KR100438752B1 - Video display and image intensifier system - Google Patents

Abstract

An image enhancer with an adhesive substrate and a video display system using an image source. A video image source located on an adhesive substrate and sending a photon signal. A photocathode element that converts a photon signal into an electron on an adhesive substrate. The light transparent body having a front side and a rear side is located at a position on the opposite side of the adhesive substrate. A vacuum chamber is formed between the adhesive substrate and the front surface of the secondary light transparent body. The fluorescent layer is located on the front side of the above-mentioned secondary light transparent body. The power source applies a voltage potential between the photocathode layer and the fluorescent layer mentioned above. The augmented video image comes out of the back of the secondary light transparent body and is visible to the eye.

Description

Video display and image intensifier system

Image enhancers have used a method in which light passes through a lens and focuses on an adhesive substrate, as found in US Pat. No. 5,029,009. On this adhesive substrate are electrodes that can be controlled by multiple gates ( gating electrodes) This group of electrodes or adhesive substrates is transparent so that light can pass through to the photocathode. Thus, a single image camera can be used to achieve adaptive range gating.

U. S. Patent 3,864, 595 describes an image enhancer having a photoelectric cathode element that converts incident radiation into a corresponding electronic image. The microchannel plate magnifies the electronic image and sends it to the phosphor screen, converting the electronic image into a human-readable radiation image. This electronic image can be easily turned on and off by selectively sending a gate control signal to the photocathode cathode element.

U. S. Patent 4,142, 123 describes an image display device using an anode rod contained in a photoelectric cathode, multiplier diodes, and a cathode luminescent screen. The anode rod is made of a late fluorescent material that emits light energy after the excitation is over. Electrons emitted from the anode rod flow to the cathode and convert to free electrons. Fast and continuous emission of electrons is possible with these free electrons.

U. S. Patent No. 5,160, 565 describes an image enhancer using an optical fiber bundle that receives an image at one end and produces an augmented image at the other end.

U.S. Patent 3,742,285 describes an image enhanced display in which a display tube with a fiber optic input window comprises an electron emitting surface. The electrons collide on a larger diameter display window with a phosphorous surface to provide an enlarged view of the canonical image.

U. S. Patent 4,694, 171 describes an electron microscope imaging system using an image enhancer that receives light from an image excited by an electron beam.

US patent 4,213,055 shows an image enhancer using an input detection screen mounted in an envelope next to the input window. An electro-optical system mounted within the envelope illuminates the image image of the electrons passing through the exit screen of the envelope to produce a video image that can be seen by the eye.

U.S. Patent 4,974,089 describes a television camera that uses a display bar lens to deliver a light image from an image enhancer to a filter coupled to a focal plane array assembly.

U. S. Patent 3,757, 351 describes an electrostatic printing system in which the light reflected from the document passes through the lens, whereby the photocathode is augmented by a container located on a glass adhesive surface. The cathode converts the photon image into an electronic image, passes it through a microchannel plate, and then sends the image to the dielectric target in the form of an electrostatic discharge. This electrostatic discharge is used to print the document.

A video display system that can display high quality images by augmenting images accurately and effectively at a video source will be a breakthrough in electronics.

The present invention relates to a novel and useful image display system.

Until now, image images were mainly cathode ray tube (aka CRT). Although successful in many aspects of imaging science and technology, cathode ray tubes have several drawbacks in that they are not easy to size. This is due to the fact that as the size increases, the weight of the tube becomes too heavy to handle and the cost of production increases enormously. Cathode ray tubes, however, produce very good image quality through fluorescent or phosphorescent displays. In addition, cathode ray tubes are very bright, fast, with good contrast, high resolution and clear colors.

Liquid crystal displays are light and can display video images on a flat screen. Unfortunately, however, LCD technology produces video images that are not bright, low-utility, and unclear, such as so-called dripping fabric. In addition, LCD video images are less clear and the Lambertian effect does not appear on the LCD display, so wide-angle screens cannot be accepted. In addition, LCDs have slow video display and are not inexpensive.

1 is a systematic cross-sectional view showing the practical use of the present invention in which a video image source is depicted in a block diagram.

FIG. 2 depicts another practical use of the image display system of FIG. 1, which is a systematic cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

Figure 3 is a side view showing another practical use of the present invention using different posts in the vacuum gap (vacuum gap).

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG.

FIG. 5 systematically depicts the remote floodlight version of the present invention using the cathode ray tube as an image image source in the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows systematically the far field utility of the present invention in which an LCD spacial light modulator is used with a point source of light.

