image orthicon

The image orthicon was an electronic camera tube used in early television systems. It functioned similarly to an iconoscope or orthicon but incorporated secondary emission and electron multiplication to generate voltages for television picture signals.1

These camera tubes were a significant advancement in television technology, replacing earlier mechanical scanning methods like spinning disks. The image orthicon, along with other tubes like the Orthicon, Vidicon, and Iconoscope, utilized an electron beam to scan an image focused on a light-sensitive surface within the tube. This technology was crucial for converting optical images into electrical signals, forming the basis of the television picture signal. While largely superseded by solid-state imagers today, these tubes were instrumental in the development and success of television broadcasting.2