(STREAK TUBES INDUSTRY & SCIENCE

photonis Photonis develops, manufactures and markets professional tubes and detectors for industry and the scientific community. The company is renowned for the high quality of its products and technical support in the highly-specialised markets for •Photomultiplier tubes • Image intensifier tubes • Neutron detectors • Streak tubes • Single-channel electron multipliers • Micro-channel plates. Photonis sales offices network and selected agents serve customers world-wide. 2

Streak tubes World-class scientific research projects demand the best available technology in all engineering disciplines. And in high-speed signal analysis, Photonis highresolution streak tubes are second-to-none. Renowned for performance and reliability, the tube range meets all requirements for photonic measurements down to a picosecond across the full spectrum. Streak camera manufacturers in particular have an unequalled choice of tubes with which to set the standard in picture resolution and can choose from types for combined streak/frame cameras as well as dedicated types for a specific...

CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATING PRINCIPLE The streak tube (see Fig.1) is an inverter image intensifier with electrostatic focusing capable of resolving high-speed events (transient and recurrent) over a wide range of input wavelengths. It can be used to measure the time variation of light intensity with respect to position (spatially time resolved measurement) or (when used with a monochromator) the time variation of incident light intensity with respect to wavelength (time-resolved spectroscopy). input window photocathode focusing electrode deflection plates screen accelerating electrode output window...

OPERATING MODES Dependent on the type of accelerating electrode and the deflection voltage waveform, a streak tube can be operated in three modes to suit different applications: • the streak mode • the synchroscan mode • the framing mode (only for tubes with a grid or mesh electrode). Streak mode The streak mode is used to study the temporal intensity variation of a single-shot (or low-repetition-rate) one dimensional signal. This signal can be: a slit image (Fig.2.a) or several separate signals (from optical fibres for instance) aligned on an axis (Fig.2.b). In this mode, a ramp voltage is applied...

TUBE SELECTION AND TRADE-OFFS Streak tubes are used in extremely diverse situations, but for optimum performance, a streak tube has to be selected to precisely match individual applications even within one application field. To help designers make the optimum selection, Photonis standard range of streak tubes is more extensive than that of most other tube manufacturers. However, in a few cases, it may be necessary to consider a tube modification or full customdesign. Most streak tubes are designed to operate in one preferred mode (streak, synchroscan or framing). Several tubes, however, have...

PERFORMANCE Framing mode/streak mode tubes A tube designed to operate in the framing mode can also operate in the streak mode. However, such a tube has a lower shutter ratio and slightly lower spatial resolution than one designed specifically for streak mode operation (i.e. one with a slit electrode). Nanosecond/picosecond tubes Tubes having a temporal resolution of 100 ps and above are termed “nanosecond” tubes in this publication. Tubes having a resolution of less than 100 ps are termed “picosecond” tubes. Nanosecond tubes are designed primarily to provide high spatial resolution, picosecond...

CATHODE SPECTRAL SENSITIVITY CHARACTERISTICS curve curve curve curve curve U: standard multi-alkali on sapphire window K: standard multi-alkali on fiber optic window L: ERMA on fiber optic window I: S1 on glass window F: ERMA on glass window GLOSSARY OF CHARACTERISTICS Static spatial resolution A measure of the ability of the tube to delineate picture detail. It is the maximum number of line-pairs/mm that can be distinguished when a blackand-white strip pattern is focused on the photocathode. It is measured at the centre of the photocathode. TABLE NOTES Temporal resolution Two definitions are...

TUBE DIMENSIONS 266 max 250 max Ø102 max Ø102 max screen photocathode screen photocathode P510 - P520 P500X 310 max Ø102 max Ø141 max photocathode screen P552X 159* max *149 for P930 - 220 for P940 Ø90 max screen photocathode P910- P920 - P940 10 P930 screen

bilamellar electron optics photocathode extraction electrode shutter electrode electrode beam photon beam focusing lens pre-focusing lens (time axis) (time axis) quadrupolar lens (spatial axis) screen Fig. 3 Electron optics of a bilamellar tube (P850X) showing the main components: - a slotted aperture extraction electrode located very close to the photocathode - a quadrupolar lens for spatial focusing - two separate unidirectional lenses for vertical electron-beam compression and temporal focusing respectively - a plate deflection system deflection plates The input electrode configuration of...

P800 bilamellar familly variants The P800 family consists of two main versions for the visible spectrum: the P820 and P840 and various open X-ray tubes: the P851X, P852X and P860X. P820 The P820 is very well adapted for single-shot streak mode operation (or low repetition rate). The photocathode size with the high resolution of 25 lp/mm is suitable for the analysis of a large number of pixels or optical channels. P820 is a very compact tube with only 282 mm total lentgh. P840 Including an MCP amplification, the P840 has a very good temporal resolution (less than 1 picosecond) for faint signals....

more information Product specifications are available on request for more information on the performance of Photonis streak tubes. See also: P500 family «New streak tubes of the P500 series: features and experimental results», J.C. Rebuffie1) and A. Mens2), paper presented at the 19th. Int. Congress of High Speed Photography and Photonics, Cambridge, England, Sep. 1990. P552X «P552 X-ray streak tube with removablephotocathode, improved spatial resolution and temporal fudicial», J. de Mascureau, J-L Bourgade, A. Mens, R. Sauneuf2) and J.C. Rebuffie1), J.P Roux3), High . Speed Photography, Videography...