Cross-line anode based on glass substrate, imaging detector and preparation method of cross-line anode

Abstract

The present invention provides a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, an imaging detector, and a method for preparing the cross-line anode, which are used to address the technical problems of slow signal transmission in existing cross-line anodes, poor uniformity of anode strips when prepared using semiconductor processes, which in turn leads to image distortion and affects spatial resolution, or extremely expensive lithography equipment when using photolithography technology, and high requirements for the experimental environment and operating procedures. In the cross-line anode of the present invention, the upper and lower anode substrates are both prepared using borosilicate glass, and the surfaces of the transverse and longitudinal strips are coated with a metal layer to achieve electron reception, effectively increasing the signal transmission rate. This can not only ensure that the detector can operate for a long time in a complex space environment, but also protect the device from external interference. While achieving high spatial and temporal resolution, the dynamic range is increased, the detection efficiency is improved, and the gain is higher and more uniform.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cross-line anode, and in particular to a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, an imaging detector and a method for preparing the cross-line anode. Background Art

[0002] Currently, single-photon detectors are widely used in the detection of charged particles and neutrons in weak optical signals, such as astronomy, high-energy physics and remote sensing applications, and nuclear medicine imaging. The working principle of a single-photon detector is that the incident photon is converted into an electron by a photocathode deposited on the vacuum side of the top window, and then two MCPs (microchannel plates) in a V-shaped geometry are used to amplify the single electron by 5x 10 7 Times, after being output by two MCPs, the electron pulse reaches the surface of the cross-line anode, and the cross-line anode achieves micron-level spatial resolution and picosecond-level temporal resolution. Therefore, the cross-line anode plays a vital role in single-photon detectors.

[0003] Existing cross-line anodes are primarily composed of two layers, upper and lower, each consisting of conductive strips and an insulating layer. The conductive strips in the upper layer are connected to the rectangular conductive strips in the lower layer through the insulating layer. However, this type of cross-line anode exhibits slow signal transmission. Furthermore, these cross-line anodes are primarily manufactured using semiconductor processes or photolithography. However, due to the use of a Cu-Ag alloy for the conductive strips and a ceramic material for the insulating layer during the manufacturing process, the anode strips produced using semiconductor processes suffer from poor uniformity, leading to image distortion and impacting spatial resolution. Photolithography equipment is extremely expensive, and photolithography can only be performed in an environment free of air particles or chemical contaminants, placing high demands on the experimental environment and operating procedures. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the technical problems that the existing cross-line anode signal transmission is slow, and the anode strip uniformity is poor when prepared by semiconductor technology, which leads to image distortion affecting spatial resolution, or when using photolithography technology, the lithography equipment is extremely expensive and has high requirements for the experimental environment and operation steps. The present invention provides a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, an imaging detector and a method for preparing the cross-line anode.

[0005] In order to achieve the above objectives, the technical solutions provided by the present invention are as follows:

[0006] A cross-line anode based on a glass substrate comprises an upper anode substrate and a lower anode substrate, wherein the upper anode substrate and the lower anode substrate are both made of borosilicate glass;

[0007] The upper surface of the upper anode substrate is provided with 2 ntransverse strips, n≥3; a transverse through hole is opened between two adjacent transverse strips, or a transverse through hole is opened on the left or right side of each transverse strip;

[0008] The upper surface of the lower anode substrate is provided with 2 n longitudinal strips, n≥3; a longitudinal through hole is opened between two adjacent longitudinal strips, or a longitudinal through hole is opened on the left or right side of each longitudinal strip;

[0009] 2 n The transverse strips and 2 n The upper surface of each longitudinal strip is covered with a metal layer;

[0010] The lower surface of the upper anode substrate is fixedly connected to the upper surface of the lower anode substrate, and 2 n Horizontal strips and 2 n The longitudinal strips are arranged perpendicular to each other;

[0011] 2 n The total area of ​​the metal layer on each of the transverse strips is equal to 2 n The total area of ​​the metal layer on each longitudinal strip that is not blocked by the upper anode substrate.

[0012] Furthermore, the thickness of the metal layer is 10 to 30 nm;

[0013] The metal layer is a gold metal layer, a copper metal layer or a silver metal layer.