FIG. 7 illustrates in detail the proximity coupling of the image source to an image enhancer using Lambertian back light and spatial light modulator.

FIG. 8 illustrates a horizontally-column column video image source of the close coupling method illustrated in FIG. 7 by expanding FIG. 7 along a line 8-8.

9 shows a close coupled dynamic video image source in which the pixel is electroluminescent sources.

10 specifically illustrates the production of color images using multiple color filters and multiple color fluorescing domains.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another practical use of the present invention for use in making a color image using an aperture mask and the enhancer depicted in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating items of a pore mask along line 12-12 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is an elevation view showing the hybrid system of the present invention using an ITO pixel strip with several rows of light.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view depicting an ITO pixel with a photocathode strip using a network that modulates electrons striking the fluorescent region.

FIG. 15 is an isometric view of the photocathode cathode and ITO fragment depicted in FIG. 14 used with the fluorescent region on the adhesive substrate. FIG.

16 is a cross-sectional view showing a photocathode system for use instead of a FED display.

Figure 17 shows that the line select combination of the present invention can be mixed with optical and electrical data.

FIG. 18 shows an ITO electrode using a photocathode layer that selectively adjusts one row of color fluorescent regions at a time using an electric network.

FIG. 19 is a pictorial depiction of quantum efficiency versus wavelength, depicting the separation of an image image source wavelength from phosphorus emission wavelengths. By doing so, it is explained that the aluminum coating is unnecessary on the fluorescent layer of the image enhancer in which the photocathode layer reacts with ultraviolet rays.

20 shows another practical use of the present invention.

Figure 21 shows another practical use of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an adhesive substrate, an image image source, and a photoelectric cathode element in practical use of FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 taken along line 3-3.

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view depicting photon baffle and channel multiplier means added to the practical use of FIG. 21.

A revolutionary and useful video display system with the present invention is introduced here.

The image display system of the present invention utilizes a photocathode ray tube, liquid crystal projector, or other type of video image source for use with magnification or focus lenses. The video image source may be monochrome or simply colorless. In addition, the video image source may include horizontal and vertical image position information, simple image augmentation information, or any kind of composite information combining the two kinds of information.

The display system of the present invention also includes an image enhancer in which the image source is projected or transmitted remotely by close coupling. In the case of the electrons to which the image image source is projected, the cathode ray tube is used as the image image source so that the image can be projected. It also uses an LCD spacial light modulator, combined with a point source of light, to project video images. Any lightcasting method may be used as long as it is appropriate.

The image enhancement system of the present invention consists of a first optically transparent body or a light transparent plate made of glass, a crystal material, or a suitable transparent material. This light transparent body has a front and a back. The image image source is either projected onto the front of the light transparent body or transferred to a close coupling. A photocathode layer is located on the back of the primary light transparent body. This photocathode layer can be made of a material that converts photons into electrons. For example, complex alkali materials such as sodium, phosphorus, antimony, cesium compounds and silver cesium oxide can be used.

The photon signal can in turn be converted to electrons by an adhesive substrate with the image image source. This adhesive substrate may be optically opaque. The photocathode element or photocathode layer is located next to the image source to convert the photon signal from the image source into electrons. This arrangement may include a photon baffle or channel multiplier that does not require a metallic coating on the fluorescent layer.

The image enhancer has a secondary light transparent body that is structured like a primary light transparent body. Of course, the secondary light transparent body can itself be a total light transparent body when used with an opaque adhesive substrate. Like primary light transparent bodies, secondary light transparent bodies have a front and a rear face.

Phosphor (phosphor) can be used in the fluorescent layer is located in front of the secondary light transparent body. The fluorescent material forming the fluorescent layer can convert electrons emitted from the photocathode layer located in front of the primary light transparent body, or the photoelectric cathode element next to the image image source into photons. These photons are visible through the secondary light transparency. The phosphor layer may be in the form of dots taken of phosphorus and has a protective layer of a metallic material, such as aluminum, to prevent electrons from going back to the photocathode layer on the back of the primary light transparent body. Although the image seen on the back side of the secondary light transparent body may be a single color, since the color fluorescent material suitable for the front side of the secondary light transparent body is used, the color image may be made using the method described above. When a baffle and a channel multiplier are used together with the photoelectric cathode element and the opaque adhesive substrate, no aluminum layer is required for the secondary light transparent body.

