MCPs can be made using the following method, for example:
Many glass fibres are bundled together and fused at a high temperature.
One cuts a slice against the fibre axes from the fused bundle at a bias angle (see below).
The fibres feature a material fibre core that may be scratched away to reveal the pattern of holes (the channels).
A thin semiconductor layer is formed on the channel walls after a chemical treatment. That layer is designed to have a high secondary electron emission efficiency while also having a low electrical conductivity.
To make electrodes, a thin metal coating, usually,, a nickel alloy is vaporised onto the end faces. Those electrodes pierce the channels a little.
During operation, the electrodes are exposed to an electric voltage of the order of 1kV.
Electronsstrike one side of the microchannel plate, which are generated, for example, in a photocathode 1 mm distant from the plate. Typically, the setup is made so that the electron paths have a minor bias angle (on the order of 10°) against the channel axes.
A single electron with sufficient energy (e.g. a few hundred electron volts) delivered onto the input side can generate several secondary electrons, which can then hit the channel's inner side and generate more electrons. The resultant electron avalanche can create thousands of output electrons after several such cycles. Each of the several channels can function as a stand-alone electron amplifier. On the other side, the spatial distribution of output electrons roughly mimics that of incoming electrons.
