US3014147A - Infra red image tube - Google Patents
Infra red image tube Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US3014147A US3014147A US740411A US74041147A US3014147A US 3014147 A US3014147 A US 3014147A US 740411 A US740411 A US 740411A US 74041147 A US74041147 A US 74041147A US 3014147 A US3014147 A US 3014147A
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- phosphor
- infra red
- image
- light
- red image
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J29/00—Details of cathode-ray tubes or of electron-beam tubes of the types covered by group H01J31/00
- H01J29/02—Electrodes; Screens; Mounting, supporting, spacing or insulating thereof
- H01J29/10—Screens on or from which an image or pattern is formed, picked up, converted or stored
- H01J29/36—Photoelectric screens; Charge-storage screens
- H01J29/38—Photoelectric screens; Charge-storage screens not using charge storage, e.g. photo-emissive screen, extended cathode
- H01J29/385—Photocathodes comprising a layer which modified the wave length of impinging radiation
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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
- H01J31/501—Image-conversion or image-amplification tubes, i.e. having optical, X-ray, or analogous input, and optical output with an electrostatic electron optic system
Definitions
- Image tubes are of great importance in certain uses for observing objects in darkness.
- imaging devices having phosphors that produce light from infra red energy when previously excited by blue or ultra violet light.
- these devices are visually ineflicient because the light emitted is toward the red end of the spectrum.
- Image devices have also been made with photocathodes that emit electrons when impinged by near infra red waves which electrons then cause a screen to fluoresce by bombardment thereof.
- This type of tube has along wave cutofi at about 11,000-l2,000 A. due to the inherent limitations of all known photoemitters and is not satisfactory for far infra red waves.
- Another object of the invention is to reduce the magnification of the image to obtain increased brightness.
- FIGURE of the drawing is a sectional elevation of a tube embodying the invention.
- the tube comprises an evacuated envelope 1 of suitable material, such as glass or metal, enclosing the elements for production of the light image.
- Anode cylinder 2 supports a glass disc 3 on the front side of which is a phosphor material 4 capable of eflicient production of light when stimulated by far infra red energy, say of 1 to 2 microns in Wave length for a time after excitation by blue or ultra violet light.
- the phosphor material 4 may, for example, be that disclosed in the application of Humboldt W. Leverenz, filed May 22, 1945, Serial No. 595,146, now Patent No. 2,527,365, which is strontium sulphoselenide with europium and samarium activators.
- the photocathode 5 on the other side of the glass disc may be a coating of caesiated silver.
- Anode 6 is placed adjacent the latter and anode 7 is positioned adjacent anode 6.
- the anode 7 has a flange 8 with a reduced opening 9 adjacent to which is placed anode 10.
- the anode structure 7, 8, 9, 10 constitutes the main lens of de-magnifying electrostatic lens system, anodes 2 and 6 being Weak lenses.
- Cylinder anode 10 extends close to the end 11 of the envelope on which is coated the phosphor 12 capable of emitting light of high visual efiiciency by electron bombardment.
- Various phosphors may be used, for example, such as willemite, zinc sulphoselenide, and zinc cadmium sulphide with their known activators.
- the image on the phosphor 12 is reduced in size compared to that on the phosphor 4 and its brightness is correspondingly increased.
- a suitable lens system will, of course, be used to focus the infra red energy on the phosphor 4, and a suitable lens system will be used to magnify the reduced image produced on the phosphor 12. These are well known in the art and are not part of the claimed invention. They, therefore, are not shown in the drawing.
- the phosphor 4 will be excited by a blue or ultra violet source not shown and when the excitation is removed the phosphorescence will decay to invisibility after a short period but when the far infra red energy radiated from an object in the dark is focused on the phosphor to produce an image thereon the phosphor will at once be stimulated to release energy stored by the blue or ultra violet light and a light image of the object in red or reddish light will be produced in phosphor 4. This is visually inefiicient but the red or reddish light will eificiently excite the photocathode 5 to emit electrons which are electrostatically focused on phosphor 12 to produce a luminescent image of reduced size giving increased intrinsic brightness.
- I utilize the red light of the phosphor produced by the incident far infra red energy, to excite a photocathode, and using the photoelectrons emitted thereby to efiiciently excite the phosphor 12 which produces an image of high visual efliciency.
- the photocathode 5 may be deposited on the inside of the front end of the envelope 1 and the phosphor 4 may be deposited on the outside of the tube end but unless the phosphor is protected from moisture and abrasion by a transparent varnish, it will not be so satisfactory an arrangement.
- I may use other radiation such, for example, as emanation from radio active materials.
