Pulse generator providing fast rise and fall time pulses having an adjustable repetition rate over a broad frequency range

Claim 1

A PULSE GENERATOR COMPRISING: A TRANSISTOR HAVING A PLURALITY OF ELECTRODES, MEANS INCLUDNG FIRST AND SECOND ELECTRODES OF SAID TRANSISTOR FORMING AN INPUT CIRCUIT FOR SAID TRANSISTOR, A VOLTAGE SOURCE, MEANS INCLUDING SECOND AND THIRD ELECTRODES OF SAID TRANSISTOR SERIALLY CONNECTED TO SAID VOLTAGE SOURCE AND FORMING AN OUTPUT CIRCUIT FOR SAID TRANSISTOR, SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT CIRCUITS HAVING A COMMON PORTION BETWEEN SAID SECOND ELECTRODE AND A POINT OF REFERENCE POTENTIAL, A CIRCUIT ELEMENT WHICH SHOWS IN ITS CURRENT-VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTIC A REGION OF NEGATIVE RESISTANCE BETWEEN ADJACENT LOW AND HIGH VOLTAGE REGIONS OF POSITIVE RESISTANCE, SAID CIRCUIT ELEMENT BEING CONNECTED IN THE COMMON PORTION OF SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT CIRCUITS, A CURRENT SOURCE CONNECTED IN SHUNT WITH SAID CIRCUIT ELEMENT FOR BIASING SAID CIRCUIT ELEMENT TO OPERATE IN ITS HIGH VOLTAGE REGION OF POSITIVE RESISTANCE, SAID TRANSISTOR SWITCHING TO A CONDUCTIVE STATE AND THEREBY DRAWING CURRENT FROM SAID CURRENT SOURCE IN RESPONSE TO OPERATION OF SAID CIRCUIT ELEMENT IN ITS HIGH VOLTAGE REGION OF POSITIVE RESISTANCE, SAID CIRCUIT ELEMENT SWITCHING TO OPERATION IN ITS LOW VOLTAGE REGION OF POSITIVE RESISTCANCE IN RESPONSE TO THE DECREASED CURRENT FLOWING THROUGH SAID CIRCUIT ELEMENT WHEN SAID TRANSISTOR IS OPERATING IN ITS CONDUCTIVE STATE, SAID TRANSISTOR SWITCHING TO A NON-CONDUCTIVE STATE IN RESPONSE TO OPERATION OF SAID CIRCUIT ELEMENT IN ITS LOW VOLTAGE REGION OF POSITIVE RESISTANCE, SAID CURRENT SOURCE BIASING SAID CIRCUIT ELEMENT FOR OPERATION IN ITS HIGH VOLTAGE REGION OF POSITIVE RESISTANCE IN RESPONSE TO THE NON-CONDUCTIVE STATE OF SAID TRANSISTOR, SAID CIRCUIT ELEMENT GENERATING A PULSE IN RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT SWITCHING BETWEEN SAID CIRCUIT ELEMENT AND SAID TRANSISTOR.