MCPs. We will provide a brief ALD-GCA-MCP technology overview highlighting the current state of the art of Incom’s ALD-GCA-MCP technology, as well as ongoing developments addressing the GCA glass substrate, the resistive and secondary-electron-emissive ALD coatings, and their implications for detectors used in astronomical applications.
Incom, Inc. is now producing commercially available Large Area Picosecond Photo-Detectors (LAPPD™) usable in applications by early adopters. The first generation LAPPD™ is an all-glass 230 x 220 x 22 mm3 flat panel photodetector with a chevron stack of glass capillary array microchannel plates functionalized by atomic layer deposition, a semitransparent bi-alkali photocathode, and a strip-line anode. The photodetector is being optimized for applications requiring picosecond timing and millimeter spatial resolution and has achieved single photoelectron (PE) timing resolutions of α≤52 ps. Typical performance metrics include electron gains of 107 at 1 kV per MCP, low dark noise rates (15-30 Hz/cm2 at moderate gains), single PE spatial response along and across strips of 1.8 mm and 0.76 mm respectively and quantum efficiencies that are typically ≥20% at 365 nm. Changes to the “baseline” LAPPD™ are under development to optimize the photodetector for applications requiring very high spatial resolutions.
Incom Inc. is developing and commercializing a novel type of microchannel plate (MCP) electron multipliers. These new devices are called “ALD-GCA-MCPs” and are made from glass capillary arrays (GCA), glass plates with a regular array of hollow glass capillaries that are functionalized using atomic layer deposition (ALD) thin film coating technology. ALD-GCA-MCPs are a technology advancement that affords MCPs with significantly improved performance, as compared to conventional MCPs. Notable benefits over conventional lead-oxide based MCPs are larger size, high and stable gain, low dark counts and gamma-ray sensitivity, improved mechanical stability, and the unique ability to tune the MCP resistance and electron amplification characteristics over a much wider range and independent from the glass substrate. Incom now routinely produces ALD-GCA-MCPs with 10 and 20 μm pore size at MCP dimensions up to 20 cm x 20 cm. The MCPs show a number of favorable characteristics, such as 3x lower gamma-ray sensitivity compared to conventional MPCs, low background (< 0.05 cts/s/cm2), and stable, high gains (<1×104 for single MCP and <1×107 for a chevron pair configuration, at 1000V/MCP). ALD-GCA-MCPs find use in a variety of photon counting applications and are particularly suited for charged particle detection that requires high timing and spatial resolution, such as Ion time-of-flight (TOF), electron spectroscopies, analytical and space instruments, and MCP-based photomultipliers such as the Large-Area Picosecond Photodetector (LAPPDTM), which is also being developed by Incom Inc. In this paper, we provide a brief technology overview highlighting the current state of the art of Incom’s ALD-GCA-MCP technology, as well as current and future development efforts that address the GCA glass substrate as well as the resistive and electron emissive ALD coatings.
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