US3860946A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Space-charge-limited solid-state triode
Assignee: California Institute of Technology
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Filing: 1972-10-13
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Granted: 1975-01-14
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Expires: 1992-10-13
Abstract
Abstract A solid-state triode is provided from a wafer of near-intrinsic semiconductor material sliced into filaments of rectangular cross section. Before slicing, emitter and collector regions are formed on the narrow sides of the filaments, and after slicing gate regions are formed in narrow strips extending longitudinally along the midsections of the wide sides of the filaments. Contacts are then formed on the emitter, collector and gate regions of each filament individually for a single filament device, or in parallel for an array of filament devices to increase load current.
Inventors
- 👤 Alex Shumka
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 20:40
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10D; H10D99/00; H10D10/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
151 words
A space-charge-limited solid-state triode comprising: a filament of semiconductor of near-Intrinsic material, said filament having a substantially rectangular cross section, an emitter region of a selected type of conductivity, said region being formed with a high concentration of impurities distributed along one narrow side of said filament, a collector region of the same type of conductivity as said emitter region, said collector region being formed with a high concentration of impurities distributed along a narrow side of said filament opposite said one narrow side, separate ohmic contacts made to said emitter and collector regions, gate regions of a conductivity type opposite said one type, said gate regions being formed with high concentration of impurities distributed in narrow strips extending longitudinally along the midsections of both wide sides of said filament, ohmic contacts made to said gate regions, and means for connecting said gate contacts together to form a single control electrode.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
151 words
A space-charge-limited solid-state triode comprising: a filament of semiconductor of near-Intrinsic material, said filament having a substantially rectangular cross section, an emitter region of a selected type of conductivity, said region being formed with a high concentration of impurities distributed along one narrow side of said filament, a collector region of the same type of conductivity as said emitter region, said collector region being formed with a high concentration of impurities distributed along a narrow side of said filament opposite said one narrow side, separate ohmic contacts made to said emitter and collector regions, gate regions of a conductivity type opposite said one type, said gate regions being formed with high concentration of impurities distributed in narrow strips extending longitudinally along the midsections of both wide sides of said filament, ohmic contacts made to said gate regions, and means for connecting said gate contacts together to form a single control electrode.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
76 words
A space-charge-limited solid-state triode as defined in claim 1 having a plurality of like filament structures, each with emitter, collector and gate regions, said filament structures being arranged in an array with a common contact to said emitter region of every structure, a common contact to said collector region of every structure, and a common contact to said gate regions of every structure, thereby providing a plurality of space-charge-limited triodes in parallel for increased current capacity.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
54 words
A space-charge-limited solid-state triode as defined in claim 2 wherein one of said emitter and collector contacts is at least as wide as said array and at least as long as each filament to provide a supporting base for said array, and wherein each of the remaining contacts is narrow to minimize inter-electrode capacitance.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
56 words
A space-charge-limited solid-state triode as defined in claim 1 wherein a selected one of said emitter and collector regions extends less than the full length of said filament to leave a space on one narrow side for said ohmic contact to be made to said gate regions, and wherein said gate regions extend to said space.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
114 words
A space-charge-limited solid-state triode as defined in claim 4 having a plurality of like filament structures, said filament structures being arranged in an array with a common contact to gate regions of every device by a conductor extending across all of said filaments and an ohmic contact with every gate region in said space of every filament, an ohmic contact to said selected one of said emitter and collector regions of every filament in the form of a conductor extending across all of said filaments and a common contact to the unselected one of said emitter and collector regions of every filament in the form of a conductor extending across all of said filaments.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
43 words
A space-charge-limited solid-state triode as defined in claim 5 wherein at least two of said conductors extending across all of said filaments are narrow as compared to the length of each and the length of said filaments to minimize capacitance between said contacts.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
124 words
A method of producing a space-charge-limited solid-state triode comprising the steps of preparing a wafer of near-intrinsic semi-conductor material of selected thickness with opposing broad area regions of one type of conductivity, slicing said wafer into a plurality of filaments which are narrower than said wafer is thick, thus producing each filament to have a rectangular cross section with wide sides, preparing at least one filament with narrow opposing gate regions extending longitudinally along the midsections of both of said wide sides, said gate regions being of a conductivity type opposite said one type, making separate ohmic contacts to both of said opposing regions that were prepared before slicing said wafer, and making a common ohmic contact to both of said opposing gate regions.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
124 words
A method of producing a space-charge-limited solid-state triode comprising the steps of preparing a wafer of near-intrinsic semi-conductor material of selected thickness with opposing broad area regions of one type of conductivity, slicing said wafer into a plurality of filaments which are narrower than said wafer is thick, thus producing each filament to have a rectangular cross section with wide sides, preparing at least one filament with narrow opposing gate regions extending longitudinally along the midsections of both of said wide sides, said gate regions being of a conductivity type opposite said one type, making separate ohmic contacts to both of said opposing regions that were prepared before slicing said wafer, and making a common ohmic contact to both of said opposing gate regions.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
78 words
A method as defined in claim 7 wherein a plurality of filaments are prepared with narrow opposing gate regions in the same manner anD said plurality of filaments are arranged in an array before making separate ohmic contacts to both of said opposing regions in common to each filament and making a common ohmic contact to both of said opposing gate regions of every filament, thereby providing a plurality of space-charge-limited triodes in parallel for increased current capacity.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
105 words
A method as defined in claim 7 wherein said wafer thickness is selected to provide a selected spacing L between said opposing broad area regions of one type of conductivity, and said broad area regions are provided so that one of said opposing broad area regions of a sliced filament will have a selected area A for a diode current capacity of the structure without said gate regions given by the equation I kV2/L3 where k 9/8 A epsilon Mu epsilon dielectric constant for material of said wafer Mu mobility of injected carrier V applied voltage across said structure between said opposing broad area regions.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
94 words
A method as defined in claim 9 wherein said filaments are sliced with a predetermined thickness to provide a spacing d2 between said gate regions and said gate regions are provided with a selected distance d1 from one of said opposing broad area regions to be used as an emitter, said distance d1 being selected to provide the desired amplification factor for the distance d2, where increasing the distance d1 of the gate regions from the emitter region increases the amplification factor and decreasing the distance d2 between gate regions increases the amplification factor.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-01-13 | 1978-07-15 | 1979-01-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-01-13 | 1982-07-15 | 1983-01-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-01-13 | 1986-07-15 | 1987-01-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |