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Coating MCPs with AlN and GaNA development effort underway at the time of reporting the information for this article is devoted to increasing the sensitivity of microchannel plates (MCPs) as detectors of photons and ions by coating the MCPs with nitrides of elements in period III of the periodic table. Conventional MCPs are relatively insensitive to slowly moving, large-mass ions for example, ions of biomolecules under analysis in mass spectrometers. The idea underlying this development is to coat an MCP to reduce its work function (decrease its electron affinity) in order to increase both (1) the emission of electrons in response to impingement of low-energy, large-mass ions and (2) the multiplying effect of secondary electron emission. Of particular interest as coating materials having appropriately low or even negative electron affinities are gallium nitride, aluminum nitride, and ternary alloys of general composition Al(x)Ga(1-x)N (where 0
Document ID
20110013635
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Other - NASA Tech Brief
Authors
Bensaoula, Abdelhakim
(Integrated Micro Sensors Houston, TX, United States)
Starikov, David
(Integrated Micro Sensors Houston, TX, United States)
Boney, Chris
(Integrated Micro Sensors Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 2006
Publication Information
Publication: NASA Tech Briefs, December 2006
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Report/Patent Number
GSC-14936-1
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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