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| Detection & Imaging Tubes |
Photomultipliers and photocells are light-detecting tubes used in electric eyes, video cameras and various astronomical applications. Photocells are simple gas-filled devices consisting of a photocathode and anode, while photomultipliers, or PMT's are more complex high-vacuum devices. PMT's are extremely sensitive, some capable of detecting single photons. They amplify their photocathode's extremely small signal by passing the discharge through a chain of specialized electrodes called dynodes, which are each held at a successively higher voltage potential. In 9-stage PMT's, the voltage difference between photocathode and anode are typically in the range of 1000V, though they can be operated at lower voltages with a corresponding decrease in signal amplification. The sensitivity of a PMT is expressed in the form of quantum efficiency, a percentage describing the ratio between the number of incoming photons versus the number of electrons produced by the photocathode. |
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| EMI 9826B | |
The EMI 9826B is a small end view photomultipler tube designed for use in the scintillation counters used within positron emission (PET) medical scanners. The 9826B has a peak wavelength of 420 nanometers and is characterized as having a high speed response and immunity to magnetic fields within a relatively compact package. The unusual base is designed to facilitate testing; even though the tube is a flying lead type, it's long gold leads have been welded to a 14 pin button base. This is so the customer can insert the tube into a test fixture for characterization prior to installation in a final device, at which point the button base would be clipped off. |  |
| General Electric 1P24 | |
The 1P24, manufactured by General Electric, is a small cartridge type phototube designed for use in World War 2 era T-4 rocket fuses. This device takes the word 'vacuum tube' to a literal level... the interior of the tube is little more than empty space. One end of the device contains the anode, while the other end contains both the photocathode and evacuation nipple. The photocathode has a small hole in the center, which allows air to escape the tube during the pump-down process. The interior of this tube is a complete vacuum, unlike many other photocells which are filled with an inert gas such as argon. When installed in a photoelectric rocket fuse, the 1P24 would be surrounded with an annular lens that would provide a 5 degree field of view in a ring around the entire circumference of the rocket. As the rocket passes alongside an enemy aircraft, the craft's shadow would fall on the annular lens, triggering the rocket to detonate. RMA 1P24 Phototube Datasheet (PDF, 55kb) |  |
| Sylvania P607 | |
The Sylvania P607 is a fairly common UV sensitive photocell designed for use in flame detection systems. Flame detectors are typically used in boilers and furnaces to detect the presence of a flame in the combustion chamber. Flame detectors also see some use in fire suppression systems, where they can be used to sound an alarm or activate a sprinkler system when a flame is detected. The internal construction of the P607 is extremely simple and contains only two small loops of wire; one loop acts as a light sensitive cathode, and the other receives the electrons which are released from the cathode when it is struck by UV light. The P607 is designed to operate from a 600V AC line frequency power source, and as such the cathode and anode would reverse position every time the current inverted polarity. Boilers and furnaces have long lives and as a result, this device is still in common use. Honeywell produces a part, the Honeywell 18838, that is generally considered a safe replacement for this tube. |  |
| EMI 9536 | |
The EMI 9536A is a large, 10 stage photomultiplier tube intended for use in scintillation counters and similar equipment. Of note is the tube's use of 'venetian blind' dynodes, which increase resistance to magnetic fields as well as giving the tube a very distinct appearance when viewed through its end window. The tube has a 14 pin diheptal base similar to the type used on many large end-window photomultipler tubes. The 9536A is considered to be a direct replacement for the Dumont 6292, RCA 6342 and Hamamatsu 7696 and can be used interchangeably with these parts The example shown here was originally the property of the Ohio State University physics department. New tubes were shipped from EMI in a ridiculously oversized padded carton, which locked the tube in place with 5-inch foam baffles on all six sides. EMI 9536A Datasheet (PDF, 2218kb) |  |
| RCA 5583 | |
The RCA 5583 is a small, common, gas-filled phototube with a curved side-viewing photocathode. This tube has a spectral response of S-4, with a peak sensitivity falling at around 400 nanometers. This tube has a 'pewee 3-pin' phenolic base similar to that used on many other photocells, though only two of the pins are connected internally. The tube produces a purple discharge under the influence of an ionizing field, and is likely filled with argon gas. The RCA 5583 has a maximum anode voltage of 100 volts. Tubes like this were commonly used in the sound-reproducing sections of film movie projectors, which stored sound data as an optically visible band on a strip of film. |  |
