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Real-time method and apparatus for measuring the decay-time constant of a fluorescing phosphor

  • US 5,949,539 A
  • Filed: 11/10/1997
  • Issued: 09/07/1999
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/10/1997
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method for determining the decay-time constant of a fluorescing phosphor, said method comprising the steps of:

  • irradiating a phosphor with an excitation pulse;

    detecting light emitted by the phosphor in response to irradiation with the excitation pulse;

    converting the detected light into an electrical signal;

    differentiating the electrical signal;

    discriminating the zero-crossing point of the differentiated electrical signal; and

    outputting a pulse signal having a pulse width corresponding to the time period between the start of the excitation pulse and the time when the differentiated electrical signal reaches zero, wherein the pulse width is proportional to the decay-time constant of the phosphor.

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