[0014] Furthermore, the transverse strips are rectangular, circular, elliptical, diamond-shaped or special-shaped structures;

[0015] The longitudinal strips are rectangular, circular, elliptical, diamond-shaped or special-shaped structures.

[0016] Furthermore, the metal layer is covered with a metamaterial thin film layer, which can effectively suppress leakage waves in the form of space waves between the metal layers of adjacent transverse strips or adjacent longitudinal strips, and reduce electromagnetic wave crosstalk between adjacent transverse strips or adjacent longitudinal strips.

[0017] Furthermore, the metamaterial thin film layer is an Ag metal nanowire metamaterial thin film layer with a thickness of 5 nm.

[0018] Furthermore, the lower surface of the upper anode substrate is glued to the upper surface of the lower anode substrate.

[0019] The present invention also provides an imaging detector, which is special in that it includes a detection unit and an electronic readout unit;

[0020] The detection unit includes a vacuum tube shell and an ultraviolet optical window, an ultraviolet photocathode, a microchannel plate, and the above-mentioned cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, which are sequentially arranged along the incident direction of photons;

[0021] The ultraviolet optical window is located at the front end of the vacuum tube shell, and the ultraviolet photocathode, microchannel plate and cross-line anode are located inside the vacuum tube shell;

[0022] The output ends of the glass substrate-based cross-line anodes are connected to an electronic readout unit.

[0023] The present invention also provides a method for preparing the above-mentioned cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, which is special in that it includes the following steps:

[0024] Step 1: Select two pieces of borosilicate glass as two anode substrates respectively;

[0025] Step 2: Use screen printing technology to print the carrier ink evenly on the upper surface of the two anode substrates, and then burn the two printed anode substrates at high temperature to evaporate the solvent in the carrier ink and form two anode substrates on the upper surface of one anode substrate. n A horizontal strip covered with a metal layer is formed on the surface of another anode substrate. n A longitudinal strip covered with a metal layer;

[0026] Step 3: Using a laser to open a corresponding number of transverse through holes on the anode substrate with transverse strips, and using this anode substrate as the upper anode substrate; using a laser to open a corresponding number of longitudinal through holes on the anode substrate with longitudinal strips, and using this anode substrate as the lower anode substrate;

[0027] Step 4: fix the lower surface of the upper anode substrate to the upper surface of the lower anode substrate, and make the n Horizontal strips and 2 n The longitudinal strips are arranged perpendicular to each other, and the cross-line anode based on the glass substrate is prepared.

[0028] Furthermore, step 2 is specifically as follows:

[0029] The silver-loaded ink is evenly printed on the two anode substrates using screen printing technology, and then the two printed anode substrates are fired at high temperature to evaporate the solvent in the silver-loaded ink and form two anode substrates on the surface of one anode substrate. n A horizontal strip covered with a silver metal layer is formed on the surface of another anode substrate. n A longitudinal strip covered with a silver metal layer.

[0030] Furthermore, the following steps are included between step 3 and step 4:

[0031] The metamaterial thin film layer is prepared on the metal layer of the horizontal strips and the vertical strips using a radio frequency co-sputtering deposition process.

[0032] The beneficial effects of the present invention compared to the prior art are as follows:

[0033] 1. The present invention provides a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate. Both the upper and lower anode substrates are made of borosilicate glass. A metal layer is coated on the surface of the borosilicate glass at the locations of the transverse and longitudinal strips to enable electron reception, effectively improving the signal transmission rate. Furthermore, due to the advantages of high strength, excellent heat resistance, corrosion resistance, and chemical stability, borosilicate glass can operate stably for a long time under high pressure and high temperature environments without deformation or cracking. Furthermore, borosilicate glass has excellent optical properties and very good transmittance of ultraviolet light. Therefore, using it as an anode substrate can not only ensure that the detector can operate for a long time in complex space environments, but also protect the device from external interference. This allows the detector to effectively increase its dynamic range and improve detection efficiency while achieving high spatial and temporal resolution, with higher and more uniform gain.

[0034] 2. The present invention provides a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, in which a metamaterial thin film layer is arranged on the surface of the metal layer on the horizontal strips and the vertical strips, thereby effectively suppressing leakage waves in the form of space waves between the metal layers of adjacent horizontal strips or adjacent vertical strips, and reducing electromagnetic wave crosstalk between adjacent horizontal strips or adjacent vertical strips.