There is a chamber means for vacuum encapsulation between the back of the primary light transparent body and the front of the secondary light transparent body. Therefore, the electrons emitted from the photocathode layer are easily accelerated in the vacuum chamber formed between the primary and secondary light transparent bodies. An insulating matrix can be used to withstand this vacuum pressure to prevent the vacuum chamber from collapsing under high vacuum. As part of the intermediate chamber, the circumference of the vacuum chamber will be sealed. This suture may be in the form of a glassy suture.

In the present invention, it can be found that a power source is used to apply a voltage potential between the photocathode layer of the primary light transparent body and the phosphor layer of the secondary light transparent body. In this way, the photocathode layer serves as a cathode, a fluorescent layer, or a phosphorescent layer as an anode. This potential can further enhance the gap between the photocathode layer and the fluorescent layer. Also, by placing a net or screen with potential in the vacuum chamber, more electrical bias can be applied to the electrons coming out of the photocathode layer. The specific practical use of the present invention using a photocathode layer and an opaque adhesive substrate requires less potential from the power source.

The color image reflected on the back side of the secondary light transparent body can be obtained by projecting the color cathode ray tube image through the lens on the front side of the primary light transparent body. The front of the primary light transparent body contains several color filters that produce color image information for a particular color in the photocathode layer visible from the back. The fluorescent layer also contains several fluorescent regions, each of which stimulates the emission of a particular color. Therefore, the color image appears to be greatly enhanced at the rear of the secondary light transparent body. This color image is, of course, proportional to the color state of the cathode ray tube projected onto the image enhancer.

Color images can also appear on the back of the secondary light-transparent body using color data from multiple monochromatic cathode ray tubes and lenses. For example, red, blue and green color data is sent to the front of the primary light transparent body of the image enhancer. There is an oral mask on the front of the image enhancer, which receives the color data in the middle and separates them into individual color lines in the cathode ray tube layer on the front of the primary light transparent body. At this time, the color region is stimulated in the fluorescent layer in front of the secondary light transparent body to produce a color image on the rear side of the secondary light transparent body.

Furthermore, a monochromatic system can be used by matching the input pixels of the photocathode layer with the output pixels of the phosphor layer of the image enhancer. Color data is sent to each third of the full pixel for each color of the tricolor system.

It is also possible to use a hybrid system in which the photocathode is arranged horizontally and vertically on the rear side of the primary light transparent body. However, the current through the cathode, for example the photocathode layer, is modulated using a three-pole tube bias technique. In a hybrid system design, the image enhancer can be combined with a cold cathode emission design to get the best of each.

This hybrid system design allows the optically stimulated photocathodes to be turned on one line at a time and also biases these elements one line at a time using control grids in vacuum seals in the image enhancer of the present invention. It allows you to. Furthermore, the separated photocathode columns can be stimulated and modulated in accordance with the desired vertical column by means of electrodes standing vertically on a grounded network with a large area. The vertical column produced essentially by the photocathode is an electron bias combined with the optical method, resulting in the desired result according to the spirit of the present invention.

It should now be clear that this was a description of a groundbreaking and useful visual display system.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to use a video image enhancer with a long distance or close coupled image source to produce a very bright and clear visible image.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an image display system for producing a monochrome or color image with high efficiency and excellent pure color.

It is further an object of the present invention to provide an image display system which can be made into a screen having a light and minimal thickness.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a video display system that can produce a high-brightness color image by augmenting a low-brightness monochrome image image.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an image display system having a relatively low production cost.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image display system capable of producing an image display having a wide visual element through a fast conversion process by augmenting the image image of any image source, including an image source with limited vision. .

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a video display system that can utilize a low quality video source and augment it to provide a very high quality video display.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an image display system having a photoelectric cathode element capable of functioning without limitation of thickness.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image enhancer that does not require a metal protective film on the fluorescent layer.

In particular, the present invention has other objects and advantages with regard to features or functions which will appear as the patent description proceeds.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following 'specific practical application' section, which will be read together with the above picture.

Detailed description of preferred concrete use

The following detailed description of the preferred practice should be read accordingly with reference to the preceding figure.

1 shows the invention 10 broadly as the image source 12 is projected onto the image enhancer 14. Although depicted systematically in the image display system 10, an image source 12, such as a cathode ray tube or LCD, is projected to the image enhancer 14 at a distance. In addition, the image source 12 is coupled to the image enhancer 14 close. In other words, a spatial light modulator or an image display such as an electroluminescent plate, plasma display, or the like can be placed in proximity to the image enhancer. In addition, as will be described later, the image source may be formed on the outer surface 16 of the image enhancer in a number of ways. In practice, the image source 12 may be in the form of image location data, image enhancement data, or a combination of both.

