A survey of the development of television pick-up devices

The operation of the Farnsworth Image Dissector and the Cathode Ray Tube Flying Spot Scanner are discussed and the operational sequence of a Flying Spot Film Scanner is described. Before analysing the performances of the various modern camera tubes, the storage principle (the foundation of these designs) is elucidated. The camera tubes can be divided into two groups, those in which the target is stabilized by an electron beam having a high velocity and those in which the target is stabilized by an electron beam of low velocity. Tubes in the first category are the Iconoscope and Image Iconscope. The second group comprises the C.P.S. Emitron, Image Orthicon and Videcon. The ways in which the signal is generated in these tubes are described and, finally, features peculiar to each tube type are discussed and recent improvements in the operation of the Image Iconscope-type tube outlined.