A LARGE AREA X-RAY SENSITIVE VIDEO TUBE FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

THIS PROPOSAL IS FOR X-RAY RADIOLOGICAL IMAGING OF OBJECTS IMPORTANT TO THE NAVY WHICH REQUIRE: X-RAY ENERGIES IN THE RANGE OF 1-10 MEV; LARGE AREAS TO BE IMAGED; EXCELLENT SPATIAL RESOLUTION WITH WIDE DYNAMIC RANGE; A VIDEO SIGNAL READ-OUT FOR INJECTION INTO A DIGITAL IMAGE ACQUISITION, PROCESSING, DISPLAY AND ARCHIVAL STORAGE SYSTEM; EXPOSURES FOLLOWED BY READ-OUT WITHOUT THE NEED FOR CHANGING THE POSITION OF THE IMAGING DEVICE. A LARGE AREA, X-RAY SENSITIVE VIDEO TUBE IS PROPOSED TO MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS BASED ON USING DISPLAY ELECTRON-OPTICS WITH ITS VERY HIGH VELOCITY ELECTRON BEAM. IT AVOIDS THE INTRINSIC LIMITATIONS OF THE CONVENTIONAL LOW VELOCITY TUBE WHICH HAVE PREVENTED IT FROM BEING USED IN LARGE AREA APPLICATIONS FOR RADIOLOGY. PHASE I REQUIRES A THEORETICAL ANALYSIS TO DEMONSTRATE FEASIBILITY OF; 1. A MODEL BASED ON THE MECHANISMS OF DEVICE OPERATION. 2. THE AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS FOR (AND STRUCTURE OF) A SENSOR-TARGET. 3. THE DESIGN OF A TUBE FOR A REPRESENTATIVE NAVAL NDT APPLICATION.