High-speed logarithmic photo-detector
US6002122A · kind A · utility
39Cited by
4References
14Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 23, 1998 |
| Grant date | Dec 14, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 23, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J43/30
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
According to the present invention, a photomultiplier tube is used with a high-speed feedback mechanism to continuously modulate the gain of the tube in response to the size of the input signal. The gain of the tube and the anode current are independently converted to ideal logarithms. These signals are then subtracted from one another to reconstruct a true logarithmic representation of the optical signal. This log-light-level signal has a higher dynamic range and faster temporal response than has previously been achieved by other methods.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.