US3457451A - Light shutter system utilizing an image intensifier tube - Google Patents

Light shutter system utilizing an image intensifier tube Download PDF

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Publication number
US3457451A
US3457451A US739542A US3457451DA US3457451A US 3457451 A US3457451 A US 3457451A US 739542 A US739542 A US 739542A US 3457451D A US3457451D A US 3457451DA US 3457451 A US3457451 A US 3457451A
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United States
Prior art keywords
photo
image intensifier
shutter system
tube
light shutter
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Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US739542A
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English (en)
Inventor
Brian William Manley
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US Philips Corp
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US Philips Corp
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Publication date
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J31/00—Cathode ray tubes; Electron beam tubes
    • H01J31/08—Cathode ray tubes; Electron beam tubes having a screen on or from which an image or pattern is formed, picked up, converted, or stored
    • H01J31/50—Image-conversion or image-amplification tubes, i.e. having optical, X-ray, or analogous input, and optical output
    • H01J31/506—Image-conversion or image-amplification tubes, i.e. having optical, X-ray, or analogous input, and optical output tubes using secondary emission effect
    • H01J31/507—Image-conversion or image-amplification tubes, i.e. having optical, X-ray, or analogous input, and optical output tubes using secondary emission effect using a large number of channels, e.g. microchannel plates
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01T—MEASUREMENT OF NUCLEAR OR X-RADIATION
    • G01T1/00—Measuring X-radiation, gamma radiation, corpuscular radiation, or cosmic radiation
    • G01T1/16—Measuring radiation intensity
    • G01T1/161—Applications in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting
    • G01T1/164—Scintigraphy
    • G01T1/1641—Static instruments for imaging the distribution of radioactivity in one or two dimensions using one or several scintillating elements; Radio-isotope cameras
    • G01T1/1642—Static instruments for imaging the distribution of radioactivity in one or two dimensions using one or several scintillating elements; Radio-isotope cameras using a scintillation crystal and position sensing photodetector arrays, e.g. ANGER cameras
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01T—MEASUREMENT OF NUCLEAR OR X-RADIATION
    • G01T1/00—Measuring X-radiation, gamma radiation, corpuscular radiation, or cosmic radiation
    • G01T1/29—Measurement performed on radiation beams, e.g. position or section of the beam; Measurement of spatial distribution of radiation
    • G01T1/2914—Measurement of spatial distribution of radiation
    • G01T1/2985—In depth localisation, e.g. using positron emitters; Tomographic imaging (longitudinal and transverse section imaging; apparatus for radiation diagnosis sequentially in different planes, steroscopic radiation diagnosis)
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
    • G03B39/00—High-speed photography
    • G03B39/005—High-speed photography using image converters or amplifiers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J31/00—Cathode ray tubes; Electron beam tubes
    • H01J31/08—Cathode ray tubes; Electron beam tubes having a screen on or from which an image or pattern is formed, picked up, converted, or stored
    • H01J31/50—Image-conversion or image-amplification tubes, i.e. having optical, X-ray, or analogous input, and optical output
    • H01J31/505—Image-conversion or image-amplification tubes, i.e. having optical, X-ray, or analogous input, and optical output flat tubes, e.g. proximity focusing tubes

