Curved channel MCP improvement program

Blowholes and blemishes were determined to start at two stages of manufacturing. Sperical blowholes resulted from trapped gas between the high melting temperature bond glass and the MCP wafer. During thermal processing, the trapped gas expanded and displaced the softened channel glass to form a spherical inclusion. This defect was eliminated by grinding the prefritted bond wafer and channel plate wafer to a flatness which ensured intimate contact prior to fusion. Elliptical blowholes or blemishes were introduced during the fiber draw stage. Contaminants trapped between the core bar and clad tubing volatized providing large quantities of expanding gas. These pockets of gas became elongated to an ellipsoidal shape during fiber draw. Special cleanliness procedures were developed for the grinding, polishing, and acid etching of core bars. Improvements in channel curvature fabrication were implemented. The design of the shearing fixture was evaluated. A new design was developed which eliminated an off-axis moment. The shearing furnace design was evaluated. Steady state thermal conditions instead of thermal transient conditions were determined to reduce curvature nonuniformity.