Patent ID: 8643386

Claim:
An electromagnetic wave information detection apparatus, comprising: a photoelectric converter including: a first electrode layer; a charge generation layer that generates positive charge and negative charge upon being irradiated with an electromagnetic wave carrying information and that is electrically connected to the first electrode layer; a charge transport layer that transports only either the positive charge or the negative charge generated in the charge generation layer; and a second electrode layer that is electrically connected to the charge transport layer; an electric potential imparting unit that imparts respective electric potentials to the first and second electrode layers; a detection unit that is connected to the photoelectric converter and is configured to detect the information, which is carried by the electromagnetic wave and photoelectrically converted by the photoelectric converter; and a control unit that controls the electric potential imparting unit and the detection unit such that the electric potential imparting unit equalizes the electric potentials of the first and second electrode layers during a predetermined period of time between a process in which the electric potential imparting unit imparts respective detection electric potentials to the first and second electrode layers and the detection unit detects information carried by an electromagnetic wave of a previous irradiation and a process in which the electric potential imparting unit imparts the respective detection electric potentials to the first and second electrode layers and the detection unit detects information carried by an electromagnetic wave of a subsequent irradiation, wherein the photoelectric converter is not irradiated with erasing light while the electric potential imparting unit equalizes the electric potentials of the first and second electrode layers during the predetermined period of time.