Electrons that exit on the opposite side of the micro-channel plate proceed to a readout device.

A readout device is either an anode or a phosphor screen. An anode enables measurement of the output electron signal within an effective area. A phosphor screen enables optical imaging of the output signal.

An MCP detector consists of one, two or three MCP operating in series.

MCP's and MCP detectors can be used in various applications, such as imaging spectroscopy, electron spectroscopy, electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, molecular and atomic collision studies, etc. MCP detector designs vary largely and depend on their desired application.