1 and 2 show that the primary light transparent body 18 of the image enhancer 14 has a front or surface 16 and a back side 20. Primary light-transparent bodies can be made of glass or other suitable lens material. Imager image 12 enters the image enhancer through primary outer surface 16 as shown by arrow 22.

The secondary light transparent body 24 has a primary surface 26 and a secondary opposing surface 28. The secondary light transparent body 24 may also be made of the same material as the primary light transparent body 18. The present invention includes an intermediate chamber 30 for forming a vacuum space or vacuum seal 32 between the primary light transparent body 18 and the secondary light transparent body 24. Intermediate chamber 30 includes a circumferential seal, such as glass sutures 34 and 36. The vacuum chamber 32 may be formed and sealed by the light transparent bodies 18 and 24 and the seals 34 and 36 to make a relatively high vacuum of 10 ^-6 to 10 ^-10 Torr.

The image display system 10 includes a photoelectric cathode layer 38 located on the front side 20 of the primary light transparent body 18 as one of its components. The photocathode cathode 38 receives a photon signal from the image source 12 and serves as a cathode for emitting electrons through the vacuum chamber 32. The photocathode layer 38 may take a form well known for this purpose, such as cesium iodide, sodium potassium potassium, antimony, cesium compound, cesium silver oxide. In FIG. 1 the photocathode cathode 38 is shown enlarged for emphasis.

The fluorescent layer 40 is located on the front surface 26 of the secondary light transparent body 24. The fluorescent layer 40 may be a material such as phosphorous that can accept electrons and convert them into photons that can be viewed as image images on the back surface 28 of the secondary light transparent body 24. The fluorescent layer 40 may be covered with a metallic thin fill 42 to prevent photons from returning from the fluorescent layer 40 to the vacuum chamber 32. It is apparent that the metallic fill 42 serves to direct electrons from the vacuum chamber 32 to the phosphorescent or fluorescent layer 42. Fluorescent layer 40 and metallic fill 42 are also shown enlarged in FIG. 1 for emphasis. As will be discussed in the following description, although the monochrome form is depicted in FIG. 1, the fluorescent layer 40 may represent a color image image.

The power source 44 imparts a potential between the photocathode layer 38 (cathode) and the fluorescent or phosphorescent layer 40 (anode). The effect of this potential is to accelerate the electrons in the vacuum chamber 32 at a rate of about 10,000 electron volts. Power source 44 may be between 1,000 and 10,000 volts. A network can be installed in the vacuum chamber 32 to give more bias to attract electrons from the photocathode cathode layer 38 to the fluorescent layer 40. The augmentation effect generally obtained through this vacuum chamber may be 100 or more, depending on the quantum effect of 10 to 50 percent of the photocathode layer 38. Thus, one photon colliding with the photocathode layer 38 can derive dozens of hundreds of photons from the fluorescent layer 40 as the anode. Although not required, this enhancement is also an important aspect of the present invention, since the effect of electrons hitting the fluorescent layer 42 to produce light is usually as high as 30 to 50 lumens per watt. This level of light emission is very good when compared to LCDs (1-5 lumens / watt), electroluminescent displays (1-5 lumens / watt), or other types of displays. The low-intensity image source 12 can be augmented several hundred times with the enhancer 14 to obtain a highly effective system 10 as a whole. Since it is used together with the image enhancer 14, it is possible to make the display system 10 with low cost and high utility.

2, it can be seen that the practical description 14A of another image enhancement system having the same primary and secondary light transparent bodies 18 and 24 is described in detail. The practicality shown in FIG. 2 is designed to produce a color image on the back 28 of the secondary light transparent body 24. Accordingly, at 24, the surface of body 18, an electrode layer 46 having a metallic (aluminum) backside is depicted. The monochromatic electroluminescent phosphorus 48 is located between the electrode layer 48, which is aluminum on the back side, and an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode 50 that is electronically colored. In FIG. 2, capital letters R, B, and G mean red, blue, and green. Both electrical layers 52 cover the bunch of ITO electrodes and are themselves positioned over the photoelectrode layer 54. Optoelectronics hit the metal layer 58 in the direction of arrow 56 and then fluoresce a group of phosphor dots 60 denoted by R, B, G. Therefore, the color image is seen through the secondary light transparent body.

