US2854588A - Current multiplication transistors - Google Patents

Current multiplication transistors Download PDF

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Publication number
US2854588A
US2854588A US399996A US39999653A US2854588A US 2854588 A US2854588 A US 2854588A US 399996 A US399996 A US 399996A US 39999653 A US39999653 A US 39999653A US 2854588 A US2854588 A US 2854588A
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United States
Prior art keywords
collector
emitter
current
electrode
transistor
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Expired - Lifetime
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US399996A
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English (en)
Inventor
Rolf W Landauer
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International Business Machines Corp
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International Business Machines Corp
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Publication date
Application filed by International Business Machines Corp filed Critical International Business Machines Corp
Priority to US399996A priority Critical patent/US2854588A/en
Priority to NL192491A priority patent/NL99002C/xx
Priority to FR1120519D priority patent/FR1120519A/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US2854588A publication Critical patent/US2854588A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
    • H03K—PULSE TECHNIQUE
    • H03K3/00—Circuits for generating electric pulses; Monostable, bistable or multistable circuits
    • H03K3/02—Generators characterised by the type of circuit or by the means used for producing pulses
    • H03K3/35—Generators characterised by the type of circuit or by the means used for producing pulses by the use, as active elements, of bipolar semiconductor devices with more than two PN junctions, or more than three electrodes, or more than one electrode connected to the same conductivity region
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
    • H03F—AMPLIFIERS
    • H03F3/00—Amplifiers with only discharge tubes or only semiconductor devices as amplifying elements
    • H03F3/04—Amplifiers with only discharge tubes or only semiconductor devices as amplifying elements with semiconductor devices only
    • H03F3/14—Amplifiers with only discharge tubes or only semiconductor devices as amplifying elements with semiconductor devices only with amplifying devices having more than three electrodes or more than two PN junctions
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10D—INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
    • H10D99/00—Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10F—INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
    • H10F99/00—Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Definitions