[0035] 3. The imaging detector composed of a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate has high spatial resolution and temporal resolution, a large detection area, high economic performance, a small number of electron channels and low noise.

[0036] 4. The present invention provides a method for preparing a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, which adopts screen printing technology to apply carrier ink on the surface of the anode substrate to prepare horizontal strips or vertical strips covered with a metal layer. The printing technology has high precision, and can make the transition between the metal layer on the horizontal strips and the vertical strips and the upper anode substrate and the lower anode substrate prepared by borosilicate glass naturally smooth, without obvious boundaries and concave-convex feeling, and the pattern edges are neat, which effectively improves the resolution, reduces the interference between the strips, and effectively avoids the problems of imaging distortion, size change and edge blurring caused by large process errors.

[0037] 5. The present invention provides a method for preparing a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, which uses screen printing technology to apply carrier ink to the surface of the anode substrate to prepare horizontal strips or vertical strips covered with a metal layer. The method has low cost and high durability. Compared with the photolithography mask that needs to be carried out in a vacuum environment, screen printing can be achieved in the air, and the preparation process is simpler and easier. At the same time, the screen printing process is fully mechanized, and a larger number of strips can be prepared, and the prepared strips have better repeatability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate according to the present invention;

[0039] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of an upper anode substrate in an embodiment of a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of the lower anode substrate in an embodiment of a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate of the present invention.

[0041] The specific reference numerals are as follows:

[0042] 1-upper anode substrate; 2-lower anode substrate; 3-transverse strips; 4-vertical strips; 5-transverse through-holes; 6-vertical through-holes. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to make the advantages and features of the present invention more clear, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0044] like Figure 1 As shown, a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate includes an upper anode substrate 1 and a lower anode substrate 2, and both the upper anode substrate 1 and the lower anode substrate 2 are made of borosilicate glass.

[0045] like Figure 2 、 Figure 3As shown, eight transverse strips 3 are arranged at equal intervals on the upper surface of the upper anode substrate 1, and eight longitudinal strips 4 are arranged at equal intervals on the upper surface of the lower anode substrate 2. The transverse strips 3 and longitudinal strips 4 can be rectangular, circular, elliptical, diamond-shaped or special-shaped structures. In this embodiment, they are rectangular. A transverse through hole 5 is opened on the left side of each transverse strip 3, and a longitudinal through hole 6 is opened on the left side of each longitudinal strip 4. In other embodiments of the present invention, a transverse through hole 5 or a longitudinal through hole 6 can also be opened on the right side of each transverse strip 3 or longitudinal strip 4, or a transverse through hole 5 or a longitudinal through hole 6 can be opened between two adjacent transverse strips 3 or between two adjacent longitudinal strips 4. The transverse through hole 5 is used to ensure that electrons can pass through the upper anode substrate 1 and be received by the longitudinal strips 4 on the lower anode substrate 2. At the same time, the provision of the transverse through holes 5 and the longitudinal through holes 6 can minimize the generation of static electricity between adjacent transverse strips 3 or adjacent longitudinal strips 4.

[0046] The upper surfaces of the eight transverse strips 3 and the eight longitudinal strips 4 are each coated with a metal layer having a thickness of 10 to 30 nm, which is used to respond to electromagnetic waves. In this embodiment, the metal layer is a 15 nm thick silver metal layer. In other embodiments of the present invention, the metal layer can also be a metal layer made of materials such as gold or copper.

[0047] Preferably, in this embodiment, a 5 nm thick Ag metal nanowire metamaterial thin film layer is provided on the metal layer surface of the transverse strips 3 and the longitudinal strips 4. This effectively suppresses leakage waves in the form of space waves between the metal layers of adjacent transverse strips 3 or adjacent longitudinal strips 4, thereby reducing electromagnetic wave crosstalk between adjacent transverse strips 3 or adjacent longitudinal strips 4. In other embodiments of the present invention, the material of the metamaterial thin film layer can be adjusted according to the material of the metal layer.