3 and 4 show an image enhancement system 14B having a primary light transparent body 62 and a secondary light transparent body 64. In order to simplify the figure, the photocathode and fluorescent layers are omitted in FIG. 3. However, a large number of ribbons 66 are interposed between the primary light transparent body 62 and the secondary light transparent body 64 in the vacuum chamber. The ribbon 66 protects the image enhancer 14B from being bent or collapsed due to the vacuum in the vacuum chamber. The ribbon or spacer 66 may take the form of glass or similar positive electrical material. For example, artificial mica produced in the Cogebi of Dovers New Hampshire and sold as "Cogemicanite" is suitable for this case. This structure is particularly important when the image enhancer is large.

In FIG. 5, the image image source 12A is projected directly to the image enhancer No. 72, similar to the image enhancer No. 14 as the cathode ray tube 70, but will be described in more detail in FIG. 10. Cathode ray tube 70 may send photons through lens 74 to magnify the image on back 76 of image enhancer 72.

Referring now to FIG. 6, another structure for projecting the image source 12B onto the enhancer 72 can be seen. Image source 12B passes through spatial light adjuster 80 as light spot source 78 and impinges on surface 76 of image enhancer 72. Similarly, lens 82 may combine or focus light from light spot source 78 before it goes to spatial light regulator 80. In either case of FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, the image image can be viewed from the rear face 84 of the enhancer 72.

7 depicts the structure from proximity coupled image source 12C to image enhancer 86. Image source 12C includes a spatial light conditioner (LCD) sandwiched between a Lamborgh halo 90 and a surface 92 of image enhancer 86. FIG. 8 details the proximity coupling depicted in FIG. 7 showing a “active” display system. In other words, light is generated by pixels rather than controlled by LCDs. For example, in FIG. 8, the vertical pixel electrodes 94 are depicted in a position facing the transparent back plate 96. The horizontal column pixels 98 are fixed to face the thin glass plate 100 that displays the boundary line between the image source 12C and the enhancer 86 as an outer surface. The thin glass plate 100 may be as thin as 2 millimeters. The thin glass plate 100 may take the form of an optical fiber. In addition, the horizontal and vertical column address designations generated by the horizontal electrode 94 and the vertical electrode 96 may be a gas plasma display or an electroluminescent display in the form of a thin film AC, a thin film DC, or a thick film.

As shown in FIG. 8, the horizontal pixel columns 108 face one side of the thin glass plate 100, and in FIG. 9, the proximity coupling in which the image enhancer 104 is positioned on the thin glass plate 106 is described again. Line 110 represents the boundary between the enhancer 104 and the image source 12D. The horizontal pixel column 108 represents the electronic address designation from the monochrome image source. Such a monochrome image source may be combined in one-to-one registration with the color phosphor element 112 inside the enhancer 104. For example, the horizontal column or pixel point 108 and the vertical column or the point 112 are denoted by the uppercase letters R, B, and G representing red, blue, and green. Again, the pixel 108 may take the form of a gas plasma display or an electroluminescent (EL) plate. Since a gas plasma image source is used, an ultraviolet light image generator is formed in practical use as shown in FIG. 9 if a suitable gas is selected. Color image display results can be obtained in a similar manner using the system of the present invention. Since the anomalous energy of the optoelectronic stem coming out of the photocathode layer 105 is less than 1 electron volt, photons emitted by the photocathode layer in the enhancer 104 are accelerated and transferred directly to the opposite anode pixel point 112. Furthermore, these photons encounter an electrical field of 50,000 volts per centimeter, perpendicular to the photocathode layer 105. Thus, in image source 12 (by proximity coupling as shown in FIGS. 7-9), alignment of the photoelectric color region of the corresponding photocathode layer 105 and the corresponding color point 112 can be achieved. That is, one-to-one registration of the input pixel 105 and the output pixel 112 of the photoelectric cathode layer can be obtained. This can be achieved even at high sharpness of 50 line pairs or more per millimeter.

As shown in Figs. 10-12, the system 10 can produce color image images in a number of ways. FIG. 10 shows that the light source 12E hits several color filters 114 facing the surface 116 of the glass plate 118 serving as the primary light transparent body of the enhancer 120. Line 122 marks the outer boundary of the image enhancer 120. These multiple filters 114 are labeled Y, B, G, which represent yellow, blue, and green. The color filter 114 is embedded in a film or other suitable container 124. The photocathode layer 126 of the enhancer 120 emits photoelectrons and has an acceleration structure similar to that of the image enhancer 14 described with reference to FIG. 1. Pixels 128 are depicted in the form of dots represented by R, G, and B representing red, green, and blue. The phosphor pixels 128 lie on the surface of the secondary light transparent body 130 corresponding to the secondary light transparent body 124 in FIG. 1. Thus, the color image source 12E from the color cathode ray tube passes through a plurality of color filters 114 and converts the color image material into photoelectrons so that they pass directly through the vacuum chamber 32 to the specific color photocathode cathode point of the light transparent body 130 or Bump into the pixel. Therefore, the color photon emission is stimulated so that these photons pass through the light transparent body 30.