| EMR 18 Stage Photomultiplier (Unknown P/N) | |
This device, made by EMR, is complicated high-gain photomultiplier tube designed for use in satellites and underground oil prospecting equipment. The tube is built around 18 dynodes formed into a single vacuum envelope, which is constructed from multiple layers of kovar and glass that have been induction fused into a solid package. Each kovar ring acts as an external pin for the device, with glass encapsulated resistors installed at the factory to form the voltage divider for the dynodes. The side viewing window at the top of the device also contains the tube's evacuation nipple, as well as providing an entry point for the vaporized metals that form this tube's photocathode. During manufacture a glass compartment filled with photocathode material would be attached to the nipple. Electric heaters built into the compartment would vaporize the photocathode material, which would enter the tube and coat the window. We do not know the exact part number of this device, but it appears externally similar to an EMR 541 venetian blind phototube. EMR photomultipler tubes are normally potted into a protective black cylinder of rubbery material with only the front window exposed. The example shown here has had it's outer rubbery shell stripped away, allowing the complex internal construction to be seen. |  |
| Honeywell 113228 | |
This long narrow device is a special type of phototube, designed to detect UV light. Unlike most phototubes which have an argon fill, this tube is filled with neon, which can be seen through the tube's clear tip if the tube is ionized. The 113228 is used almost exclusively in Honeywell Purple Peeper and Mini Peeper industrial flame sensors. It can be difficult to find sockets for the small three-pin base. |  |
| RCA 1P21 | |
The 1P21 is a circular cage side-viewing photomultiplier designed for extremely low light applications. The tube has nine photomultiplier stages contained within a lime glass envelope mounted on a humidity-stable beige base. The RCA 1P21 outputs its maximum amplification at 380 nanometers. This tube is capable of detecting single photons, and will be destroyed if powered up while exposed to ambient light. |  |
| Hamamatsu R1250 | |
The R1250, with a length of 10 inches and a diameter of 130mm, is a monster of a photomultiplier. This tube, designed for use in scintillation counters, is a 14 stage device with a peak spectral response of 420nm. The outside surface of the device has bee wrapped in a black plastic coating to prevent light contamination when the tube is installed in a piece of equipment. The tube uses a large 20 pin base; sockets are undoubtedly hard to find. |  |
| RCA 1P40 | |
The RCA 1P40 is a fairly standard example of a cold cathode photocell tube. The tube contains a centrally located anode and a curved photosensitive cathode, most likely coated with cesium. The 1P40 has an argon fill gas and an octal base, though only five of the pins on the base have been populated. The 1P40 is sensitive to red and infrared light - an S1 spectral response. |  |
| GM Labs #2 Visitron | |
'Visitron' is yet another brand name concocted by tube companies to take a pedestrian argon filled phototube and make it sound new and exciting to the consumer. Despite the cloying name, the tube itself is actually quite attractive, with a large curved envelope and a four-pin phenolic base. Interestingly, these tubes appear to be individually serial numbered; the example shown here is numbered 304,279, which would represent a shockingly large production run if it is to be believed. |  |
| RCA 1P41 | |
The 1P41 is an end-viewing miniature phototube with a small phenolic three pin base. The tube has a spectral response of S-1 and is filled with a low pressure argon gas. According to RCA, this tube is intended for relay applications and is optimized to detect infrared light in the 800 nanometer range. This tube uses the same 3 pin socket as those used by Honeywell 113228 Purple Peeper phototubes. |  |
| Teltron 1149 Orthicon | |
An Orthicon tube is a large camera image sensor that saw widespread use in television broadcast cameras from the 1940's to 1980s. Orthicon tubes incorporate a transparent photosensitive plate that is scanned from behind by an electron gun; this allows all the components of the tube to be arranged linearly, a significant advantage over the unwieldy Iconoscope tubes they were designed to replace. Iconoscope camera tubes had an opaque photocathode material that required the scanning electron gun to be placed in front of the point where light entered the tube. This example, an 1149 tube made by Teltron, is fairly representative of the construction style used in Orthicon tubes. Though Teltron is best known nowadays for their physics and educational tubes, they were prolific producers of camera imaging tubes during the Cold War. |  |
| RCA 7038 | |
A Vidicon tube is a sort of 'reverse CRT'. Instead of sweeping a beam of electrons across a phosphor coating to display a picture, Vidicon tubes sweep an electron beam across a photosensitive target to generate an image from the light striking the target. The 7038 is a fairly standard Vidicon tube, with a length of 5.6 inches and a diameter of 1.1 inches. Vidicon tubes were a staple in the construction of security cameras up until the 1990s, many of which are still in service to this day. Whenever grainy, crummy security camera footage is preposterously enhanced in a TV crime drama, a Vidicon tube likely was to blame. |  |
