Patent ID: 6825455
Filing Date: 2004-11-30
Classification: G01J,G01S

Abstract:
A method of determining the phase and/or amplitude information of an electromagnetic wavein which an electromagnetic wave is radiated onto the surface of a photonic mixing element having at least one pixel, wherein the pixel has at least two light-sensitive modulation photogates Gam and Gbm and associated accumulation gates Ga and Gb, in which there are applied to the modulation photogates Gam and Gbm modulation photogate voltages Uam(t) and Ubm(t) which are in the form of Uam(t)=Uo+Um(t) and Ubm(t)=Uoâˆ’Um(t), wherein Uo represents a bias voltage of the accumulation gates Ga and Gb, wherein applied to the accumulation gates Ga and Gb is a dc voltage whose magnitude is at least as great as the magnitude of the sum of Uo and the amplitude of the modulation voltage Um(t), in which charge carriers produced in a space charge zone of the modulation photogates Gam and Gbm by the electromagnetic wave are exposed to a potential gradient of a drift field in dependence on the polarity of the modulation photogate voltages Uam(t) and Ubm(t) and drift to the corresponding accumulation gate Ga and Gb, and in which charges qa and qb which have drifted to the respective accumulation gates Ga and Gb are taken off.