11 illustrates another system of the present invention capable of producing a color image using an oral mask 132. A number of CRTs 134 produce solid color data of red, blue, and green represented by R, B, and G. The composite lens 136 receives this light in the middle and, for example, turns it all yellow to the oral mask 132, which goes to an image enhancer 138 similar to the enhancer 120 described in FIG. 10. The photocathode layer 140 emits photoelectrons, which are accelerated and transferred directly to the pixel 142 or to the point of incidence of the secondary light transparent body 144 on the opposite side.

13-14 illustrate a hybrid image display system 10A. 13 illustrates a flat panel display 146 in which light transparent electrodes, such as ITO electrodes covered with a photocathode material, are arranged vertically in the vertical column 148 and horizontally in the light emitting horizontal row 150. The light emitting horizontal column 159 may be coupled to the vertical column electrode 148 to take the form of an electroluminescent device or a plasma device. This hybrid system 10A can optically produce the heat of the photocathode rod, but the current through the cathode rod is controlled using tripolar bias technology. In this hybrid design, the two designs combine the advantages of the image enhancement design and the cooling cathode emission design of FIG. 1. For example, a group of photocathode electrodes, such as the vertical column 148, may not be all excited, but may be stimulated line by line and biased line by image using a voltage regulator. In addition, the pieces of the horizontal column 150 are stimulated to optically emit photons, and the cathode ray tube current is controlled by the vertical column electrodes 148 in proportion to the grounded network. In addition, the pixel 152 described in FIG. 13 represents the confluence of the optically transparent vertical column electrode (ITO electrode) No. 148 with the photocathode material and the optical emission row 150. FIG. 15 details the pixels for hybrid system 10A in which photoelectric cathode pieces are located on top of ITO 156. There is a piece of positive electrode 158 perpendicular to the combined ITO and photocathode piece, below which there is a light emitting piece 160 which assigns a heat address. Referring to FIG. 14, the network 162 is systematically described. Several arrows 164 represent photons that are emitted from the light emitting piece 160 and impinge on the ITO piece 156 and the cathode rod 154 in sequence by the image data information at low voltage. In this regard, each pixel formed by this mixed arrangement depicted in FIG. 15 can respond to low voltage devices such as CMOS drivers. Phosphorus region or point 166 is biased to the anode. When the photoelectrode cathode 154 is biased to the net 162 in the positive direction, a small current flows between the cathode rod 154 and the anode 168. However, when the cathode element 154 is biased by the network 162 to a negative voltage, current between the cathode rod 154 and the anode 168 flows only when the piece 160 emits photons. The net may be a large area screen between the anode and the cathode although not shown in FIG. 13 or 15, which is systematically shown in FIG. 14. Of course, the system depicted in FIG. 14 may include a vertical column electrode whose thermal address designation includes 500 electroluminescent or plasma display drive circuits in a horizontal column and may have 1,500 vertical columns, driven by image material by CMOS samples. It can be expanded to a great extent.

FIG. 16 shows an image production system in the form of an FED in which the photoelectrode cathode 170 is suitable for a typical field emission device (FED). The large area halo 172, indicated by the various arrows, is directed to the photocathode cathode 170 secured to the adhesive substrate 174. The network 176 is controlled by the vertical thermal imaging material accordingly. In-point 178 is also electrically controlled to select a particular row.

17 shows a combination of optical and electrical image column data and column selection methods. Since all image data is optically hung, i.e., the image source projected by the enhancer's photocathode pole or coming in in close coupling is itself an image that can be seen by the eye, the system described in Figures 1-12 is 180 times. It is indicated by a rectangle. Squares 184 represent the system depicted in FIGS. 13-15 because the thermal selection data optically enters the photocathode layer and the vertical thermal contrast data enters the cathode bias voltage by a grounded network. The combination, also shown as square 186, is the FED system of FIG. 16 with an alternate photoelectrode cathode 170. Square 183 is not shown here but will be another version in which the image material is replaced with the column selection material and the column selection material is replaced with the image material in the system of FIGS. 13-15.

