Patent ID: 9451177
Filing Date: 2016-09-20
CPC Classification: G01J,H01J,H04N

Claim Text:
1. A method comprising, in combination: (a) a mask spatially modulating light that reflects from a scene; (b) a photocathode emitting electrons in response to light that hits the photocathode after reflecting from the scene and being spatially modulated by the mask; (c) applying voltage to a pair of plates in a temporally varying voltage pattern so as to cause the electrons to undergo deflection such that (i) the electrons are deflected to different phosphor blocks in a set of phosphor blocks at different times, and (ii) for each respective time period in a sequence of time periods during the temporally varying voltage pattern, a majority of electrons emitted by the photocathode are deflected to a respective phosphor block in the set of phosphor blocks; and (d) a light sensor detecting light emitted by the phosphor blocks; wherein (i) the photocathode, plates, phosphor blocks, light sensor and mask comprise an imaging system, and (ii) resolution of the imaging system, with the mask spatially modulating reflected light from the scene, is greater than the resolution of the imaging system would be in the absence of the mask.