Kenkichi Tanioka

Color video camera capable of 1,000,000 fps with triple ultrahigh-speed image sensors

We developed an ultrahigh-speed, high-sensitivity, color camera that captures moving images of phenomena too fast to be perceived by the human eye. The camera operates well even under restricted lighting conditions. It incorporates a special CCD device that is capable of ultrahigh-speed shots while retaining its high sensitivity. Its ultrahigh-speed shooting capability is made possible by directly connecting CCD storages, which record video images, to photodiodes of individual pixels. Its large photodiode area together with the low-noise characteristic of the CCD contributes to its high sensitivity. The camera can clearly capture events even under poor light conditions, such as during a baseball game at night. Our camera can record the very moment the bat hits the ball.

Ultrahigh-sensitivity new super-HARP camera

NHK led the world in developing a high-sensitivity Super-HARP pickup tube using the avalanche multiplication effect. The authors have now developed an improved version (2/3- inch, with electromagnetic focusing and electromagnetic deflection) which is eight times more sensitive and has much better lag characteristics. The handy New Super-HARP color camera which uses this newly-developed pickup tube has higher sensitivity than human vision (2000 lux, F/110 equivalent), negligible low lag, and a limiting resolution of over 700 TV lines. It will be a powerful tool in emergency news gathering at night, the production of scientific programs, and other applications.

Super-high-sensitive camera tube for HDTV hand-held cameras

We have developed a compact HDTV camera tube that combines high sensitivity with high resolution and is compact enough for hand-held cameras. This new camera tube employs an 8-micrometers -thick HARP (High-gain Avalanche Rushing amorphous Photoconductor) target. Unlike other photoconductors, this target is unique in that its sensitivity can be increased to very high levels to cope with darker illumination. In addition, we have achieved high resolution over the entire picture through the use of a new all-electrostatic focusing and deflection system in the 18-mm-diameter tube that facilitates the use of a narrow electron beam while assuring the optimal suppression of aberration. a prototype hand-held HDTV camera equipped with three of these camera tubes has attained a maximum sensitivity of 2,000 lux at f/25 (normal gain) and a limiting resolution of more than 1,400 TV lines.

One-inch all-electrostatic super-HARP tube and camera for HDTV: a new possibility for very dark images with superfine resolution

A 1-inch HDTV super-HARP camera tube with excellent compatibility between super sensitivity and high picture quality was developed using a newly devised super-HARP target and all-electrostatic electron optical system. A new camera equipped with the tubes demonstrated sensitivity 80 times higher than that of conventional Saticon cameras and an AR response of 45% at 800 TV lines with excellent uniformity over the entire picture area.