Streak And Framing Camera Designs Using Surface Acoustic Wave Charge-Transfer Devices

Abstract

Solid state imagers with integrated scanning circuits offer many advantages over beam-scanned camera tubes in cost, reliability, size, and range of applications. Solid state electrical imagers are the realization of available methods for organizing and transferring charges from an image sensing area to electrical readout ports. Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) travelling on a piezoelectric medium have been shown to support charge transfer in a solid state device: charges can be injected into electric potential wells which travel at the acoustic speed and may be collected at a different location on the surface. The principles of SAW charge transfer devices (SAW-CTDs) are reviewed. Design concepts for SAW-CTDs and CCD-CTDs for use as electrical or optical waveform recorders and as imaging devices, e.g. streak and framing cameras operating in single-shot and continuously cycling modes, are presented.