| RCA 921 | |
The 921 is a cartridge style side-viewing phototube with an argon fill gas. The tube has an unusual form factor, with two metal caps fritted to the ends of a glass tube. Each cap acts as one pin for the device, with one cap being equipped with a snap connector. As with the 1P41, this tube is intended primarily for relay applications. |  |
| Varian 0981-82850-301 | |
The Varian 0981-82850-301 is a thoria iridium ion source for use in Varian gas detectors. The device is barely a vacuum tube, as it has no glass envelope; the envelope for the tube remains attached to the gas detector. To protect the ion source from a world of dirty humans, the device is shipped in a protective plastic cylinder, which contains stern warnings to handle the device by its base only to prevent fouling of the pre-cleaned surfaces. |  |
| RCA 931A | |
The RCA 931A is a side viewing, nine-stage photomultiplier tube, an improved version of the original 931. Tubes of this type do not produce an image; instead they are designed to measure and amplify very weak sources of light for use in astronomy and nuclear physics. This tube was manufactured with both a black and tan bases. The tan base is made of a special material that is more resistant to humidity, and as such is more desirable than the black base variant. Some modern versions of the 931A are also produced with a red base, but are electrically identical. |  |
| Fairchild DuMont 6467 | |
The DuMont 6467 is a top view 10-stage photomultiplier built into a long flat top envelope. Instead of employing the 9-stage circular configuration popularized by RCA, the 6467 has a linear array of silver-magnesium dynodes, which provide a high signal-to-noise ratio at low light levels. The 6467 has a S-4 spectral response, with sensitivity peaking between 350 and 450nm. DuMont Laboratories was bought out by Fairchild Camera & Instrument in 1960, and later versions of this tube are marked with Fairchild branding. |  |
| Hamamatsu R444 | |
The Hamamatsu R444 is a side-view nine stage photomultipler, packaged in a compact tubular envelope. This diminutive tube could be one of the smallest circular cage photomultipliers ever made, the R444's envelope is only 12mm in diameter. The tube's circular cage is packaged between two ceramic disks with connections exiting on both sides to mate with the base and anode cap. The R444's tiny 11 pin button base also includes a central evacuation nipple. Sockets for this tube can be difficult to find. |  |
| Sylvania REDBLUE 13-27681-4 | |
The Sylvania 13-27681-4 REDBLUE is a rather nondescript circular cage photomultipler designed exclusively for use in Sylvania flying spot scanners. A flying spot scanner is a type of early optical imaging system, which uses a beam projected from a high brightness CRT to scan slides and film. The light from this beam was split into separate color channels and directed onto a set of three photomultiplier tubes to generate a RGB brightness signal for each line of the scanned image. Sylvania binned specific photomutiplier tubes for sensitivity to the RGB spectrum for use in this scanning process. The 13-27681-4 REDBLUE has been graded for use on the red and blue channels. |  |
| Raytheon A704 | |
With an envelope size of just over an inch, the A704 is one of the smallest phototubes ever made. This tiny two pin tube does not even have any discrete internal components, the photocathode is just a chemical, most likely a lead sulfide photoconductor, painted onto the back wall of the envelope. The tube has an argon fill gas, but its specifications are otherwise unknown. |  |
| Cetron CE-36 | |
The Cetron CE-36 is a cylindrical miniature phototube with a three pin base. This tube has a side viewing photocathode and is filled with low pressure argon gas. According to the reference book Tube Lore, the CE-36 is a spectral response S-1 tube commonly used for sound reproduction in movie projectors, a system in which sound data was stored as an optically visible band on a strip of film. |  |
| Hamamatsu R488 | |
The R488 is an end-view phototube designed to be particularly sensitive to UV light. This tube is packaged in a small cylindrical envelope with a flat front window and a pair of flying leads. Unlike many other phototubes, which have an argon fill gas, the R488 is a hard vacuum tube. In operation, photons striking the cathode in the center of the tube would release a spray of electrons that would be collected by the mesh-shaped anode visible through the tube's front window. |  |
| Valvo 90AG | |
The Valvo 90AG is a British made argon filled phototube in a standard seven pin envelope. The 90AG is designed to be most responsive to light in the blue range of the electromagnetic spectrum. This tube has particularly good print quality on its part number and logo; it is not quite up to the standard set by Western Electric tubes, but is far better than the typical "dissolves when looked at" print used on most tubes. |  |
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