shadow mask

noun

, Television.

1. a perforated metal plate situated behind the faceplate of a color television picture tube and having holes aligned to insure that each of three electron beams strikes only its corresponding red, green, or blue phosphor dot.

shadow mask

noun

1. television a perforated metal sheet mounted close to the phosphor-dotted screen in some colour television tubes. The holes are positioned so that each of the three electron beams strikes the correct phosphor dot producing the required colour mixture in the image

Word History and Origins

Origin of shadow mask¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Sony’s iconic Trinitron abandoned the perforated metal “shadow mask” that most color TVs used to keep their electron streams separate, for instance, using vertical wires that produced bright, clean colors and a flatter screen.

From The Verge