Abstract: A photomultiplier tube, image intensifier tube, or night vision device includes a cascade of plural microchannel plates which are physically and electrically connected together to provide an electron multiplication through the microchannel plate cascade. At least two adjacent microchannel plates in the cascade are also physically interbonded to one another. The bonding of the adjacent microchannel plates may be accomplished by use of a metallic interbonding layer covering all except a peripheral edge portion of at least one face of one or both of the bonded microchannel plates, which interbonding layer confronts and bonds with the other of the bonded microchannel plates. The interbonding layer may cover only a peripheral annular portion of the one face of the one bonded microchannel plate, or only sub-areas of this peripheral annular portion of this one microchannel plate. During manufacturing of such an image intensifier tube, the microchannel plates are initially fabricated and handled as individuals.

Abstract: An optical dispersion sensor for sensing optical dispersion introduced by the atmosphere in near real-time and an optical system using the dispersion sensor to compensate for atmospheric dispersion are described. The input signal to the dispersion sensor is the image of the scene being viewed by a scanning optical system. The image of the scene is passed through an aperture near the image plane of the optical system and then onto at least two individual light detecting systems. One of the detecting systems is adapted to detect light of a first wavelength band. The other detecting system detects light of a second wavelength band. The sensor computes the relative time delay between the signals derived from the two detecting systems. The time delay indicates the spectral dispersion introduced by the atmosphere.