The increasing availability of small satellites such as CubeSats have improved low cost access to space. New scientific measurements may be made, and new concepts may be tested for larger scale missions in the future. Particle detection instruments in conventional size spacecraft have to meet significant constraints on mass, power and volume. These constraints are more substantial in the CubeSat platform. Microchannel plate (MCP) electron multipliers are frequently used in particle detection instruments because of their high gain, low mass, and thin planar configuration. However, non-planar MCPs can be used to improve instrument performance and make better use of available volume by adopting a shape that is compatible with the natural instrument geometry. Non-planar MCPs have been made in this work using a novel method, in which a glass microchannel substrate is coated with thin films that provide the necessary resistive and secondary electron emissive properties. The glass substrates were first slumped at a high temperature to a mandrel of the desired shape, after which the thin films were applied. The MCPs were cylindrically curved, with radii of curvature of 75 mm and 20 mm, and with angular spans of 90 degrees and 180 degrees respectively. The azimuthal gain and resistance uniformity was measured and will be presented.

Date Published: 19 January 2017
PDF: 1 pages
Proc. SPIE 9978, CubeSats and NanoSats for Remote Sensing, 99780K (19 January 2017); doi: 10.1117/12.2236426

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9978:
CubeSats and NanoSats for Remote Sensing
Thomas S. Pagano, Editor(s)