Method of making a plate having a pattern of microchannels

• US 4,153,855 A
• Filed: 12/16/1977
• Issued: 05/08/1979
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army
• Original Assignee: The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army
• Inventors: Feingold, Robert M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Newsome, John H.
• Application Number:
  US05/861,139
• Time in Patent Office: 508 Days
• Field of Search: 427/43, 427/54, 313/103 CM, 313/105 CM, 156/630, 156/632, 156/633, 156/657, 156/659, 156/663, 96/44
• US Class Current: 313/105.0CM
• CPC Class Codes: C23F 1/02 Local etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2201/32 Secondary emission electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 43/246 Microchannel plates [MCP] image amplification tubes using MCP H01J31/507
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 9/125 of secondary emission electrodes

Abstract

An unetched microchannel plate is coated on one side with an etchant-resint mask having a pattern of open areas. The core fibers in the open areas are then etched out to form a pattern of microchannels. The microchannels and the mask are metallized, after which the mask and its metal are stripped. When the other side of the plate is metallized in the usual manner, a microchannel intensifier plate with a pattern of microchannels results.

Claims

1. A method of treating an unetched microchannel plate to produce a microchannel plate having a pattern of channels, the method including the steps of:

applying a mask to one side of said unetched microchannel plate in accordance with said pattern;

etching the cores not covered by said mask to produce channels;

metallizing the channels and the mask; and

stripping the mask.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the step of applying includes the steps of:

coating said one side of said unetched microchannel plate with a photoresist;

exposing said photoresist to a light image of said pattern; and

developing said photoresist to selectively remove said photoresist in accordance with said image to produce said mask.

3. The product produced by the method of claim 1.