Patent ID: 7112773

Claim:
Apparatus for providing a modulated signal in response to incident radiation comprising: means responsive to incident radiation for emitting electrons in response to such radiation; electron multiplication means disposed for receiving the electrons emitted by said radiation responsive means and multiplying said electrons; an anode disposed for receiving the multiplied electrons and providing an electrical signal in response thereto; a voltage divider network connected to said electron multiplication means for providing a biasing voltage thereto when connected to a high voltage power supply; and a gating circuit operatively connected to said radiation responsive means, said voltage divider network, and an external input signal source, said gating circuit being adapted for providing a gating signal to said radiation responsive means in response to an input signal from said external input signal source, whereby said apparatus can be modulated between respective ON and OFF states; said gating circuit comprising: voltage level shifting means operatively connected to receive the external input signal and for providing a voltage level shifted output signal in response to the external input signal; and a switching circuit operatively connected between said voltage divider network and ground and to said voltage level shifting means, said switching circuit being adapted for providing the gating signal to the radiation responsive means.