Variable gain tunneling

Claim 1

A JUNCTION TRANSISTOR CIRCUIT FOR RECEIVING AN INPUT SIGNAL COMPRISING: A TRANSISTOR HAVING AN EMITTER, BASE AND COLLECTOR AND HAVING AN IMPURITY CONCENTRATION IN AT LEAST ONE OF THE EMITTER AND BASE REGIONS BELOW THAT REQUIRED FOR TUNNELING BUT ABOVE A PREDETERMINED MINIMUM, SAID EMITTER AND BASE FORMING AN EMITTER-BASE JUNCTION, AND SAID COLLECTOR AND BASE FORMING A COLLECTOR-BASE JUNCTION, MEANS COUPLED TO SAID EMITTER-BASE JUNCTION FOR FORWARD-BIASING SAID EMITTER-BASE JUNCTION FOR CAUSING MINORITY CARRIER INJECTION INTO THE BASE AND MAJORITY CARRIER FLOW INTO THE BASE FROM THE EXTERNAL CIRCUIT, MEANS COUPLED TO SAID COLLECTOR-BASE JUNCTION FOR REVERSE-BIASING THE COLLECTOR-BASE JUNCTION OF SAID TRANSISTOR TO CAUSE NORMAL COLLECTOR ACTION AND FOR SWEEPING A PORTION OF SAID MINORITY CARRIERS INTO THE COLLECTOR, MEANS FOR FURTHER BIASING SAID EMITTER-BASE JUNCTION TO INCREASE SAID INJECTION AND FLOW INTO THE BASE UNTIL AN ELECTRIC FIELD IS CREATED FROM THE UNNEUTRALIZED CHARGE IN THE BASE REGION, FOR FURTHER INCREASING THE MOBILE CHARGE DENSITY IN THE BASE NEAR THE EMITTER AND FOR NARROWING THE THICKNESS OF THE EMITTER-BASE POTENTIAL BARRIER FROM THAT ESTABLISHED BY SAID IMPURITY CONCENTRATION TO PERMIT QUANTUM-MECHANICAL TUNNELING, AND MEANS COUPLED TO SAID TRANSISTOR FOR VARYING THE GAIN OF SAID TUNNELING WITHOUT CHANGING THE AMPLITUDE OF THE INPUT SIGNAL TO SAID TRANSISTOR CIRCUIT BY REGULATING THE BIAS ACROSS THE EMITTER-BASE JUNCTION.