Ion Etching Performance of Li2O Doped Tapered Microchannel Plate Frame Materials

doi:10.16553/j.cnki.issn1000-985x.2025.0095

Abstract

Abstract: Tapered microchannel plates （T-MCPs） are advanced glass-based materials designed with artificial microstructures for electron multiplication. To achieve a tapered large open-area-ratio and avoid channel edge sharpening of microchannel plate， it is necessary to develop an ion-resistant glass as its frame material. The etching performance of SiO₂ and Li₂O oxides using Monte-Carlo simulations and cascade collision theory were investigated in this paper. Ar⁺ etching experiments were conducted on three lithium silicate glasses with Li₂O contents of 32.5%， 35.0%， and 37.5% （mole fraction）， as well as JGS1 quartz glass. The etching morphologies were characterized using confocal laser scanning microscopy （CLSM）. Simulation results reveal that the total sputtering yield of the Li₂O layer under identical Ar⁺ bombardment conditions， significantly lower than that of the SiO₂ layer， confirming the former's superior etching resistance. Moreover， as the proportion of Li₂O increases， the total simulated sputtering yield of SiO₂-Li₂O shows a linear decreasing trend. Experimental data demonstrate that quartz glass has higher average etching rates than these three Li₂O-doped lithium silicate glasses， validating that the doped Li₂O markedly enhances the etching durability of glass. A distinct negative correlation is observed between Li₂O content and the etching rate. The etching rates of all samples peaked at an ion incidence angle about 70°， highlighting the critical role of angular optimization in etching efficiency. Both simulations and experiments demonstrate that doping Li₂O into the frame-cladding glass of MCPs improves its ion etching resistance. This provides a robust theoretical foundation and material selection strategy for developing high-performance tapered MCPs.

Key words: artificial microstructure material; microchannel plate; lithium silicate glass; Monte-Carlo simulation; ion etching of oxide; ion sputtering

CLC Number:

TQ171

LI Shangtong, CAI Hua, JIA Jinsheng, ZHAO Xuan, LI Xiang, NA Tianyi, MA Mengnan. Ion Etching Performance of Li₂O Doped Tapered Microchannel Plate Frame Materials[J]. Journal of Synthetic Crystals, 2025, 54(11): 1990-2001.

Figures/Tables 13

References 30

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Type of sample	Element	Atom stoichiometry/%	Displacement energy， E_disp/eV	Lattice binding energy， E_latt/eV	Surface binding energy， E_surf/eV
SiO₂	Si	33.3	15	2.0	4.7
SiO₂	O	66.7	28	3.0	2.0
Li₂O	Li	66.7	25	3.0	1.67
Li₂O	O	33.3	28	3.0	2.0
72.5SiO₂-27.5Li₂O （SL-1）	Si	24.17	15	2.0	4.7
	Li	18.33	25	3.0	1.67
	O	57.50	28	3.0	2.0
67.5SiO₂-32.5Li₂O （SL-2）	Si	22.50	15	2.0	4.7
	Li	21.67	25	3.0	1.67
	O	55.83	28	3.0	2.0
65SiO₂-35Li₂O （SL-3）	Si	21.67	15	2.0	4.7
	Li	23.33	25	3.0	1.67
	O	55.00	28	3.0	2.0
62.5SiO₂-37.5Li₂O （SL-4）	Si	20.83	15	2.0	4.7
	Li	25.00	25	3.0	1.67
	O	54.17	28	3.0	2.0
60SiO₂-40Li₂O （SL-5）	Si	20.00	15	2.0	4.7
	Li	26.67	25	3.0	1.67
	O	53.33	28	3.0	2.0

Type of sample	Element	Atom stoichiometry/%	Displacement energy， E_disp/eV	Lattice binding energy， E_latt/eV	Surface binding energy， E_surf/eV
SiO₂	Si	33.3	15	2.0	4.7
SiO₂	O	66.7	28	3.0	2.0
Li₂O	Li	66.7	25	3.0	1.67
Li₂O	O	33.3	28	3.0	2.0
72.5SiO₂-27.5Li₂O （SL-1）	Si	24.17	15	2.0	4.7
	Li	18.33	25	3.0	1.67
	O	57.50	28	3.0	2.0
67.5SiO₂-32.5Li₂O （SL-2）	Si	22.50	15	2.0	4.7
	Li	21.67	25	3.0	1.67
	O	55.83	28	3.0	2.0
65SiO₂-35Li₂O （SL-3）	Si	21.67	15	2.0	4.7
	Li	23.33	25	3.0	1.67
	O	55.00	28	3.0	2.0
62.5SiO₂-37.5Li₂O （SL-4）	Si	20.83	15	2.0	4.7
	Li	25.00	25	3.0	1.67
	O	54.17	28	3.0	2.0
60SiO₂-40Li₂O （SL-5）	Si	20.00	15	2.0	4.7
	Li	26.67	25	3.0	1.67
	O	53.33	28	3.0	2.0

Type of sample	Element	Sputtering yield （total）	Sputtering yield （single element）
SiO₂	Si	0.482	0.073 9
SiO₂	O	0.482	0.407 6
Li₂O	Li	0.312	0.219 9
Li₂O	O	0.312	0.091 8
72.5SiO₂-27.5Li₂O （SL-1）	Si	0.437	0.053 6
	Li		0.062 7
	O		0.320 7
67.5SiO₂-32.5Li₂O （SL-2）	Si	0.431	0.051 7
	Li		0.066 0
	O		0.313 3
65SiO₂-35Li₂O （SL-3）	Si	0.423	0.049 9
	Li		0.071 5
	O		0.301 6
62.5SiO₂-37.5Li₂O （SL-4）	Si	0.414	0.048 0
	Li		0.077 0
	O		0.289 0
60SiO₂-40Li₂O （SL-5）	Si	0.410	0.046 2
	Li		0.082 5
	O		0.281 3

Type of sample	Element	Sputtering yield （total）	Sputtering yield （single element）
SiO₂	Si	0.482	0.073 9
SiO₂	O	0.482	0.407 6
Li₂O	Li	0.312	0.219 9
Li₂O	O	0.312	0.091 8
72.5SiO₂-27.5Li₂O （SL-1）	Si	0.437	0.053 6
	Li		0.062 7
	O		0.320 7
67.5SiO₂-32.5Li₂O （SL-2）	Si	0.431	0.051 7
	Li		0.066 0
	O		0.313 3
65SiO₂-35Li₂O （SL-3）	Si	0.423	0.049 9
	Li		0.071 5
	O		0.301 6
62.5SiO₂-37.5Li₂O （SL-4）	Si	0.414	0.048 0
	Li		0.077 0
	O		0.289 0
60SiO₂-40Li₂O （SL-5）	Si	0.410	0.046 2
	Li		0.082 5
	O		0.281 3

Sample	Mole fraction/%		Temperature/℃	Result
Sample	SiO₂	Li₂O	Temperature/℃	Result
SL-1	72.5	27.5	1 300	Refractory melting
SL-2	67.5	32.5	1 300	Transparent glass
SL-3	65.0	35.0	1 280	Transparent glass
SL-4	62.5	37.5	1 280	Transparent glass
SL-5	60.0	40.0	1 250~1 300	Opaque glass

Ion Etching Performance of Li₂O Doped Tapered Microchannel Plate Frame Materials

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