R&D of microchannel plate phototubes

The development of photomultiplier tubes with microchannel. plates (MCP PMT) in Novosibirsk began 10 years ago. MCP PMTs are compact photodetectors with a record time resolution which can work in a strong magnetic field. The system of aerogel Cherenkov counters ASHIPH based on these PMTs (80 PMTs, 500 liters of acrogel) has been working in the KEDR detector since 2003. The main parameters of these PMTs are listed. It is shown that the photocathode life time cannot be expressed correctly in the units of the collected anode charge. The recent optimization of the MCP PMT design is described. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.