Negative conductance diode amplifier

Claim 1

A NEGATIVE CONDUCTANCE AMPLIFIER COMPRISING, AN ABRUPT P-N JUNCTION SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE EXHIBITING NEGATIVE RESISTANCE AND HAVING A CURRENT-VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTIC CURVE INCLUDING A NEGATIVE SLOPE PORTION, AN INDUCTOR, A DIRECT CURRENT BLOCKING CONDENSER, MEANS TO CONNECT SAID INDUCTOR AND SAID CONDENSER IN SERIES ACROSS SAID DIODE TO FORM A RESONANT CIRCUIT FOR DETERMINING THE AMPLIFIER RESONANT FREQUENCY, MEANS CONNECTING THE JUNCTION OF SAID CONDENSER AND SAID INDUCTOR TO A POINT OF REFERENCE POTENTIAL, MEANS PROVIDING A SOURCE OF UNIDIRECTIONAL POTENTIAL CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID POINT OF REFERENCE POTENTIAL AND THE JUNCTION OF SAID DIODE AND SAID CONDENSER, THE DIRECT-CURRENT RESISTANCE OF SAID SOURCE OF UNIDIRECTIONAL POTENTIAL BEING LESS THAN THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF THE MINIMUM NEGATIVE RESISTANCE OF SAID DIODE AND THE VOLTAGE OF SAID SOURCE BEING OF A VALUE TO SUPPLY A BIAS VOLTAGE TO SAID DIODE TO FORWARD BIAS SAID DIODE TO AN OPERATING POINT AT THE STEEPEST POINT ON SAID NEGATIVE SLOPE, A TAP CONNECTION ON SAID INDUCTOR, AN INPUT CIRCUIT CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID TAP AND SAID POINT OF REFERENCES POTENTIAL FOR APPLYING AN AMPLIFIED ALTERNATING CURRENT SIGNAL FROM SAID RESONANT CIRCUIT, SAID TAP PROVIDING IMPEDANCE MATCH BETWEEN SAID RESONANT CIRCUIT AND SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT CIRCUITS, THE EFFECTIVE ALTERNATING CURRENT IMPEDANCE OF SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT CIRCUITS AND SAID RESONANT CIRCUIT PRESENTED ACROSS SAID DIODE BEING LESS THAN THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF THE MINIMUM NEGATIVE RESISTANCE OF SAID DIODE.