Plumbicons

The plumbicon is a video camera tube. It is the most advanced type of camera tubes, it was only superseded by semiconductor devices. The manufacture of plumbicons continued until 2016. The sensitive layer is made of lead oxide. The layer forms microscopic granules that behave as a miniature capacitor with parallel-connected photodiode. The plumbicons provide equally good parameters as image orthicons, but are much smaller, so they are suitable for color cameras where three image tubes are necessary. In Czechoslovakia, the development of a plumbicon tube for series production was successfully performed, but the production did not start as the estimated price of one tube was approx. 200 000 Kčs - the price of four automobiles. That's why this technology has been imported from the Western countries.