Low Thermal Coefficient of Resistance Microchannel Plates

Ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors based on microchannel plates (MCPs) will play a critical role in many of the space missions implied by the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. Microchannel plate (MCP) electron amplifiers are critical components for a wide range of detectors used for astronomy, heliospheric, and planetary space missions. The MCP consists of a 2D array of microscopic pores that act independently to amplify electrons incident on the front surface by 10^3-10^4 and are in many respects ideal for UV photodetectors in spaceborne applications. However, conventional lead glass MCPs exhibit a small but significant thermal coefficient of resistance (TCR). This can lead to thermal runaway in extreme situations and inconvenient changes in operational characteristics in poorly thermal controlled instruments. Recently, atomic layer deposition (ALD) has emerged as a novel technology to deposit resistive coatings for MCPs that offer numerous advantages compared to lead glass devices. The advantages include very low noise and the ability to accommodate very large areas (20 cm), key issues for future instruments. Unfortunately, the TCR of many of these ALD MCP coatings is higher than lead glass, and this complicates their deployment in missions involving large temperature excursions. In this program, we will use rational design rules and advanced ALD techniques to control the microstructure and composition of the ALD coatings to reduce the TCR with the goal of 10x lower TCR compared to state-of-the-art ALD MCPs. The significance would be to eliminate MCP operational changes over a significant temperature range that is commensurate with many satellite instruments. Consequently, this greatly reduces the need for thermal control, time consuming operational characterizations, and post-acquisition data correction.

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