£ 44-V. 79Th2%/Wee
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
35 () 392 SR XR 3,083,262 March 26, 1963 J. M. N. HANLET 3,083,262 SOLID STATE CAMERA. APPARATUS AND SYSTEM Filed Nov. 25, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2s 2 Maw 2-arra/ 72.7-20 £ 44-v. 79th2%/wee March 26, 1963 J. M. N. HANET 3,083,262 SOLID STATE CAMERA. APPARATUS AND SYSTEM Filed Nov. 25, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 '-ll/ 227 2% 26% 24;rez/ 225 aw/2/ -242% Ma/12AMYaa. M2/ea 4ezzra/Waza' zzra/ 3,083,262 United States Patent Office Patented Mar. 26, 1963 2 A further object of the invention is to provide such an 3,083,262 improved electronic camera which is capable of resolu SOLID STATE CAMERA APPARATUS AND SYSTEM tion limited only by the wave-length of the incident light Jacques M. N. Hanlet, Pacific Palisades, Calif., assignor and by the optical characteristics of the optical system, to Electro Radiation, Inc., Santa Mosaica, Calif., a cor which resolution is unaffected by the structure of size of poration of Delaware the unit. Filed Nov. 25, 1960, Ser. No. 71,773 The features of the invention which are believed to be 13 Claims. (C. 178-7.1) new are set forth with particularly in the claims. The in vention itself, however, together with further objects and The present invention relates to a new and improved 0. advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference solid state apparatus and system for storing, by molecular to the following specification when considered in conjunc effects, a visual image of a scene or object, and for sub tion with the accompanying drawings in which: sequently converting the stored image into electrical FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a photosensitive signals. storage unit which is constructed in accordance with the The usual device for converting a pictorial Scene or 5 concepts of the invention and which forms a component of image into electrical signals is the present-day IconoScope. the electronic camera apparatus and system of the in The Iconoscope is a scanning device, and it receives a vention; visual image and transforms the image into an electrical FIGURE 2 is a representation of a scanning system signal. This device has a photosensitive surface; and which permits a multiplicity of light beams to be suc it also includes an electron gun, and a suitable focusing 20 cessively incident upon a surface of the storage unit of means for the electron beam emanating from the gun. FIGURE 1 at successive localized areas of the surface so The photosensitive surface of the Inconoscope is a that a light beam is effectively repeatedly scanned in a mosaic structure composed of a multiplicity of photo line and field sequence over that surface; elements. The image to be stored in the Iconoscope and FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary circuit diagram illustrating transformed into electrical signals is focused onto the 25 in schematic form the manner in which scanning signals mosaic photosensitive surface, and its light and shade are effective in the scanning system of FIGURE 2 to values cause a plurality of capacitive elements associated activate in succession a plurality of light shutters therein, with respective ones of the photo-elements to assume cor this diagram being useful in explaining the operation of responding electric charges. the system of FIGURE 2; As the mosaic of the Iconoscope is scanned by an elec 30 FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a light-emitting unit tron beam; the resulting current flow through the ca which may conveniently form a light source for use in the pacitive elements, and through a common output imped electronic camera unit and system of the invention; ance, represents in electrical form the light and shade FIGURE 5 is a rear view of the unit of FIGURE 4 and values of the stored image. The resulting electrical out illustrative of the manner in which the unit may be adapted put signal appearing across the common impedance is 35 to constitute a source of Scanning signals for the system representative, therefore, of the image stored in the of FIGURE 2; and IconoScope. FIGURE 6 is a schematic representation of an elec The prior art Iconoscope, as described above, is a some tronic camera apparatus and system constructed in ac what bulky and cumbersome piece of equipment, and it is cordance with one embodiment of the invention. relatively difficult and expensive to construct. In addi 40 The properties of ferroelectricity are observed in cer tion, the image can be stored in the Iconoscope for a tain crystalline dielectrics which have reversible polariza limited time interval only, due to leakage of the capacitive tion as shown by a dielectric hysteresis loop. Such mate elements. The present invention provides a new and im rials have a domain structure which is visible in polarized