In FIG. 19, in which the aluminum coating 42 of FIG. 1 is removed from the photocathode cathode layer 40, a photocathode cathode layer 40 may be selected that reacts to light in an area outside the visible light region such as red, blue, and green light. . In other words, the photocathode layer 40 may react sensitively to ultraviolet rays. For example, the use of the cesium iodide photocathode layer of FIG. 1 eliminates the need for electrons to pass through aluminum, allowing the photocathode layer to run at much lower anode voltages. This structure eliminates the problem of light leaking into the needle hole with the aluminum sheath 42 removed. To date, the photocathode material 40 has been unaffected by photons leaving the surface 28 of the secondary light transparent body 24 depicted in FIG. 2. While the chemicals change over time, this UV-resistance cathode 40 of FIG. 19 does not physically change over time.

Referring now to Figures 21-24, another utility 10A of the present invention is depicted. This utility 10A includes a photovoltaic cathode device 210 different from the utility 10 depicted in FIG. 1. The photocathode device comprises an adhesive member or support member of metallic element such as antimony cesium coated on a plaited stainless steel screen. The adhesive substrate 212 may take the form of a translucent photoelectric cathode rod in the form of a thin film. That is, the adhesive substrate 212 may be a glass-like component in which cesium has evaporated and coated with a thin film. Support member 12 may be coated with a photocathode cathode 214. Photons representing the imagery image are directed to layer 214 to produce electrons, which are accelerated through a vacuum chamber 216 similar to the intermediate chamber 32 of FIG. Marking "e" indicates electrons produced in the photocathode layer 214. Indicated by "p" indicates photons coming from the video image source. Note that the fluorescent layer 218 is also shown here. The photocathode cathode 214 may be plated with an antimony alloy or antimony such as antimony iron or antimony silver. The antimony layer can also react with cesium vapor to form cesium antimony alloys. Note that the cathode layer 214 need not be the same element, unlike the utility 10 depicted in FIG. 1. In some cases, the antimony or antimony alloy may be directly bonded to the substrate 212 as a single member.

As described above, the fluorescent layer 218 can be found in the intermediate chamber 16, which is located on top of the light transparent body 220 that allows the image to be viewed through plane 222. The power source 224 creates a voltage potential between the photocathode cathode 214 and the fluorescent layer 218. This voltage may be in the range of 1-30 kilovolts.

Turning now to FIG. 22, it can be seen that the adhesive substrate 212 can include a photocathode device having a plurality of photon producing elements that the image image source 228 constitutes. For example, a number of elements 226 can take the form of electroluminescent phosphorus of manganese coated zinc sulfide material. Element 226 can also be formed from a gas plasma envelope. Of course, the photon generating element 226 is electronically connected to an image image such as the image source 12 of FIG. 1. 22 shows a number of photovoltaic cathode elements 230. Each element of the photocathode cathode bundle converts photons from a photon generating element 226 into electrons that are accelerated through the vacuum chamber 216. This photocathode cathode element may take the form of an antimony-based material similar to the photocathode cathode 214 of FIG. 21. Each photoelectric cathode element can be made from this material or by applying a photocathode material to the base material. Referring to FIG. 23, it can be seen that the photon generating element bundle and the photoelectric cathode element 230 take the form of a "swiss cheese" array with many holes. In this case the photocathode cathode element 230 is an adjacent member.

24 shows a typical photon generating element 232. Photon generating element 232 is used in conjunction with shielding device 234 and channel multiplier 236 used in the prior art. Dynodes 238, 239, 240 include end surfaces, such as 242 and 244, for protecting photon generating elements from photons returning from fluorescent layer 218 of FIG. Arrow 246 represents the return photon. The ends of the die nodes 238, 239 and 240 are coated with a photocathode material such as cesium antimony to convert the photons generated at the photon generating element 232 into the primary electrons circled by " 1 " . The secondary electrons circled as "2" are also produced in this arrangement. Typical potentials for dynodes 238, 239, 240 are shown in FIG. 24. The shielding device 234 and the channel multiplier 236 eliminate the need for metallization of the phosphor layer or screen 218. In addition, the voltage source 224 between the photocathode cathode 214 of FIG. 21 or the photocathode element 230 of FIG. 22 and the fluorescent layer 218 has a metallic mirror in which electrons passing through the vacuum chamber 216 are placed on the metallic material or the fluorescent layer. It is relatively low because it does not need to be accelerated by. In addition, the cations returning from the in-screen do not cause any damage even when they collide with the photocathode cathode 230.

