DEEP TRAP, LASER ACTIVATED IMAGE CONVERTING SYSTEM

摘要

A system is disclosed for receiving an optical image on the surface of a photoconducting semiconductor, storing the image in deep traps of the semiconductor, and later scanning the semiconductor with a laser beam to empty the deep traps, thereby producing a video signal. The semiconductor is illuminated with photons of energy h nu greater than the band gap DELTA E producing electron-hole pairs in the semiconductor which subsequently fill traps of a depth DELTA Et in energy from the band edges. When the laser beam of low energy photons ( DELTA ET h nu ' DELTA E) excites the trapped electrons and holes out of the traps into the conduction and valence bands, a photoconductivity can be observed.