- An image tube comprising an evacuated envelope containing a glass disc near one end, a phosphor on one side of said disc stimulatable to emit light by far infra red energy for a time after previous excitation by radiant energy of shorter wave lengths, a photocathode on the other side of said disc adapted to emit photoelectrons when excited by the light emitted by said phosphor, a second phosphor at the other end of said envelope of lesser size than the first-mentioned phosphor, and a series of cylindrical elongated anodes of successively decreasing diameter between said photocathode and said second phosphor for focusing said photoelectrons thereon to produce an image of less size than the light image on the first-mentioned phosphor.
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- Image-Pickup Tubes, Image-Amplification Tubes, And Storage Tubes (AREA)
Description
Dec. 19, 1961 G. A. MORTON 3, 4,
INFRA RED IMAGE TUBE Filed April 9, 1947 INVENTOR. 6502a: A. Monro/v BYWM 3,014,147 INFRA RED WAGE TUBE George A. Morton, Gait Ridge, Tenn, assignor to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 9, 1947, Ser. No. 740,411 1 Claim. (Cl. 3I3-65) This invention relates to viewing tubes for observing objects in partial or total darkness and more especially to tubes for production of visible images from far infra red radiant energy.
Image tubes are of great importance in certain uses for observing objects in darkness. For this purpose there have been used imaging devices having phosphors that produce light from infra red energy when previously excited by blue or ultra violet light. In general, these devices are visually ineflicient because the light emitted is toward the red end of the spectrum.
Image devices have also been made with photocathodes that emit electrons when impinged by near infra red waves which electrons then cause a screen to fluoresce by bombardment thereof. This type of tube has along wave cutofi at about 11,000-l2,000 A. due to the inherent limitations of all known photoemitters and is not satisfactory for far infra red waves.
It is an object of this invention to provide an image device in which the photocathode is excited by light energy produced by a phosphor stimulated into luminescence by incident far infra red energy.
it is another object of the invention to provide an image device in which the color response of the phosphor upon which the far infra red energy impinges, is matched to that of the photocathode.
Another object of the invention is to reduce the magnification of the image to obtain increased brightness.
Other objects will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the drawing in which the single FIGURE of the drawing is a sectional elevation of a tube embodying the invention.
Referring to the drawing, the tube comprises an evacuated envelope 1 of suitable material, such as glass or metal, enclosing the elements for production of the light image. Anode cylinder 2 supports a glass disc 3 on the front side of which is a phosphor material 4 capable of eflicient production of light when stimulated by far infra red energy, say of 1 to 2 microns in Wave length for a time after excitation by blue or ultra violet light. The phosphor material 4 may, for example, be that disclosed in the application of Humboldt W. Leverenz, filed May 22, 1945, Serial No. 595,146, now Patent No. 2,527,365, which is strontium sulphoselenide with europium and samarium activators. The photocathode 5 on the other side of the glass disc may be a coating of caesiated silver.
Anode 6 is placed adjacent the latter and anode 7 is positioned adjacent anode 6. The anode 7 has a flange 8 with a reduced opening 9 adjacent to which is placed anode 10. The anode structure 7, 8, 9, 10 constitutes the main lens of de-magnifying electrostatic lens system, anodes 2 and 6 being Weak lenses. Cylinder anode 10 extends close to the end 11 of the envelope on which is coated the phosphor 12 capable of emitting light of high visual efiiciency by electron bombardment. Various phosphors may be used, for example, such as willemite, zinc sulphoselenide, and zinc cadmium sulphide with their known activators. The image on the phosphor 12 is reduced in size compared to that on the phosphor 4 and its brightness is correspondingly increased.
iii-ates Pater O Fatented Dec. 19, 1961 The anodes 2, 6, 7 and 10 will be of suitable dimensions and will have suitable positive voltages applied thereto relative to the photocathode, such as those given in my application filed April 5, 1947, Serial No. 739,717, but, of course, those skilled in the art will be able to vary these as desired.
A suitable lens system will, of course, be used to focus the infra red energy on the phosphor 4, and a suitable lens system will be used to magnify the reduced image produced on the phosphor 12. These are well known in the art and are not part of the claimed invention. They, therefore, are not shown in the drawing.
In the operation of the viewing tube, the phosphor 4 will be excited by a blue or ultra violet source not shown and when the excitation is removed the phosphorescence will decay to invisibility after a short period but when the far infra red energy radiated from an object in the dark is focused on the phosphor to produce an image thereon the phosphor will at once be stimulated to release energy stored by the blue or ultra violet light and a light image of the object in red or reddish light will be produced in phosphor 4. This is visually inefiicient but the red or reddish light will eificiently excite the photocathode 5 to emit electrons which are electrostatically focused on phosphor 12 to produce a luminescent image of reduced size giving increased intrinsic brightness.
It will be seen that I utilize the red light of the phosphor produced by the incident far infra red energy, to excite a photocathode, and using the photoelectrons emitted thereby to efiiciently excite the phosphor 12 which produces an image of high visual efliciency.
