Patent ID: 7019446

Claim:
An apparatus for electron multiplication by transmission, comprising: (a) at least one foil having a front side for receiving incident particles at a first energy level and a back side for transmitting secondary electrons produced from said incident particles transiting said foil from said front side to said back side, (b) said foil having a thickness effective for said incident particles arriving at said first energy level to transit from said front side to said back side with sufficient energy to produce secondary electrons in transit from said backside, (c) an anode arranged to collect negatively charged incident particles and said secondary electrons from said back side of said foil, (d) an evacuated enclosure containing and supporting said foil and said anode, and (e) an electrical power supply connected to said at least one foil and said anode to provide an electrical field gradient effective to accelerate said secondary electrons from said back side toward said anode.