Electron bombarded active pixel sensor
AssigneesIntevac, Inc., The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
InventorsVerle W. Aebi, John James Boyle
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Abstract
A low light level system is described wherein electrons, created by images directed to a photocathode, directly bombard active pixel sensors. Both the active pixel sensors and the output end of the photocathode are positioned in a vacuum envelop. The electron released from the photocathode are directed to and at the active pixel sensors. The output of the active pixel sensor detector may be stored, viewed or displayed at a remote location. Various applications are described including a novel camera.
Claims25
A vacuum device comprising:
- a photocathode in the vacuum as a wall thereof to release electrons into the vacuum when exposed to light;
- an active pixel sensor positioned in the vacuum chamber of the device in a facing relationship to said photocathode;
- a wall structure between said photocathode and said active pixel sensor sealing the vacuum chamber of said device;
- an electric field to cause electrons released into the vacuum chamber from said photocathode to move directly to said active pixel sensor;
- and,
- an electrical connection from said active pixel sensor extending out of said vacuum enclosure to feed signals from said sensor for use outside said vacuum.
A low light level camera comprising
- a lens to focus an input image onto an object plane,
- a photocathode at said object plane in position to be exposed to an image focused thereat,
- an active pixel sensor positioned facing said photocathode,
- a vacuum enclosure between said photocathode and said active pixel sensor to facilitate the transfer of electrons from said photocathode directly to said active pixel sensor,
- an electric field to cause electrons released from said photocathode in response to an image focused thereon to move in a spatial relationship conforming to said input image to said active pixel sensor, and
- means to feed outside of said vacuum signals to display the image received at said active pixel sensor outside of said vacuum.
An active pixel sensor chip intended to be used within a vacuum envelope in which the back is thinned.
An active pixel sensor chip to be used within a vacuum envelope with an overlaying phosphor layer to convert electrons impinging on said layer to light within said vacuum envelope and a conductive anode layer overlying said phosphor layer to attenuate light outgoing from said phosphor layer and to drain electrons from the photocathode.
A method of recording low light level images comprising
- projecting an image to be recorded onto a photocathode to cause said photocathode to release electrons in a spatial configuration to the input image into a vacuum chamber,
- positioning an active pixel sensor at a receiving plane of the electron image within the vacuum chamber, and
- directing the output of said active pixel sensor out of said vacuum to a recording device.
A vacuum tube comprising:
- a photocathode in the vacuum to release electrons into the vacuum when said photocathode is exposed to a low light image;
- an active pixel sensor positioned in said tube to receive a electron image from said photocathode;
- a wall structure between said photocathode and said active pixel sensor sealing said photocathode and said sensor within the vacuum chamber of said device;
- an electric field to cause electrons released into the vacuum chamber from said photocathode to move directly to said active pixel sensor in image configuration;
- and,
- an electrical connection from said active pixel sensor extending out of said tube enclosure to feed signals from said sensor for use outside said tube.
An imaging system comprising a photosensitive layer comprising a surface area of a vacuum enclosure to receive an incoming two dimensional image and to generate photoelectrons within said vacuum enclosure in spatial conformity with said incoming image;
- a pixel sensor array in a chip at a surface area of said vacuum enclosure spaced from said photosensitive layer;
- an electronic circuit between said photosensitive layer and said sensor array to apply a voltage to accelerate electrons emitted from said photosensitive layer travelling to said sensor array and to generate electron bombarded sensor gain in said chip;
- integrated timing and control electronics to feed electronic signals from said chip outside of said vacuum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.