The photocathode 5 may be deposited on the inside of the front end of the envelope 1 and the phosphor 4 may be deposited on the outside of the tube end but unless the phosphor is protected from moisture and abrasion by a transparent varnish, it will not be so satisfactory an arrangement.
Instead of first exciting the phosphor 4 with blue or ultra violet light, I may use other radiation such, for example, as emanation from radio active materials.
Various other modifications may also be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.
What I claim as new is:
An image tube comprising an evacuated envelope containing a glass disc near one end, a phosphor on one side of said disc stimulatable to emit light by far infra red energy for a time after previous excitation by radiant energy of shorter wave lengths, a photocathode on the other side of said disc adapted to emit photoelectrons when excited by the light emitted by said phosphor, a second phosphor at the other end of said envelope of lesser size than the first-mentioned phosphor, and a series of cylindrical elongated anodes of successively decreasing diameter between said photocathode and said second phosphor for focusing said photoelectrons thereon to produce an image of less size than the light image on the first-mentioned phosphor.
References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,074,226 Kunz et al Mar. 16, 1937 2,177,360 Bussc Oct. 24, 1939 2,189,321 Morton Feb. 6, 1940 2,198,479 Langmuir Apr. 23, 1940 2,225,044 George Dec. 17, 1940
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US740411A US3014147A (en) | 1947-04-09 | 1947-04-09 | Infra red image tube |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US740411A US3014147A (en) | 1947-04-09 | 1947-04-09 | Infra red image tube |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US3014147A true US3014147A (en) | 1961-12-19 |
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US740411A Expired - Lifetime US3014147A (en) | 1947-04-09 | 1947-04-09 | Infra red image tube |
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Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3225204A (en) * | 1960-10-28 | 1965-12-21 | Philips Corp | Electron-optical image intensifier system |
US3383514A (en) * | 1965-01-26 | 1968-05-14 | Rauland Corp | Multi-stage image converter with both magnifying and minifying stages |
US3515882A (en) * | 1967-12-19 | 1970-06-02 | Eltro Gmbh | Device for protecting the human eye against laser radiation |
US4300047A (en) * | 1979-03-12 | 1981-11-10 | Kureha Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Method and apparatus for detecting infrared rays and converting infrared rays to visible rays |
US4581536A (en) * | 1983-03-04 | 1986-04-08 | Detector Electronics Corp. | Radiation detection tube having spurious radiation shield |
US4947465A (en) * | 1989-07-25 | 1990-08-07 | Mathur Veerendra K | Method of laser discrimination using stimulated luminescence |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2074226A (en) * | 1935-05-18 | 1937-03-16 | Kunz | Method of and apparatus for rendering objects visible in infrared rays |
US2177360A (en) * | 1935-07-23 | 1939-10-24 | Philips Nv | Optical image intensifier |
US2189321A (en) * | 1936-10-28 | 1940-02-06 | Rca Corp | Electro-optical device |
US2198479A (en) * | 1937-11-03 | 1940-04-23 | Gen Electric | Image reproduction |
US2225044A (en) * | 1938-06-16 | 1940-12-17 | Rca Corp | Method and means for reproducing infrared images |
-
1947
- 1947-04-09 US US740411A patent/US3014147A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2074226A (en) * | 1935-05-18 | 1937-03-16 | Kunz | Method of and apparatus for rendering objects visible in infrared rays |
US2177360A (en) * | 1935-07-23 | 1939-10-24 | Philips Nv | Optical image intensifier |
US2189321A (en) * | 1936-10-28 | 1940-02-06 | Rca Corp | Electro-optical device |
US2198479A (en) * | 1937-11-03 | 1940-04-23 | Gen Electric | Image reproduction |
US2225044A (en) * | 1938-06-16 | 1940-12-17 | Rca Corp | Method and means for reproducing infrared images |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3225204A (en) * | 1960-10-28 | 1965-12-21 | Philips Corp | Electron-optical image intensifier system |
US3383514A (en) * | 1965-01-26 | 1968-05-14 | Rauland Corp | Multi-stage image converter with both magnifying and minifying stages |
US3515882A (en) * | 1967-12-19 | 1970-06-02 | Eltro Gmbh | Device for protecting the human eye against laser radiation |
US4300047A (en) * | 1979-03-12 | 1981-11-10 | Kureha Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Method and apparatus for detecting infrared rays and converting infrared rays to visible rays |
US4581536A (en) * | 1983-03-04 | 1986-04-08 | Detector Electronics Corp. | Radiation detection tube having spurious radiation shield |
US4947465A (en) * | 1989-07-25 | 1990-08-07 | Mathur Veerendra K | Method of laser discrimination using stimulated luminescence |
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