[0048] The lower surface of the upper anode substrate 1 is glued to the upper surface of the lower anode substrate 2, and the eight transverse strips and the eight longitudinal strips are arranged perpendicular to each other. The total area of ​​the metal layer on the eight transverse strips 3 is equal to 2 n The total area of ​​the metal layer on each longitudinal strip 4 that is not blocked by the upper anode substrate 1 is used to enable the upper anode substrate 1 and the lower anode substrate 2 to receive the same number of electrons.

[0049] Based on the above-mentioned cross-line anode, the present invention also provides an imaging detector comprising a detection unit and an electronic readout unit. The detection unit comprises a vacuum tube housing and an ultraviolet optical window, an ultraviolet photocathode, a microchannel plate, and a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, arranged in sequence along the direction of photon incidence. The ultraviolet optical window is located at the front end of the vacuum tube housing, and the ultraviolet photocathode, microchannel plate, and cross-line anode are located within the vacuum tube housing. The output end of the cross-line anode is connected to the electronic readout unit. The specific principle is as follows: photons enter through the ultraviolet optical window, the ultraviolet photocathode in the vacuum tube housing detects the photons and converts them into electrons. The electrons are multiplied by the microchannel plate, and the generated charge is projected onto the cross-line anode in the form of an electron cloud. When the cross-line anode receives the electron cloud, the horizontal strips 3 and the longitudinal strips 4 perform charge splitting on the electron cloud, which is then sent to the electronic readout unit for subsequent processing.

[0050] The upper anode substrate 1 and the lower anode substrate 2 of the present invention are made of borosilicate glass. Since borosilicate glass has the advantages of high strength, excellent heat resistance, corrosion resistance, chemical stability, etc., it can work stably for a long time under high pressure and high temperature environment without deformation or cracking; at the same time, borosilicate glass has good optical properties and very good transmittance of ultraviolet light. Therefore, using it as an anode substrate can not only ensure that the detector can work for a long time in a complex space environment, but also protect the device from external interference.

[0051] The present invention also provides a method for preparing the above-mentioned cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, which specifically comprises the following steps:

[0052] Step 1: Select two pieces of borosilicate glass as two anode substrates.

[0053] Step 2: Use screen printing technology to print silver-loaded ink evenly on the upper surface of the two anode substrates, and then burn the two printed anode substrates at high temperature to evaporate the solvent in the silver-loaded ink, forming 2 n A horizontal strip covered with a silver metal layer is formed on the upper surface of another anode substrate 2. n In other embodiments of the present invention, if it is desired to form transverse and longitudinal strips covered with a gold or copper metal layer on the upper surface of the anode substrate, it is only necessary to replace the silver-loaded ink with a gold-loaded ink or a copper-loaded ink.

[0054] This method uses screen printing to apply carrier ink to the surface of the anode substrate to create horizontal or vertical stripes covered with a metal layer. This is a low-cost method that is easier to produce than using a mask and can be performed in air rather than in a vacuum. Furthermore, the fully mechanized screen printing process allows for the production of a larger number of strips with greater repeatability.

[0055] In step 3, a corresponding number of transverse through-holes 5 are created in the anode substrate prepared with transverse strips using a laser, and this anode substrate serves as the upper anode substrate 1. Simultaneously, a corresponding number of longitudinal through-holes 6 are created in the anode substrate prepared with longitudinal strips using a laser, and this anode substrate serves as the lower anode substrate 2. The laser process offers high precision and fast cutting speed, making it suitable for precision glass processing.

[0056] Step 4: Preferably, this embodiment further adopts a radio frequency co-sputtering deposition process to prepare a metamaterial thin film layer on the metal layer of the transverse strips 3 and the longitudinal strips 4.

[0057] Step 5: fix the lower surface of the upper anode substrate 1 on the upper surface of the lower anode substrate 2, and make the two n Horizontal strips and 2 n The longitudinal strips are arranged perpendicular to each other, and the cross-line anode based on the glass substrate is prepared.

[0058] The above description is only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, rather than to limit it. For ordinary professional and technical personnel in this field, the specific technical solutions recorded in the above embodiments can be modified, or some of the technical features therein can be replaced by equivalents. These modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solution to deviate from the scope of the technical solution protected by the present invention.

