A silicon diode array scan converter for high-speed transient recording

A double-ended scan converter tube has recently been developed which uses a silicon diode array for the storage target. The purpose of the device is to capture high-speed single transients or low-repetition-rate signals and to retain the information until it can be read out at speeds slow enough for handling by conventional processing and display circuits. Improvements in wide-bandwidth deflection and the resolution of both writing and reading guns, combined with a charge gain of 2000 in the target, enables data to be stored at unprecedented rates. Information writing speeds of 2 × 10¹²tracewidths/s are possible with the device, sufficient for displaying a full-screen 2-GHz Sine wave. To reliably digitize the readout for signal processing, a signal-to-noise ratio of about 20:1 is required which the device, will provide at speeds up to 5 × 10¹¹tracewidths/s. Resolution at a 50-percent modulation level is 400 TV lines per horizontal scan (15.7 cycles/mm at the target).