Optical-to-optical image transducer capable of accepting X-radiation

Claim 1

A liquid crystal light valve for accepting and transducing X-radiation, comprising: a layer of liquid crystal for modulating readout light; a dielectric mirror disposed on one side of said liquid crystal layer for reflecting modulated readout light; a photosensor layer disposed adjacent said dielectric mirror and opposite said liquid crystal layer, said photosensor comprising a deposited semiconductor material, said material having a light photoconductivity substantially greater than its dark photoconductivity; at least two transparent electrodes for receiving a bias voltage and applying it across said liquid crystal layer and said photosensor layer, one each disposed adjacent respective opposite sides of said photosensor and liquid crystal layers; at least one transparent substrate layer, said substrate layer being disposed adjacent the transparent electrode which is on the side of said crystal layer opposite said photosensor layer; and a phosphorescent layer, disposed adjacent said photosensor layer and opposite said liquid crystal layer for phosphorescing locally in a pattern corresponding to X-radiation incident thereupon, said local phosphorescence in turn stimulating a local increase in the photoconductivity of said semiconductor material, thereby resulting in local polarization of, and subsequent corresponding light emission from, said liquid crystal layer.

Claim 9

A method of accepting an X-radiation image and converting same into a corresponding output image with light from another source comprising: providing an X-ray image; causing said X-ray image to impinge on a phosphorescent screen so that said screen phosphoresces locally corresponding to the pattern of said impinging X-ray image; causing said local phosphorescence to impinge upon a layer of deposited semiconductor material, said material being capable of being switched between a dark photoconductivity and a light photoconductivity, said light photoconductivity being substantially greater than said dark photoconductivity, so that portions of said material corresponding to said local phosphorescence switch to said light photoconductivity; and applying a bias voltage across said semiconductor layer and a liquid crystal layer so that a current will be conducted by those areas of said semiconductor material which are switched to the light photoconductivity and thereby cause a polarization and light emission from said liquid crystal layer at points corresponding to said switched areas of said semiconductor material.

Claim 10

A method of accepting an X-radiation image and converting same into a corresponding output image with light from another source comprising: providing an X-ray image; causing said X-ray image to impinge on a phosphorescent screen so that said screen phosphoresces locally corresponding to the pattern of said impinging X-ray image; causing said local phosphorescence to impinge upon a layer of deposited semiconductor material, said material being capable of being switched between a dark photoconductivity and a light photoconductivity, said light photoconductivity being substantially greater than said dark photoconductivity, so that portions of said material corresponding to said local phosphorescence switch to said light photoconductivity; and applying a bias voltage across said semiconductor layer and a liquid crystal layer so that a current will be conducted by those areas of said semiconductor material which are switched to the light photoconductivity and thereby cause a polarization and light emission from said liquid crystal layer at points corresponding to said switched areas of said semiconductor material.