Patent GB-706515-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to electric counting devices and circuits employing semi-conductors
Inventor: REEVES ALEC HARLEY
IPC: H01L29/00
Filed: 1951-10-12
Abstract: 706,515. Multistable-state circuits using semiconductors. STANDARD TELEPHONES & CABLES, Ltd. Oct. 3, 1952 [Oct. 12, 1951], No. 23861/51. Class 40 (6). [Also in Group XXXVI] An electric pulse counting device comprises a N-type semi-conductor body having a plurality of rectifying contacts, each of which has a negative resistance portion in its forward voltage-current rectifying characteristic, and any pair of adjacent contacts are spaced so that current through one modifies the current through the other. The rectifying contacts concerned may be points or metal films and are produced by means of an electro-forming treatment as described in Specification 706,514, and the multi-point device is similar to that described in Specification 654,909. Each rectifier may form part of a two-condition trigger circuit, since over a selected range, two stable current values described as " ON" and "OFF" conditions, may correspond to the same voltage, and changeover from one condition to the other is effected by a triggering pulse. With suitable spacing, the value of the triggering voltage necessary depends on the condition of an adjacent rectifier, and the coupling between the rectifiers may be "positive" or "negative" depending on whether a change in one sense in one rectifier assists a change in the other rectifier in the same or opposite sense. The arrangement is suitable for use with short pulses at high frequency. Fig. 1 shows a series of ten rectifying contacts engaging the surface of an N-type germanium block, the coupling between contacts being positive in all cases. All the contacts except 6 are biased just below the voltage necessary to trigger to the " ON " condition when the adjacent rectifier on the left is in the " ON " condition, while 6 is similarly biased with all the other rectifiers at " OFF." Positive or negative input pulses are applied through capacitor 13 to shock excite a tuned circuit 2, 3, which is connected to the base electrode of the germanium block. The first negative half cycle of the damped pulse train in 2, 3, switches contact 6 to the, " ON " condition, which conditions the next contact so this is switched " ON " by the next input pulse, and so on, until the tenth pulse switches " ON " the last contact 9. This last contact is arranged to have a large difference between the currents corresponding to " ON " and " OFF " conditions, so that an output pulse is provided through capacitor 15, and the resulting positive pulse in the base load 2, 3 is sufficient to switch all the other contacts back to the " OFF " condition. Contact 9 restores itself to the "OFF" condition due to the effect of a time constant circuit 10, 11, and capacitor 11 also prevents a negative pulse then appearing in the base load so that the other contacts are not switched " ON when contact 9 returns to the " OFF " condition. An output pulse is thus obtained in response to every ten input pulses. A modification is described in which the coupling between adjacent rectifiers is negative. In this case, alternate contacts are arranged to be " ON " and "OFF," and separate biasing means are also provided so that only a small trigger pulse is needed to switch them correspondingly, to the " OFF " and " ON " condition.