图像增强管

百度用户名：光学设备专家著
本文章除笔者外，只允许百度转载。

An image intensifier (I2) tube is a device that intensifies (or amplifies) low light level images to levels that can be seen with the human eye or detected by digital image sensors. 图像增强管是将微光放大到可以被人眼看见或被数字图像感应器感应到的水平的装置。

All modern I2 tubes consist of three main components, a photocathode, a Microchannel Plate (MCP) and a phosphor screen. The characteristics of each component, as well as the careful consideration of any available options, will contribute to the overall quality of the resulting image.
所有现代的图像增强管都由三个主要部分组成，一个光电阴极、一个微通路板和一个荧光屏。

每个组成部分的特性及对于任何可能性的认真考量，都会影响最终图像的整体质量。

Image Intensifier Tubes collect the existing ambient light through the objective lens of the night vision device.
图像增强器通过夜视仪的物镜搜集环境光。

The light may originate from natural sources, such as starlight or moonlight, or from artificial sources such as streetlights or infrared illuminators.
光可能产生自自然界，比如星光、月光，或人造光源，比如街灯、红外发光器。

The low level of incoming light, which consists of photons, enters the tube through its input window and strikes the photocathode.
微弱的由光子组成的入射光，通过入射窗口进入增强管然后打在光电阴极上。

The photocathode is a very thin light sensitive layer deposited on the inside of the I2 input window that converts the photons into electrons and releases them into the vacuum of the tube.
光电阴极是一个装置在入射窗口内部的非常薄的感光层，它把光子穿变成电子并将它们释放到增强管的真空中。

All modern I2 tubes operate under a vacuum of about 10-9 to 10-10 torrs, which is essential to protect the photocathode from oxidation and rapid destruction.
所有现代的图像增强管都在10-9至10-10托尔的压力下运转，这对于防止光电阴极氧化和迅速毁坏非常关键。

Once released by the photocathode, these photo-electrons are accelerated and focused by a high electrical field towards the MCP.
一旦被光电阴极释放，这些光电子就被高电场加速并聚集在电子倍增器微通道板上。

The MCP is a thin glass disc, less than a half a millimeter thick, which contains millions of small channels.
电子倍增器微通道板是一个薄玻璃盘，不到半毫米厚，它包含数百万个微通道。

When an electron coming from the photocathode strikes the inner wall of one channel, several secondary electrons are generated by the impact.
当一个从光电阴极而来的电子撞击到一个微通道的内壁上，数个二次电子就在撞击中产生出来。

Each of these secondary electrons will in turn be accelerated within the MCP by another high electrical field, once again striking the inner wall of the channel, and generating even more secondary electrons.
每个二次电子都会在电子倍增器微通道板内被另一个高电场轮流加速，再次撞击通道内壁，并产生更多二次电子。

This process is repeated along the depth of the MCP channels.
这个过程就着电子倍增器微通道板的通道的深度被重复。

For each electron that enters the MCP, approximately one thousand electrons are generated and subsequently accelerated from the output of the MCP by a third electrical field towards the phosphor screen.
每个进入电子倍增器微通道板的电子，都被生成大约1000个电子并由电子倍增器微通道板输出被三分之一电场向着荧光屏不断地加速。

The phosphor screen is a thin phosphorous light emitting layer deposited on the inside of the output window of the intensifier tube (usually fiber optics) which converts the electrons back into photons.
荧光屏是一个被放置在图像增强管输出窗口里面的磷发光薄层。

（通常为将电子转变回光子的光纤）
When the multiplied flow of electrons out of the MCP strike that layer, tens of thousands of photons will be generated for every single photon that was initially converted by the photocathode.
当乘数增加的电子流，从电子倍增器微通道板出来撞击那个薄层，最初被光电阴极转化的每一个光子都会产生数以千计的光子。

This entire multistage process creates an “intensified” image, much brighter than the original image, which can subsequently be seen by the human eye.
这整个多阶段的过程形成了一个“被增强的”图像，比最初图像亮很多，结果它可以被人眼观测到。