MICROCHANNEL PLATES FABRICATED BY TRACK ETCH LITHOGRAPHY

TINY CHANNELS CAN BE FORMED IN POLYMERS AND GLASS BY CHEMICAL ETCHING ALONG COLUMNS OF RADIATION DAMAGE CREATED BY ALPHA PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT THROUGH MICROSCOPIC HOLES IN A DENSE MASK. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER A DENSE PACKING OF THESE CHANNELS, CARRIED THROUGH THE IRRADIATED SUBSTRATE, CAN RELIABLY FORM MICRO CHANNEL PLATES (MCP) SUITABLE FOR AMPLIFIEERS FOR IMAGERS AND OTHER OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES. THE REDUCTION IN CHANNEL DIAMETERS COMPARED TO THOSE CHARACTERISTICS OF DRAWN GLASS-FIBERS WILL PRESERVE GAIN AND EFFICIENCY WHILE IMPROVING SPATIAL RESOLUTION AND RESPONSE TIME. MOST SIGNIFICANTLY, THIS WILL GREATLY REDUCE COSTS THROUGH A SIMPLE TWO-STEP PROCESS SIMILAR TO PHOTOLITHOGRAPHY WHERE HOLES IN A MASK ARE POSITIONED TO OPTIMIZE CHANNEL LOCATIONS. PHASE II WOULD USE THIS DEEP ION-DAMAGE ETCHING PROCESS TO MAKE LARGE PLATES WITH IDENTICAL CHANNEL LOCATIONS, PROVIDING HIGH REGISTRATION EFFICIENCY OVER LARGE AREAS AND FURTHER IMPROVING THE RESOLUTION OF FINISHES DEVICES.