Recent Advances in Large Area Micro-channel Plates and LAPPD™

Recent performance results are presented for Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors (LAPPDTMs) being developed by Incom, Inc. The LAPPD is a micro-channel plate (MCP) based photodetector containing a bi-alkali photocathode with overall dimensions of 230 × 220 × 21 mm3, an active area of up to 400 cm2, spatial resolution ~1 mm, and timing resolutions of ~50 ps for single photoelectrons and <20 ps for multiple photoelectrons. Performance will be discussed for sealed LAPPDs with gains ~2 × 106, photocathode quantum efficiency of 30% and detector dark noise rates of ~1 ct/s/cm2. The key component of the LAPPD is the 203 × 203 mm2 large area MCP manufactured by Incom. Results will also be discussed for 203 × 203 mm2 MCPs coated with MgO emissive layers with gains >2 × 107.