Pyroelectric targets and method of manufacture

摘要

A pyroelectric target made of a pyroelectric material which is anisotropic dielectrically. Electrodes are provided on two plane parallel faces. To raise the pyroelectric figure of merit, the angle between the pyroelectric axis and the normal to the planar faces is greater than substantially 0 DEG but less than 90 DEG . A method of manufacturing such a target includes the step of selecting such an angle and cutting the faces into the material at the selected angle. A pyroelectric vidicon tube incorporating such a pyroelectric target has improved performance. Preferably, the projection of the normal to the planar faces onto a plane perpendicular to the pyroelectric axis is parallel to the axis along which the dielectric constant is lowest.