proved solid state electronic camera wheih utilizes the light. These domains result from a twinning in the fer principle of ferroelectricity and photoconductivity for roelectric crystal. When such twinning is repeated in storing visual images by molecular effects, and for Sub the same plane, it gives rise to a series of lamellae which sequently converting the stored visual images into corre may be oriented with respect to the optical axis in re sponding electrical signals. sponse to an electric signal applied across the unit. It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to The properties and principles discussed in the preceding provide a new and improved solid state electronic camera 50 paragraph are used in conjunction with photo-conductive unit which is capable of operating at a high rate of Speed, principles to constitute the photo-sensitive storage unit of and which is capable of electronically registering a visible FIGURE 1. This unit, as will be described, forms an im image and of retaining the image for any desired length portant component in the electronic camera apparatus of of time. the invention. Another object of the invention is to provide such an 55 The electronic camera apparatus to be described in improved solid state electronic camera unit which can be conjunction with FIGURE 6 is composed of a photo small in size and which can be energized by relatively low sensitive storage unit of the type referred to above. The level signals. visual image to be transformed into electrical signals is A further object of the invention is to provide Such an projected onto one surface of the photo-sensitive unit, and improved solid state electronic camera in which the 60 the image is stored in the unit. The electronic camera of storing of the visual image in the camera, the reading of the invention also includes a scanning system for effec the stored image to convert its light and shade values to tively causing a light spot to be scanned over the other elecrtical signals, and the erasing of the stored visual surface of the photo-sensitive storage unit to transform image, may be accomplished with a minimum of as the stored image into video electrical signals. The elec sociated electronic circuitry. 65 tronic camera unit of the invention further includes a Yet another object of the invention is to provide such light source, and it includes a source of Scanning signals an improved electronic camera which is capable of reg for the scanning System. istering the visual image in an extremely short time An appropriate photo-sensitive storage unit 100 is interval, and which is capable of scanning the image for shown in FIGURE 1. The visual image to be converted read-out purposes in as long an interval as may be desired, 70 into electrical signals is projected onto one surface of the so as to permit slow analysis of the stored image and rela unit 100, and the image is stored in the unit. The storage tively narrow transmission frequency bands. unit 100 of FIGURE 1, is constructed as a sandwich 8,083,262 3 4. like assembly. The assembly includes a layer 102 of a localized areas across the ferroelectric layer 102 will, ferroelectric material and a layer 104 of a photo-con therefore, be proportional to the intensity of light reach ductive material disposed in side-by-side relationship. ing the photo-conductive layer in each instance; which, These two layers are sandwiched between two transparent in turn, is dependent upon the light or shade values of electrically conductive electrodes 106 and 107. These the stored image in that particular instance. layers and electrodes may be formed, for example, by Since the voltage from the source is reversed during the vapor phase reactions. The transparent electrodes 106 polarized light spot scanning action described above, the and 107 may be made, for example, of rare metals such resulting current flow through the unit 100 causes the as gold or bismuth, or oxides thereof. When these domain rotations in the ferroelectric layer 102 to be in metals are evaporated in a vacuum, they provide a high O the opposite direction to the rotations produced by the transparency in the visible spectrum, and they also ex stored image. Also, the rotations during the light spot hibit relatively high electrical conductivity. It is well Scanning continues in each instance until the particular known that either organic or inorganic monocrystalline polarized light spot projected through the ferroelectric ferroelectric materials can be deposited as thin films layer is cut off. Therefore, as the scanning action pro from a vapor phase reaction. 5 ceeds, the stored image is concurrently erased from the The ferroelectric layer 102 may be composed of any unit 160. At the end of each scanning operation, there suitable known ferroelectric material, and the photo-con fore, the unit 100 is ready to receive a new image.