Keywords:Large-area picosecond photodetectors (LAPPD) Time of flight detector Glass capillary array (GCA) Microchannel plate (MCP) Atomic layer deposition (ALD) a b s t r a c tWe present a progress update on plans to establish pilot production and commercialization of Large Area (400 cm 2 ) Picosecond Photodetector (LAPPD ™ ). Steps being taken to commercialize this MCP and LAPPD ™ technology and begin tile pilot production are presented including (1) the manufacture of 203 mm  203 mm borosilicate glass capillary arrays (GCAs), (2) optimization of MCP performance and creation of an ALD coating facility to manufacture MCPs and (3) design, construction and commissioning of UHV tile integration and sealing facility to produce LAPPDs. Taken together these plans provide a "pathway toward commercialization".& 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
LAPPDThe Large Area Picosecond Photodetector (LAPPD ™ ) is a microchannel plate (MCP) based photodetector, capable of imaging, and having both high spatial and temporal resolution in a vacuum package with an active area of 400 cm 2 . LAPPD ™ are characterized by a uniquely simple design based upon an all-glass vacuum package comprised of top and bottom plates and square sidewall, each made of borosilicate float glass, depicted in Fig. 1.Key design features of the LAPPD include: (a) an internal chevron pair stack of "next generation" MCPs produced by applying resistive and emissive coatings to borosilicate glass capillary array (GCA) substrates; (b) a modular all-glass detector package with conductive RF microstrips passing through a glass frit seal that hermetically bonds the side walls to the bottom anode plate while allowing electrical contact to the interior of the device; eliminating the need for metal electrical pins penetrating the evacuated detector package; (c) resistively coated spacers that function as high voltage (HV) dividers to distribute voltage across the MCP chevron stack, eliminating the need for separate electrical leads contacting the tops and bottoms of both MCPs; and (d) RF stripline anodes applied to the bottom plate with an analog bandwidth above 1.5 GHz for good spatial and temporal resolution [1].
MCP based photodetectorsMCP's consists of millions of conductive glass capillaries (4-25 mm in diameter) fused together and sliced into a thin plate [2]. Each capillary or channel works as an independent secondary-electron multiplier. Single electrons that hit a pore on one side of the plate convert into large bunches of electrons that cascade from the other side [3], with typical amplification from a pair of plates of 10 7 . Fig. 2 (left) shows a large area glass capillary array (GCA) consisting of millions of 20 mm diameter pores with an overall size of 203 mm  203 mm  1.2 mm with an aspect ratio¼60:1, bias angle of 81, and open area ratio of 60%. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) techniques are used to apply resistive and emissive coatings, converting the GCA into a high performance MCP. A high voltage is applied across the top and bottom surfaces of the...