Lead silicate glasses are fundamental materials to a microchannel plate (MCP), which is a two dimensional array of a microscopic channel charge particle multiplier. Hydrogen reduction is the core stage to determine the electrical conductivity of lead silicate glass MCP multipliers. The nanoscale morphologies and microscopic potential distributions of silicate glass at different reduction temperatures were investigated via atomic force microscope (AFM) and Kelvin force microscopy (KFM). We found that the bulk resistance of MCPs ballooned exponentially with the spacing of conducting islands. Moreover, bulk resistance and the spacing of conducting islands both have the BiDoseResp trend dependence on the hydrogen reduction temperature. Elements composition and valence states of lead silicate glass were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that the conducting island was an assemblage of the Pb atom originated from the reduction of Pb²⁺ and Pb⁴⁺. Thus, this showed the important influence of the hydrogen temperature and nanoscale morphological transformation on modulating the physical effects of MCPs, and opened up new possibilities to characterize the nanoscale electronic performance of multiphase silicate glass.

Capture efficiency (CE) is a critical performance parameter for microchannel plates (MCPs), yet its accurate measurement remains challenging. In this study, we propose an innovative method for evaluating the CE of newly fabricated MCPs based on the detection of a photoelectron beam generated by UV light irradiation of a zinc plate. When incident photoelectrons are detected by the MCPs, they produce a series of disordered pulse signals. We demonstrate that the average pulse interval (denoted as Ts) correlates with the number of electrons entering the microchannels, enabling the assessment of CE differences among various MCPs under identical experimental conditions. Additionally, by partially blocking the incident surface to modulate the active area of the MCP, we established a relationship between Ts and active area, providing a means to roughly quantify CE. This method offers a straightforward alternative for assessing MCP performance, with reduced platform requirements and operational complexity.

Spatters in laser penetration welding of aluminum alloys can pollute the focusing system, which would affect the processing stability and welding quality. Furthermore, the spatter characteristics can reflect the laser welding process in some degree. In this paper, the spatter characteristics in fiber and CO2 laser welding of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy are investigated, and the reasons for the difference of the spatter characteristics are discussed. Dynamic behavior of spatters is recorded in real-time using a high-speed camera. The spatter particles are captured and measured experimentally. Probability density functions (PDFs) about the spatter velocity and particle size are fitted by Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method in χ2 test. The result indicates that the spatter speed obeys Gaussian distribution and the particle size follows Lognormal distribution in both cases. The statistical speed of spatters is slower and the statistical diameter is greater in CO2 laser welding. Moreover, under 95% confidence, the particle size’s PDF is more subject to Lognormal distribution with a much smaller residual mean square (RMS) of 3.26×10−3 in fiber laser welding than that of 0.109 in CO2 laser welding.