New EBCCD with transferred electron photocathode for range-gated active imaging system

Xiaowen Xu; Jin Guo

doi:10.1117/12.479178

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20 September 2002 New EBCCD with transferred electron photocathode for range-gated active imaging system

Xiaowen Xu, Jin Guo

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Proceedings Volume 4919, Advanced Materials and Devices for Sensing and Imaging; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.479178
Event: Photonics Asia, 2002, Shanghai, China

Abstract

A detailed comparison between conventional image intensifiers and electron bombarded CCD (EBCCD) is conducted. These sensors' advantages and drawbacks are analyzed. EBCCD with transferred electron (TE) photocathode and its application in Laser Illuminated Viewing and Ranging (LIVAR) system are shown in details. The TE Photocathode (TEP) developed by Intevac in 1996 has a demonstrated quantum efficiency of 20% or higher over the spectral range between 0.95 and 1.7 μm. The TEP is coupled directly with a CCD chip in an electron bombarded CCD (EBCCD) configuration. The overall noise figure of the EBCCD camera is close to one, approximately half that of a standard Generation-III image intensifier. The EBCCD eliminates the micro-channel plate (MCP), phosphor screen, and fiber optics, and as a result both improved image quality and increased sensitivity can be obtained in a smaller sized camera. Because of the reduction in the number of image conversions and the significantly greater signal-to-noise performance, an EBCCD has higher contrast and resolution than an ICCD. These characteristics make the EBCCD a good candidate for military, helmet-mounted night-vision systems as well as for covert surveillance applications.

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Xiaowen Xu and Jin Guo "New EBCCD with transferred electron photocathode for range-gated active imaging system", Proc. SPIE 4919, Advanced Materials and Devices for Sensing and Imaging, (20 September 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.479178

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