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Photoemmissive sensors detect light by using photoemission to eject electrons from a photocathode material when photons strike it. These electrons are accelerated by electric fields and directed towards a detection amplifier. This allows the sensors to detect photon streams as electric currents or individual particles. They provide high time resolution up to nanoseconds and excellent spatial resolution. While having moderate quantum efficiencies of 10-40%, photoemmissive sensors are unmatched for sensitivity at room temperature, leading to uses in applications like night vision. Common features include operating in vacuum, limitations from optical windows, high bandwidths up to gigahertz, and ability to be manufactured with millions of pixels.

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24 views7 pages

Transducer N

Photoemmissive sensors detect light by using photoemission to eject electrons from a photocathode material when photons strike it. These electrons are accelerated by electric fields and directed towards a detection amplifier. This allows the sensors to detect photon streams as electric currents or individual particles. They provide high time resolution up to nanoseconds and excellent spatial resolution. While having moderate quantum efficiencies of 10-40%, photoemmissive sensors are unmatched for sensitivity at room temperature, leading to uses in applications like night vision. Common features include operating in vacuum, limitations from optical windows, high bandwidths up to gigahertz, and ability to be manufactured with millions of pixels.

Uploaded by

Manchu Rai
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Photoemmissive sensor

Summary
Photoemission refers to a process in which the absorption of a photon by a sample of material
results in ejection of an electron. If the electron can be captured, this process can be used to detect
light. Photoemmissive detectors use electric or magnetic fields or both to accelerate the ejected
electron into an amplifier. At the amplifier output, the photon stream can be detected as a current
or even as an individual particle. These detectors are capable of very high time resolution (up to
10-9 s) even with sensitive areas several centimeters in diameter. They can also provide excellent
spatial resolution either with electronic readouts or by displaying amplified versions of the input
light pattern on their output screens. They have moderately good quantum efficiencies of 10–40%
in the visible and near infrared; in some cases, significantly higher values apply in the ultraviolet.
They are unmatched in sensitivity at room temperature or with modest cooling, leading to many
important applications. In addition, they provide unequalled performance in the ultraviolet. They
can be readily manufactured with 106 or more pixels. If the photon arrival rate is low enough that
they can distinguish individual photons, the detectors are extremely line

Common Features of Photoemmissive Detectors


Although photoemmissive detectors differ in various details, they typically have some common
features:
• Due to the use of electrons, they usually need to be operated in a high vacuum. (For some
phototubes, a gas-filled tube is used.) The detected light, when coming through air, must
therefore always first pass an optical window, which sometimes limits the spectral
response. (In rare cases, photoemmissive detectors work together with other devices in a
joint high vacuum, so that an optical window is not required.)
• Apart from the influence of the optical window, their spectral response is determined by the
electrical and optical properties of their photocathode, which are available mostly for the
ultraviolet, visible and near infrared spectral region.

The responsivity can be high despite a low quantum efficiency, but that introduces excess
noise.

• Their quantum efficiency is normally substantially lower than what can be achieved with
photodiodes at least in certain spectral regions – often well below 50%. This is a substantial
disadvantage over photodiodes for the detection of very faint light, e.g. in photon counting.
The loss of some of the photons means excess noise.
• On the other hand, detectors without current multiplication produce little additional noise
(excess noise). Those with current multiplication have additional noise from the
amplification, but have a very high responsivity; this makes it much simpler to avoid
substantial influences of electronic noise from the following electronic amplifier.

A high bandwidth in combination with high sensitivity can be valuable.

• The detection bandwidth of photoemmissive detectors is often very high – e.g. in the
megahertz or even gigahertz region.

• The required operation voltages are in general substantially higher than for photodetectors
based on the internal photoelectric effect, such as photodiodes. Phototubes may be operated
with voltages of the order of 100 V, but photomultipliers typically require substantially
more, e.g. 1 kV.
• The active area can be made relatively large, often without a substantial penalty concerning
the detection bandwidth.
• Some detectors allow for fast gating, i.e., for fast switching of the sensitivity. For example,
there are imaging detectors which can be made sensitive only for a very short time interval,
e.g. for taking images at variable times after a certain event. If they also apply strong

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photoelectron multiplication, the sensitivity can be high enough even for very short
exposure times.

Figure 1.1

• The light-sensitive electrode is called a photocathode.


• The photocathode surface is coated with a Photoemmissive material, i.e., one that releases
electrons when struck by light of the wavelength that is to be detected. Examples are Sb-Cs,
Sb-K-Cs, and Ag-O-Cs.
• The resulting current, called the “photocurrent” is proportional to the number of photons
striking the photocathode each second.
=

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Figure 1.2

Figure 1.3

• Some night vision imaging systems make use of a device called a Microchannel plate,
which contains millions of microscopic Capillaries.
• The inside surfaces of the capillaries are coated so as to act like long Dynodes.
• This type of night imaging system can intensify both visible and near Infrared light.

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Figure 1.4

Operation
1. Photons hit a light-sensitive Material, releasing free electrons

2 Electrons are collected in anode. Farming a


3.The current is measured, and is dependent on photon intensity and frequency
current

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Figure 1.5

Vacuum Phototube

• Consists of rod anode and curvature cathode in the vacuum glass.


• Cathode is coated with emissive materials that emit electron when light radiation
occur on them.
• Stable, consistent characteristics over time .When operate at low voltage and
protected against excessive light.
• Moderate sensitivity due to small current flow in the vacuum tube

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ADVANTAGE
(1) The emission is instantaneous

(ii) the maximum current is proportional to the intensity of radiation.

› (iii)increased sensitivity.

DISADVANTAGE
• Generates extremely small current.

• Direct power supply required for photomultiplier.

• More expensive. Can be replaced by silicon diode detectors.

Drawbacks of gas filled cell

Photo- electric current does not vary linearly with intensity of light

Application
There is no time lag between the incident light and the flow of electrons and hence current,
therefore such cell in Used in

Television

Photometry

Fire-alarm

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