Auto-Gated Power Supply is the core technology of modern high-performance low-light night vision devices. It significantly improves the adaptability of the device under complex lighting conditions. Its core value lies in suppressing the "blooming" phenomenon and optimizing the strong light response.
Working principle: high-speed dynamic control
Unlike traditional continuous power supply, auto-gating technology periodically turns on and off the high voltage applied to the microchannel plate (MCP), the core component of the image intensifier tube, at a very high rate (thousands to tens of thousands of times per second). This switching action is synchronized with the incident light signal to achieve dynamic and precise control of the gain.
Core function: effectively suppress halo
- Halo refers to the phenomenon that strong light sources (such as car lights and flashes) are over-excited in the image intensifier tube, forming diffuse light spots or even drowning the image. The key mechanism of auto-gating to suppress halo is: instantaneous power off to limit overload: When strong light is detected, the gating circuit cuts off the MCP high voltage within microseconds, immediately stops the electronic gain amplification process, and prevents the strong light signal from continuing to amplify and spread.
- Rapid recovery to guarantee observation: After the strong light weakens or disappears, the high voltage is immediately restored and the equipment quickly returns to normal working condition.
- Synergistic film enhancement: Auto-gating works synergistically with the ultra-thin ion barrier film at the input of the MCP. The film itself blocks excess photons and ions, and the high-speed switching of the gate further limits the large number of electrons excited by strong light from pouring into the MCP channel, significantly reducing the degree and duration of haloing. It should be noted that film thickness is a design trade-off: thinner films have better halo suppression effects, but may slightly affect sensitivity; thicker films still have advantages in specific applications (such as emphasizing specific spectral responses).
Additional benefits beyond halo suppression
- Improved strong light adaptability: In scenes with moderate light sources (such as city nighttime), dark areas can be seen clearly without overexposing bright areas.
- Accelerated light-dark transition adaptation: When going from a bright place to a dark place (such as entering or leaving a building), the gain can be adjusted to the optimal gain faster.
- Extend photocathode life: Reduce the continuous bombardment of sensitive photocathodes by strong light.
Summary:
The auto-gating power supply is a key technology to solve the halo problem and improve the imaging performance and usability of night vision devices in dynamic lighting environments (especially those containing transient strong light) by switching MCP high voltage at high speed and combining it with ion barrier film. When evaluating the performance of night vision devices, the auto-gating function is an important indicator, but it needs to be comprehensively considered in combination with the film characteristics, sensitivity and specific application scenarios (such as strong light environment in the city vs. extremely dark environment in the wild), rather than judging only by the single dimension of halo performance. It is a landmark technology for modern high-performance night vision equipment.
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