Claims

1. A cross-line anode based on a glass substrate, comprising an upper anode substrate (1) and a lower anode substrate (2), characterized in that: The upper anode substrate (1) and the lower anode substrate (2) are both made of borosilicate glass; The upper surface of the upper anode substrate (1) is provided with two n transverse strips (3), n≥3; a transverse through hole (5) is provided between two adjacent transverse strips (3), or a transverse through hole (5) is provided on the left or right side of each transverse strip (3); The upper surface of the lower anode substrate (2) is provided with two n longitudinal strips (4), n≥3; a longitudinal through hole (6) is provided between two adjacent longitudinal strips (4), or a longitudinal through hole (6) is provided on the left or right side of each longitudinal strip (4); 2 n The transverse strips (3) and 2 n The upper surfaces of the longitudinal strips (4) are all covered with a metal layer; The lower surface of the upper anode substrate (1) is fixedly connected to the upper surface of the lower anode substrate (2), and n transverse strips (3) and 2 n The longitudinal strips (4) are arranged perpendicular to each other; 2 n The total area of ​​the metal layer on the transverse strips (3) is equal to 2 n The total area of ​​the metal layer on each longitudinal strip (4) that is not blocked by the upper anode substrate (1).

2. The glass substrate-based cross-line anode according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the metal layer is 10 to 30 nm; The metal layer is a gold metal layer, a copper metal layer or a silver metal layer.

3. The glass substrate-based cross-line anode according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The transverse strips (3) are rectangular, circular, elliptical, diamond-shaped or special-shaped structures; The longitudinal strip (4) is a rectangular, circular, elliptical, diamond-shaped or special-shaped structure.

4. The glass substrate-based cross-line anode according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal layer is covered with a metamaterial thin film layer.

5. The glass substrate-based cross-line anode according to claim 4, characterized in that: The metamaterial thin film layer is an Ag metal nanowire metamaterial thin film layer with a thickness of 5 nm.

6. The glass substrate-based cross-line anode according to claim 5, characterized in that: The lower surface of the upper anode substrate (1) and the upper surface of the lower anode substrate (2) are glued together.

7. An imaging detector, characterized in that: including a detection unit and an electronic readout unit; The detection unit comprises a vacuum tube shell and an ultraviolet optical window, an ultraviolet photocathode, a microchannel plate, and a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which are sequentially arranged along the incident direction of photons; The ultraviolet optical window is located at the front end of the vacuum tube shell, and the ultraviolet photocathode, microchannel plate and cross-line anode are located inside the vacuum tube shell; The output ends of the glass substrate-based cross-line anodes are connected to an electronic readout unit.

8. A method for preparing a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step 1: Select two pieces of borosilicate glass as two anode substrates respectively; Step 2: Use screen printing technology to print the carrier ink evenly on the upper surface of the two anode substrates, and then burn the two printed anode substrates at high temperature to evaporate the solvent in the carrier ink and form two anode substrates on the upper surface of one anode substrate. n A horizontal strip covered with a metal layer is formed on the upper surface of another anode substrate 2. n A longitudinal strip covered with a metal layer; Step 3: using a laser to open a corresponding number of transverse through holes (5) on the anode substrate prepared with transverse strips, and using the anode substrate as the upper anode substrate (1); using a laser to open a corresponding number of longitudinal through holes (6) on the anode substrate prepared with longitudinal strips, and using the anode substrate as the lower anode substrate (2); Step 4: fix the lower surface of the upper anode substrate (1) on the upper surface of the lower anode substrate (2) and make the two n Horizontal strips and 2 n The longitudinal strips are arranged perpendicular to each other, and the cross-line anode based on the glass substrate is prepared.

9. The method for preparing a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate according to claim 8, characterized in that: Step 2 is as follows: The silver-loaded ink is evenly printed on the two anode substrates using screen printing technology, and then the two printed anode substrates are fired at high temperature to evaporate the solvent in the silver-loaded ink and form two anode substrates on the surface of one anode substrate. n A horizontal strip covered with a silver metal layer is formed on the upper surface of another anode substrate (2). n A longitudinal strip covered with a silver metal layer.

10. The method for preparing a cross-line anode based on a glass substrate according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: The following steps are included between steps 3 and 4: A radio frequency co-sputtering deposition process is adopted to prepare a metamaterial thin film layer on the metal layer of the transverse strip (3) and the longitudinal strip (4).

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