High-speed logarithmic photo-detector
US6177665A · kind A · utility
14Cited by
2References
34Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 8, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jan 23, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 8, 2019 |
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.