Submicrochannel plate multipliers

A theoretical investigation of alumina micron and submicron multichannel electron amplifiers was carried out. The theoretical study was based on multiplier performance Monte-Carlo simulation and general concepts of secondary electron emission theory. The simulation was performed for multipliers for which the length-to-diameter ratio was varied from 40 to 60 and the bias voltage from 600 to 1400 V. Calculations were made for the linear mode of multiplier operation under single electron stimulus. The simulation showed that alumina plates of the considered configurations are expected to possess a high gain (> 1000 at applied voltages exceeding 1.2 kV). The simulation also demonstrated that submicrochannel multipliers have faster response (< 30 ps), better temporal resolution (< 10 ps) and higher tolerance to strong axial (parallel with respect to channel axis) magnetic fields (up to ∼ 4 T) than microchannel plates with the same length-to-diameter ratios. Anodic alumina submicrochannel plates with channel diameter 0.07–0.4 μm, length-to-diameter ratio up to 300 and an effective open area up to ∼ 50% have been produced.