Instruments for measuring light pulses clocked at high repetition rate and electron tube devices therefor

Claim 1

An instrument for measuring light pulses generated at a high repetition rate comprising: a streaking camera including a streaking tube, said streaking tube having an envelope with first and second ends and a longitudinal axis, a photocathode located adjacent the first end of said envelope, a phosphor layer located adjacent the second end of said envelope and a pair of deflection electrodes located within said envelope interposed between said photocathode and phosphor layers; optical means for receiving said light pulses and directing said light pulses to said photocathode; a synchronizing signal generator for generating synchronizing signals synchronized with said light pulses; a delay time control signal generator for generating a control signal; a delay circuit having a first input coupled to the output of said synchronizing signal generator and a second input coupled to the output of said delay time control signal generator, said delay circuit successively delaying said synchronizing signals for predetermined intervals in accordance with said control signal; and deflection voltage generating means coupling the output of said delay circuit across said deflection electrodes, electrons emitted from said photocathode traversing said envelope in the direction of said longitudinal axis and being deflected by the voltage across said deflection electrodes to form a streaking image on said phosphor layer which varies with respect to time and extends in a transverse direction perpendicular to said longitudinal axis; sampling means positioned adjacent said phosphor layer and extending perpendicular to said transverse direction, said sampling means sequentially picking up different portions of said streaking image after said electrons have been deflected by said deflection electrodes; a photoelectron multiplier tube having a photocathode for converting the streaking image portions picked up by said sampling means into corresponding electric signals and for multiplying said signals; and an output device coupled to the outputs of said photoelectron multiplier tube and said delay time control signal generator for displaying the output of said photoelectron multiplier tube as a function of the output of said delay time control signal generator.