In actual operation, the user utilizes an image source 12 in the form of a cathode ray tube or an LCD and sends it to the image enhancer 14 shown in FIG. Photons of the image source are hit by the image enhancer 14. The image enhancer is stimulated by a potential in the form of a power source 44 to accelerate the photoelectrons through the vacuum chamber. Photons exiting the image source 12 are converted to these photoelectrons by a photocathode cathode layer 38 which can be found in the primary light transparent body of the image enhancer 14. In the practical 10A, the photoelectrons are generated from the image source 12 using the opaque adhesive substrate 212. The fluorescent layer 40 in the secondary light transparent body of the image enhancer 14 receives highly accelerated photoelectrons to produce an image image that can be seen on the back side 28 of the secondary light transparent body 24. The system of the present invention can be used to enhance a monochrome image source to produce a color image from a color coded monochrome image source or a color image source. System 10 can be used to produce flat panel displays that exhibit the reversal properties of cathode ray tubes just like flat panel displays without the disadvantage that cathode ray tubes need to be long.

20 shows a 10B system capable of obtaining high resolution color images using a low resolution light controller using three different point light sources 192 of red, green, and blue indicated by R, G, and B. In practical use in FIG. 20, this point light source is a light generating anode rod (LEDS). Light from LEDA 194 passes through aiming lens 194 to a low resolution monochromatic light controller (LCD). Pixels 198, 200, and 202 represent respective pixels of the monochromatic light regulator 196, respectively. The enhancer 14A has a structure similar to that of the enhancer No. 14 including a plurality of color filters 204 corresponding to the color of the point light source 192 represented by R, G, and B. In the 10B system, three screens are sequentially created by illuminating portions of red, green, and blue light image data from the point light source 192. During each color frame, controller 196 is driven by the color data for a particular color frame. A number of triple colors (R, G, B) arranged in front of each pixel 198, 200, 202 of LCD 196. The color filter 204 prevents incorrect color data from entering the enhancer 14A. FIG. 20 shows that only green image material reaches the enhancer 14A. This also applies to the red and blue image data from the origin 197. Of course, red, green, and blue are randomly selected in FIG. 20.

Although many explanations have been made about the practical use of the present invention in order to inform the present invention in more detail, it is obvious that many changes can be made in detail in the technical scope without departing from the basic principles and spirit of the present invention.

Claims (11)

In a video display system, a) a video image source, b) an image enhancer comprising a primary light transparent body, wherein the primary light transparent body comprises a first side and a second side, wherein the image image source is delivered to the first side of the primary optical transparent body tile, c) a photoelectric cathode layer located on said second surface of said primary light transparent body; d) a secondary light transparent body comprising a first side and a second side; e) a fluorescent layer located on said first surface of said secondary light transparent body, f) chamber means for forming a vacuum enclosure between said second side of said primary light transparent body and said first side of said secondary light transparent body; g) a power source for applying a voltage potential between said photocathode layer as a cathode and said fluorescent layer as an anode, wherein an enhanced image image comprises said power source exiting said second side of said secondary light transparent body, Visual display system. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the primary light transparent body is optically opaque. 2. The video display system of claim 1 wherein the video image source includes a plurality of pixels located above the primary light transparent body and includes image data means connected to the plurality of pixels to make a video image therein. 4. The video display system of claim 3 wherein the plurality of pixels are electroluminescent devices. 4. The video display system of claim 3 wherein the plurality of pixels have envelopes comprising gaseous plasma. The video display system of claim 1, wherein the video image source comprises video location data. The video display system of claim 1 wherein the video image source comprises video intensity data. The video display system of claim 1, wherein the photoelectric cathode element additionally comprises channel multiplier means. 9. The video display system of claim 8, wherein the photoelectric cathode element additionally comprises photon shielding means. 9. The video display system of claim 8, wherein the channel multiplier has a surface of a photocathode material. In a video display system, a) a video image source, b) an image enhancer comprising a substrate, wherein the image image source is adapted to provide a photon signal to the substrate; c) a photoelectric cathode element positioned next to the image image source; d) a light transparent body comprising a first side and a second side; e) a fluorescent element located on said first face of said light transparent body, f) photon baffle means for protecting said photon cathode element from photons returning to said fluorescent element, said photon shielding means for forming a gap for exiting the photon cathode element from said photon cathode element; Said photon shielding means comprising a plurality of dynodes spaced apart from each other, said plurality of dynodes overlapping each other to prevent photons from passing through said fluorescent element; g) chamber means for forming a vacuum chamber between said substrate and said first side of said light transparent body.