The cathode ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, and

aphosphorescent screen used to view images.[1] It has a means to accelerate and deflect the
electron beam(s) onto the screen to create the images. The images may represent
electricalwaveforms (oscilloscope), pictures (television, computer monitor), radar targets or others.
CRTs have also been used as memory devices, in which case the visible light emitted from the
fluorescent material (if any) is not intended to have significant meaning to a visual observer (though
the visible pattern on the tube face may cryptically represent the stored data).
The CRT uses an evacuated glass envelope which is large, deep (i.e. long from front screen face to
rear end), fairly heavy, and relatively fragile. As a matter of safety, the face is typically made of
thick lead glass so as to be highly shatter-resistant and to block most X-rayemissions, particularly if
the CRT is used in a consumer product.
CRTs have largely been superseded by newer display technologies such as LCD, plasma display,
and OLED, which have lower manufacturing costs, power consumption, weight and bulk.
The vacuum level inside the tube is high vacuum on the order of 0.01 Pa[2] to 133 nPa.[3]
In television sets and computer monitors, the entire front area of the tube is scanned repetitively and
systematically in a fixed pattern called a raster. An image is produced by controlling the intensity of
each of the three electron beams, one for each additive primary color (red, green, and blue) with
a video signal as a reference.[4] In all modern CRT monitors and televisions, the beams are bent
by magnetic deflection, a varying magnetic field generated by coils and driven by electronic circuits
around the neck of the tube, although electrostatic deflection is commonly used in oscilloscopes, a
type of diagnostic instrument.[4]

A 14-inch cathode ray tube showing its deflection coils and electron guns

Typical 1950s United States television set

A flat CRT assembly inside a 1984Sinclair FTV1 pocket TV

Electron gun

History[edit]

Braun's original cold-cathode CRT, 1897

Cathode rays were discovered by Johann Hittorf in 1869 helo in primitiveCrookes tubes. He
observed that some unknown rays were emitted from thecathode (negative electrode) which could
cast shadows on the glowing wall of the tube, indicating the rays were traveling in straight lines. In
1890,Arthur Schuster demonstrated cathode rays could be deflected by electric fields, and William
Crookes showed they could be deflected by magnetic fields. In 1897, J. J. Thomson succeeded in
measuring the mass of cathode rays, showing that they consisted of negatively charged particles
smaller than atoms, the first "subatomic particles", which were later named electrons. The earliest

version of the CRT was known as the "Braun tube", invented by the German physicist Ferdinand
Braun in 1897.[5][6] It was a cold-cathode diode, a modification of theCrookes tube with a phosphorcoated screen.
In 1907, Russian scientist Boris Rosing used a CRT in the receiving end of an experimental video
signal to form a picture. He managed to display simple geometric shapes onto the screen, which
marked the first time that CRT technology was used for what is now known astelevision.[1]
The first cathode ray tube to use a hot cathode was developed by John B. Johnson (who gave his
name to the term Johnson noise) and Harry Weiner Weinhart of Western Electric, and became a
commercial product in 1922.[citation needed]
It was named by inventor Vladimir K. Zworykin in 1929.[7] RCA was granted a trademark for the term
(for its cathode ray tube) in 1932; it voluntarily released the term to the public domain in 1950. [8]
The first commercially made electronic television sets with cathode ray tubes were manufactured
by Telefunken in Germany in 1934.[9][10]

Oscilloscope CRTs[edit]

An Oscilloscope showing Lissajous curve

In oscilloscope CRTs, electrostatic deflection is used, rather than the magnetic deflection commonly
used with television and other large CRTs. The beam is deflected horizontally by applying an electric
field between a pair of plates to its left and right, and vertically by applying an electric field to plates
above and below. Televisions use magnetic rather than electrostatic deflection because the
deflection plates obstruct the beam when the deflection angle is as large as is required for tubes that
are relatively short for their size.

Phosphor persistence[edit]
Various phosphors are available depending upon the needs of the measurement or display
application. The brightness, color, and persistence of the illumination depends upon the type of
phosphor used on the CRT screen. Phosphors are available with persistences ranging from less
than one microsecond to several seconds.[11] For visual observation of brief transient events, a long

persistence phosphor may be desirable. For events which are fast and repetitive, or high frequency,
a short-persistence phosphor is generally preferable.[12]

Microchannel plate[edit]
When displaying fast one-shot events, the electron beam must deflect very quickly, with few
electrons impinging on the screen, leading to a faint or invisible image on the display. Oscilloscope
CRTs designed for very fast signals can give a brighter display by passing the electron beam
through a micro-channel plate just before it reaches the screen. Through the phenomenon
of secondary emission, this plate multiplies the number of electrons reaching the phosphor screen,
giving a significant improvement in writing rate (brightness) and improved sensitivity and spot size as
well.[13][14]

Graticules[edit]
Most oscilloscopes have a graticule as part of the visual display, to facilitate measurements. The
graticule may be permanently marked inside the face of the CRT, or it may be a transparent external
plate made of glass or acrylic plastic. An internal graticule eliminatesparallax error, but cannot be
changed to accommodate different types of measurements.[15] Oscilloscopes commonly provide a
means for the graticule to be illuminated from the side, which improves its visibility.[16]

Image storage tubes[edit]

The Tektronix Type 564: First Mass Produced Analog Phosphor Storage Oscilloscope

These are found in analog phosphor storage oscilloscopes. These are distinct from digital storage
oscilloscopes which rely on solid state digital memory to store the image.

Where a single brief event is monitored by an oscilloscope, such an event will be displayed by a
conventional tube only while it actually occurs. The use of a long persistence phosphor may allow
the image to be observed after the event, but only for a few seconds at best. This limitation can be
overcome by the use of a direct view storage cathode ray tube (storage tube). A storage tube will
continue to display the event after it has occurred until such time as it is erased. A storage tube is
similar to a conventional tube except that it is equipped with a metal grid coated with adielectric layer
located immediately behind the phosphor screen. An externally applied voltage to the mesh initially
ensures that the whole mesh is at a constant potential. This mesh is constantly exposed to a low
velocity electron beam from a 'flood gun' which operates independently of the main gun. This flood
gun is not deflected like the main gun but constantly 'illuminates' the whole of the storage mesh. The
initial charge on the storage mesh is such as to repel the electrons from the flood gun which are
prevented from striking the phosphor screen.
When the main electron gun writes an image to the screen, the energy in the main beam is sufficient
to create a 'potential relief' on the storage mesh. The areas where this relief is created no longer
repel the electrons from the flood gun which now pass through the mesh and illuminate the phosphor
screen. Consequently, the image that was briefly traced out by the main gun continues to be
displayed after it has occurred. The image can be 'erased' by resupplying the external voltage to the
mesh restoring its constant potential. The time for which the image can be displayed was limited
because, in practice, the flood gun slowly neutralises the charge on the storage mesh. One way of
allowing the image to be retained for longer is temporarily to turn off the flood gun. It is then possible
for the image to be retained for several days. The majority of storage tubes allow for a lower voltage
to be applied to the storage mesh which slowly restores the initial charge state. By varying this
voltage a variable persistence is obtained. Turning off the flood gun and the voltage supply to the
storage mesh allows such a tube to operate as a conventional oscilloscope tube. [17]