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Experiments with a current-controlled bistable switching element using a CW Gunn diode are reported. Switching rates of the order of 10 MHz have been obtained. Switching is initiated by current pulses of short duration (5-10 ns). Rise times of the order of several nanoseconds could be obtained.
Work done on the development of gallium aluminum phosphide alloys for electroluminescent light sources is described. The preparation of this wide band gap semiconductor alloy, its physical properties (particularly the band structure, the electrical characteristics, and the light emitting properties) and work done on the fabrication of diode structures from these alloys are broadly covered.
A self-scanned diode array may be used as temporary storage for individual photons if enough gain is provided by an image intensifier or electron multiplier to provide a detectable signal from each input event.
Performance data from a chemically vapor-deposited-rhenium, niobium thermionic converter are presented. The planar converter has a guard-ringed collector and a nominal fixed spacing of 0.25 mm (10 mils). The data were obtained by using a computerized acquisition system and are available on request to one of the authors on microfiche as individual and composite parametric current, voltage curves. The parameters are the temperatures of the emitter T sub E collector T sub C, and cesium reservoir T sub R. The composite plots have constant T sub E and varying T sub C or T sub R, or both. Current, voltage envelopes having constant T sub E with and without fixed T sub C appear in the present report. The diode was tested at increments between 1600 and 2000 K for the emitter Hohlraum, 800 to 1100 K for the collector, and 540 and 650 K for the reservoir. A total of 312 current, voltage curves were obtained in the present performance evaluation. Current, voltage envelopes from three rhenium emitter converters evaluated in the present program are also given. The data are compared at commom emitter Hohlraum temperatures.
Description of certain effects related to the width of the intrinsic region produced in a silicon p-i-n diode by lithium ion drifting. It is found that for wider intrinsic regions at large forward biases there is a larger ohmic drop across the region and a correspondingly smaller current. Moreover, the recovery time decreases with increasing intrinsic region width. Conversely, the decay phase time increases with increasing intrinsic region width and with increasing current levels.
Development of varactor diode assembly overcomes parasitic reactances of conventional varactor packages. In specially constructed assembly very high idler-frequency to signal-frequency ratios are used to obtain low-noise operation over maximum bandwidth.
Fabrication process and aluminum/GaAs (gallium arsenide) coupling are used to produce Schottky diodes that have high cutoff frequencies and can withstand operating temperatures in excess of 500 C.
Distortions can be greatly reduced in narrow-band applications by using the second harmonic. The ac behavior of simplified diode amplifier has negative resistance depending on slope of equivalent I-V curve.
Oscillator consisting of Gunn diode embedded in coaxial circuit has excellent temperature stability and low fabrication costs as compared with automatic-frequency-control crystal oscillators.
The development, fabrication, and testing of five image and sum frequency enhanced mixed diode converters are discussed. Design specifications include a RF band of 11.7 to 12.2 GHz, an IF band of 1.0 to 1.5 GHz, an IF return loss of 10 db, band center of 6.2 db, band edge of 6.7 db, LO frequency of 10.7 GHz, LO power of 20 dbm, and a conversion gain of 15.8 db. The converter is also capable of 30 db below desired signals for the third order intermodulation product level for twelve -75 dbm carriers.
Theoretical calculations are presented showing the relationship between the internal laser absorption and structural parameters appropriate for CW room-temperature lasers. These diodes have submicron-thick recombination regions, and very small spacings between the heat sink and the recombination region to minimize the thermal resistance. The optical loss is shown to be strongly dependent on the degree of radiation confinement to the active region. In particular, absorption in the surface GaAs layer providing the ohmic contact becomes very significant when the intermediate (AlGa)As layer is reduced below about 1 micron. It is further shown that excessive penetration into the GaAs regions gives rise to anomalies in the far-field radiation profiles in the direction perpendicular to the junction plane.
The first 8.5 microns infrared heterodyne spectrometer has been constructed using tuneable semiconductor (PbSe) diode lasers and was used to measure absorption line profiles of N2O in the laboratory, as well as black-body emission from the moon and from Mars. Spectral information was recorded over a 200 MHz bandwidth using an 8-channel filter bank. The resolution was 25 MHz (6 millionths of a micron), and the minimum detectable (black-body) power was approximately 1 times 10 to the minus 16th power W for 8 min of integration. The results demonstrate the usefulness of heterodyne spectroscopy for the study of remote and local sources in the infrared.
Technique, which consists of reducing bandgap change at heterojunction to 0.1 eV and avoiding deep-level impurities such as Si and Ge, produces low-threshold laser diodes which are made from (AlGa)As and emit in visible spectrum.
The changes that occurred in the optical and electrical characteristics of a near infrared, GaAs light emitting diode, when operated under various levels and combinations of current and thermal stresses are discussed. A total of forty parts were operated for two thousand hours under eight different sets of dc current and ambient temperature conditions. Degradation in the radiant optical power of these devices was thirty-four percent when operated at their rated current and an ambient temperature of 298K (25 C). Derating the current and/or the thermal stress reduced the degradation of this parameter in approximately a linear manner. All degraded devices behaved similarly, exhibiting rapid nonlinear degradation followed by a gradual linear degradation and finally a period of stable operation. An attempt was made to correlate initial device condition to degradation during stress testing, but met with little success.
Research on metal-barrier-metal structures is reviewed. Topics discussed include: demonstration of antenna coupling and rectification characteristics with high resistance evaporated structures at a wavelength of 10 microns; application of these devices to coherent conversion of laser radiation and infrared and optical circuit elements; and comparison of the point-contact type of diode structure and the newly developed photolithographic structures.
The computer simulation of the electrical behavior of a Gate-Controlled Diode (GCD) fabricated in Silicon-On-Sapphire (SOS) was described. A procedure for determining lifetime profiles from capacitance and reverse current measurements on the GCD was established. Chapter 1 discusses the SOS structure and points out the need of lifetime profiles to assist in device design for GCD's and bipolar transistors. Chapter 2 presents the one-dimensional analytical formula for electrostatic analysis of the SOS-GCD which are useful for data interpretation and setting boundary conditions on a simplified two-dimensional analysis. Chapter 3 gives the results of a two-dimensional analysis which treats the field as one-dimensional until the silicon film is depleted and the field penetrates the sapphire substrate. Chapter 4 describes a more complete two-dimensional model and gives results of programs implementing the model.
A method for the regulation of a capacitor diode voltage multiplier dc-dc converter has been developed which has only minor penalties in weight and efficiency. An auxiliary inductor is used, which only handles a fraction of the total power, to control the output voltage through a pulse width modulation method in a buck boost circuit.
Heterojunction laser diodes of AlGaAs have been prepared with threshold current densities substantially below those previously achieved at room temperature in the 7200-8000-A spectral range. These devices operate continuously with simple oxide-isolated stripe contacts to 7400 A, which extends CW operation into the visible (red) portion of the spectrum.