Radiation scanner employing rectifying devices and photoconductors

Claim 1

A RADIATION SCANNER COMPRISING: (A) AN ELONGATED MULTIPLE LAYER STRUCTURE INCLUDING AN INTERMEDIATE LAYER OF SEMI-CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL OF A FIRST CONDUCTIVITY TYPE AND TWO OUTER LAYERS OF SEMI-CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL OF A SECOND CONDUCTIVITY TYPE, THE SAID LAYERS HAVING ASYMMETRICALLY CONDUCTIVE SEMI-CONDUCTOR JUNCTIONS THEREBETWEEN, SAID JUNCTIONS HAVING OPPOSITELY POLED ASYMMETRY AND AT LEAST ONE OF WHICH HAS CONDUCTIVE PROPERTIES RESPONSIVE TO RADIATION INCIDENT THEREON; (B) MEANS CONNECTING ONE OF SAID OUTER LAYERS AT LATERALLY SPACED POSITIONS THEREON TO SOURCES OF DIFFERENT BIAS VOLTAGE LEVELS TO ESTABLISH A POTENTIAL GRADIENT IN THE LAYER EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE SAID JUNCTIONS; (C) MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE OTHER OUTER LAYER TO ANOTHER SOURCE HAVING A DIFFERENT VALUE OF BIAS VOLTAGE; (D) MEANS FOR APPLYING A TIME VARIANT POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE ACROSS THE SAID TWO OUTER LAYERS IN A DIRECTION PERPENDICULAR TO THE SAID JUNCTIONS; (E) A MEANS CONNECTED IN CIRCUIT BETWEEN SAID OUTER LAYERS FOR DETECTING FUNCTIONS OF THE CURRENT BETWEEN SAID OUTER LAYERS.