AES STUDIES OF ACTIVE INTRACHANNEL SURFACE IN MICROCHANNEL PLATES

The chemical composition of internal active glassy layers of the chann els is responsible for the performance of the microchannel plates (MCP ). A detailed account will be given of the performed work, using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). To know the essential differences in the elemental distribution of the glassy layers inside the channels of th e fresh and aged MCP, depth profiling through the about 60 nm thick ch annel wall was applied. This method gives the possibility to establish various glass constituents and to follow their ionic transport phenom ena as a result of the ageing process.