Definitions

  • This invention relates to electronic image intensifier devices. More particularly the invention relates to channel intensifier devices and to electronic imaging tubes employing such devices.
  • Such devices are secondaryemissive electron-multiplier devices comprising a matrix in the form of a plate having a large number of elongated channels passing through its thickness, said plate having a first conductive layer on its input face and a separate second conductive layer on its output face to act respectively as input and output electrodes.
  • FIGURE 1 illustrates a proximity-type channel intensifie-r tube.
  • FIGURE 2 illustrates the switchable shutter control circuit used in the intensifier tube of FIGURE 1.
  • a potential difference is applied between the two electrode layers of the matrix so as to set up an electric field to accelerate the electrons, which field establishes a potential gradient created by current flowing through resistive surfaces formed inside the channels or (if such channel surfaces are absent) through the bulk material of the matrix.
  • Secondary-emissive multiplication takes place in the channels and the output electrons may be acted upon by a further accelerating field which may be set up between the ouput electrode and a suitable target, for example, a luminescent display screen.
  • An imaging tube or system employing such a device will be referred to for convenience as an image intensifier tube or system rather than as an image converter tube or system even in applications where the primary purpose is a change in the wavelength of the radiation of the image.
  • FIG- URE 1 Such a proximity tube is shown schematically in FIG- URE 1 of the accompanying drawing.
  • an object O is focused by an optical system on to a photocathode P.
  • Photo-electrons are liberated simultaneously "ice from all parts of the photo-cathode with varying local intensities dependent upon the image.
  • the matrix of the device is usually of glass or other vitreous material and its input and output faces are covered by first and second conductive electrode layers E1-E2 respectively.
  • each of the channels C that receives primary electrons at any given instant multiplication takes place as described in the aforesaid patent specifications and the necessary electric accelerating field is set up by connecting the electrodes E1E2 to a source shown schematically at B1.
  • a further accelerating field is provided by a source B2 between E2 and a conductive coating (e.g. aluminum) associated with a luminescent screen S.
  • An additional source is shown schematically at B0 for directing the primary electrons from P to flow towards the electrode E1 and its value is such as to ensure adequate definition for any given P-El spacing.
  • the photo-cathode P may be very close to electrode E1 (for example 1.) and the voltage required from B0 may (unlike the voltage of B1 and B2) be very low, usually less than 100 volts.
  • the invention provides a light shutter system comprising an image intensifier tube of the proximity type including a channel intensifier device as herein defined, a photo-cathode facing the input electrode of said device and a luminescent screen facing the output elect-rode of said device, the shutter system comprising means for applying an accelerating potential difference between said input and output electrodes, means for applying a further accelerating potential difference between said output electrode and said screen and control means for causing shutter action by applying between said photo-cathode and input electrode a controlling potential difference which has selectively one or the other of two values, one value being such as to turn the tube off by causing the input electrode to repel photo-electrons back to the photo-cathode while the other value is such as to cause the flow of photo-electrons from the photo-cathode to the input electrode.
  • Such a system can operate efficiently with very small changes in the controlling potential difference (P.D.)
  • P.D. controlling potential difference
  • a small positive potential with respect to the photocathode is applied to the input electrode of the channel plate. This will be less than 100 volts and may even in some cases be reduced to zero (although zero is not a desirable value).
  • a small negative potential is applied to the input electrode of the plate. This potential will generally be less than 10 volts.
  • the proximity-type channel intensifier tube comprising (as in FIGURE 1) a channel plate I with electrodes El-EZ, a photo-cathode P and a luminescent screen S. Accelerating potential sources are indicated again at B1 and B2.
  • the initial source B0 of FIGURE 1 is replaced by a switchable shutter control circuit shown schematically as comprising a switch SW and alternative control potential sources Bcl-BcZ.
  • Bc1 corresponds to the forward source B0 of FIGURE 1 and provides for electrode E1 a positive ON voltage in the range +1 to +100 volts.
  • Source B02 provides for E1 a negative OFF voltage in the range 1 to 100 volts.
  • the photo-cathode P is shown earthed, it is possible to earth E1 instead, but the arrangement shown is preferably in spite of the small changes in the levels of elements E1E2S which occur when the switch SW is actuated.
  • control voltages given in the table (+100 and +100) are very suitable values but other convenient values can be found in the range +25 to +300 for Bcl and 10 to 200 for B02.
  • a light shutter system comprising an image intensifier tube of the proximity type including a channel intensifier device as herein defined, a photo-cathode facing the input electrode of said device and a luminescent screen facing the output electrode of said device, the shutter system also comprising means for applying an accelerating potential difference between said input and output electrodes, means for applying a further accelerating potential difference between said output electrode and said screen and control means for causing shutter action by applying between said photo-cathode and input electrode a controlling potential difference which has selectively one or the other of two values, one value being such as to turn the tube off by causing the input electrode to repel photo-electrons back to the photo-cathode while the other value is such as to cause the flow of photo-electrons from the photocathode to the input electrode.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
  • Molecular Biology (AREA)
  • Spectroscopy & Molecular Physics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Biomedical Technology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Medical Informatics (AREA)
  • Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Image-Pickup Tubes, Image-Amplification Tubes, And Storage Tubes (AREA)
  • Transforming Light Signals Into Electric Signals (AREA)
  • Nuclear Medicine (AREA)
  • Apparatus For Radiation Diagnosis (AREA)
  • Electron Tubes For Measurement (AREA)
US739542A 1967-06-15 1968-06-24 Light shutter system utilizing an image intensifier tube Expired - Lifetime US3457451A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US64680467A 1967-06-15 1967-06-15
GB30220/67A GB1137018A (en) 1967-06-15 1967-06-30 Improvements in or relating to image intensifiers

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3457451A true US3457451A (en) 1969-07-22

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US739542A Expired - Lifetime US3457451A (en) 1967-06-15 1968-06-24 Light shutter system utilizing an image intensifier tube

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US3457451A (forum.php)
BE (1) BE716459A (forum.php)
DE (2) DE1764503A1 (forum.php)
FR (2) FR1595557A (forum.php)
GB (2) GB1137018A (forum.php)
NL (2) NL164675C (forum.php)
SE (1) SE362147B (forum.php)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3748523A (en) * 1971-08-04 1973-07-24 Westinghouse Electric Corp Broad spectral response pickup tube
US3836795A (en) * 1970-11-02 1974-09-17 Aerojet General Co Parallel multiple channel display system
WO2014008199A3 (en) * 2012-07-02 2014-11-06 L-3 Communications Corporation Transformerless switched mode night vision device power supply

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS62110141A (ja) * 1985-11-08 1987-05-21 Hamamatsu Photonics Kk 透過率の小さい物体の密度等を測定する装置
DE10348868A1 (de) * 2003-10-21 2005-06-16 Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH T-spect
US8279418B2 (en) * 2010-03-17 2012-10-02 Microsoft Corporation Raster scanning for depth detection

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3243642A (en) * 1962-10-30 1966-03-29 Radames K H Gebel Image intensifier

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3243642A (en) * 1962-10-30 1966-03-29 Radames K H Gebel Image intensifier

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3836795A (en) * 1970-11-02 1974-09-17 Aerojet General Co Parallel multiple channel display system
US3748523A (en) * 1971-08-04 1973-07-24 Westinghouse Electric Corp Broad spectral response pickup tube
WO2014008199A3 (en) * 2012-07-02 2014-11-06 L-3 Communications Corporation Transformerless switched mode night vision device power supply

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR1595557A (forum.php) 1970-06-15
GB1184304A (en) 1970-03-11
DE1764503A1 (de) 1972-03-02
NL164675C (nl) 1981-01-15
NL6808447A (forum.php) 1968-12-16
NL6809131A (forum.php) 1968-12-31
GB1137018A (en) 1968-12-18
NL164675B (nl) 1980-08-15
FR1573410A (forum.php) 1969-07-04
BE716459A (forum.php) 1968-11-04
SE362147B (forum.php) 1973-11-26
DE1764583A1 (de) 1971-08-19

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