  • the current multiplication or point contact type of transistor comprises a small block of semi-conductive material, to which are applied at least three electrodes or contacts. Where only three electrodes are used, they are respectively termed the base, collector and emitter electrodes.
  • the base contact is conventionally ohmic, i. e., its resistance is independent of the direction and magnitude of current flow.
  • the base contact usually has a substantial contact area.
  • the emitter and collector electrodes are point contacts and have rectifying or asymmetric impedance characteristics, i. e., their impedance is different for opposite directions of current flow.
  • the semi-conductive material in the body may be either n-type or p-type.
  • the n-type semi-conductive material contains impurities providing an excess of electrons which are free to move for the carrying of electric currents, whereas p-type semi-conductive material contains impurities which result in a smaller number of electrons than are present in the pure semi-conductive material.
  • the spaces in the lattice structure which in the pure material would be occupied by the missing electrons are called holes and can be considered to act like movable positively charged current carriers.
  • the semi-conductive material used is n-type germanium.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide an improved transistor having a high current amplification factor.
  • Another object is to provide an improved transistor of the type described in which the high current amplification factor is secured by a mechanism similar to that disclosed by Rutz, namely an auxiliary reservoir of excess carriers.
  • Another object of the invention is to provide a transistor of the type described in which the reservoir of excess carriers is controlled at all times.
  • a transistor having two emitter electrodes and two collector electrodes. Only one of the two collector electrodes serves as the output electrode of the transistor.
  • the first emitter is more or less conventional, being preferably located very near the output electrode.
  • the second emitter is located at a point substantially equidistant from the two collectors.
  • the distribution between the collectors of carriers flowing through the second emitter is controlled by the flow of carriers from the first emitter.
  • the potentials of the several electrodes may be controlled as desired to regulate the current amplification factor.
  • a transistor including a body 1 of semi-conductive material having a base electrode 2, two emitter electrodes 3e and 4e, and two collector electrodes 50 and 6c.
  • the body 1 is illustrated as being of n-type semi-conductive material, and the directions of current flow and the various polarities correspond to the requirements of that material.
  • p-type material may alternatively be used, with consequent reversal of the current directions and polarities.
  • the emitter electrode 3e is located mid-way between the collector electrodes 50 and Go. In other words, the distance x between emitter 3e and collector 5c is made substantially equal to the distance y between emitter 3e and collector 6c. While these three electrodes are preferably located in one straight line, as indicated in the drawing, it is only necessary that the distance x be substantially equal to the distance y.
  • the emitter electrode 4e is located between emitter 3e and collector 6c, and preferably very close to collector 6c, the spacing there being substantially the same as between the emitter and collector in conventional transistors.
  • the base electrode 2 is connected to ground.
  • the emitter electrode 3e is connected to ground through a resistor 17 and a biasing battery 7.
  • the emitter electrode 4e is connected to ground through a signal generator 8 which is shown by way of example as including an A. C. signal generator 9 and a D. C. signal generator 10, indicated as a battery.
  • the direction of current flow from emitter 4e into the body is the direction usually associated with an emitter. Therefore the emitter 4e must be positive with respect to the semiconductor material immediately adjacent, but it does not have to be positive with respect to the base 2. If collector 6c is negative and emitter 4e very close to it, it might be necessary to bias emitter 4e negatively with respect to the grounded base 2.
  • the collector electrode 50 is connected in series with a battery 11 and a resistor 12 to ground.
  • the collector 6c is connected in series with a load resistor 13 and a battery 14, to ground.
  • Output terminals 15 and 16 are respectively connected to the collector 6c and to ground.
  • the hole current flowing from the emitter to the collector produces a concomitant electron current flowing from the collector to the base.
  • the collector cuirent is the sum of the hole current and the electron current, and is therefore greater than the hole current by a factor commonly designated (1* or a and termed the intrinsic current amplification at the collector, or sometimes called the collector multiplication factor. Due to an amplifying mechanism whose exact nature is not material to the present discussion, each hole reaching the collector may produce a flow of several electrons from the collector, so that the intrinsic current amplification may be very high.
  • the situation just described exists with respect to the emitter 3e and the collectors c and 60. These two collectors should be made to have characteristics as nearly equal as possible. This symmetrical situation is disturbed by the presence of the additional emitter 42 located nearer the collector 60 than is the emitter 3e.
  • the bias potentials on the two collectors, or other controllable factors, should be selected so that when there is no current flowing through the emitter 42, most of the holes from the emitter 3e flow to the collector 50, with a small current flowing through collector 60. As soon as a current starts to flow from the emitter 4e, it is attracted to the collector do by the electric field of that collecor.
  • This hole current increases the electron current from the collector in a ratio determined by the intrinsic amplification factor of, previously mentioned.
  • This increased electron flow increases the electric field of collector 60, which increased field attracts more of the holes from emitter 3e, and the increased flow of holes further amplifies the electron flow from collector 66.
  • This attraction of holes from the collector 3e by the electric field due to the electron current flowing from emitter 4e may be described as an internal feedback mechanism. This mechanism is similar, if not identical, to that present in the transistor disclosed in the Rutz application previously mentioned.
  • the present transistor has, however, another internal feedback mechanism operating which further enhances its overall current amplification factor. Referring to the collector 50, it may be seen that as the proportion of holes from emitter 3-2 flowing to this collector gets smaller.
  • a transistor constructed as described above has an overall current amplification factor even greater than that of the Rutz type of transistor. Furthermore, it has been observed that the back resisatnce of the transistor described above is maintained better than is the back resistance of the Rutz transistor.
  • the transistor described herein is not subject to any limitation with regard to the lifetime of the excess carriers in the semi-conductive ma terial, nor as to the diffusion length.
  • the electrode spacings should, on the other hand, be smaller than the diffusion length, rather than greater as in the Rutz transistor.
  • the bias voltage on the emitter 3e and that on the collector Sc may be made variable, as indicated in the drawing, in order that the current amplification factor can be controlled as desired.
  • resistor 12 While a resistor 12 is shown in series with battery 11, this resistor may in many cases be omitted, and indeed it is preferable to omit it. It might be expected that the best balance between collectors 5c and 6c would be obtained by making resistor 12 equal to resistor 13 and the potential of battery 11 equal to that of battery 14. However, as explained above, an accurate balance between the emitters cannot be practically attained, and is not in fact utilized in the operation of the transistor, except as a transitional condition during a transfer from an unbalance favoring one collector to an unbalance favoring the other. The desired operation then is to pass as quickly as possible from one condition of unbalance to the other.
  • Resistors 12 and 13 like all resistors, have a tendency to maintain the current flow through them constant, and therefore tend to be detrimental to the desired operation of the circuit.
  • the load resistor 13 must be retained in the circuit, but resistor 12 may readily be omitted. If resistor 12 is omitted, then in order to obtain nearly equal voltages at the collectors 5c and 6c, the potential of battery 14 should be made greater than the potential of battery 11, in order to compensate for the potential drop across resistor 13.
  • a current multiplication transistor circuit comprising a transistor having a body of semi-conductive material of uniform conductivity type, a first electrode in ohmically conductive contact with one side of said body, second, third, fourth and fifth electrodes in asymmetrically conductive contact with the opposite side of said body, a load resistor and a first source of unidirectional electrical energy connected in series between said first and second electrodes, said source being poled to reversely bias said second electrode, a second source of unidirectional electrical energy, means connecting said second source between said third electrode and said first electrode, said second source being poled to bias said third electrode reversely, said fourth electrode being located substantially equally distant from said second and third electrodes, a third source of unidirectional electrical energy, means connecting said third source between said first and fourth electrodes, said third source being poled to bias said fourth electrode forwardly, said fifth electrode being located closer to said second electrode than said fourth electrode, and a source of variable input signal potential connected between said first and fifth electrodes, said third source of energy cooperating with said fourth electrode continuously to introduce minority current

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Bipolar Transistors (AREA)
US399996A 1953-12-23 1953-12-23 Current multiplication transistors Expired - Lifetime US2854588A (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US399996A US2854588A (en) 1953-12-23 1953-12-23 Current multiplication transistors
NL192491A NL99002C (en:Method) 1953-12-23 1954-11-18
FR1120519D FR1120519A (fr) 1953-12-23 1954-12-21 Transistors à multiplication de courant

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US399996A US2854588A (en) 1953-12-23 1953-12-23 Current multiplication transistors

Publications (1)

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US2854588A true US2854588A (en) 1958-09-30

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US399996A Expired - Lifetime US2854588A (en) 1953-12-23 1953-12-23 Current multiplication transistors

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US (1) US2854588A (en:Method)
FR (1) FR1120519A (en:Method)
NL (1) NL99002C (en:Method)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2986653A (en) * 1954-09-27 1961-05-30 Ibm Non-commutative logical circuits
US3710269A (en) * 1970-02-13 1973-01-09 Atomic Energy Authority Uk Semiconductor devices

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2592683A (en) * 1949-03-31 1952-04-15 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Storage device utilizing semiconductor
US2655607A (en) * 1948-10-27 1953-10-13 Int Standard Electric Corp Electric delay device employing semiconductors
US2660624A (en) * 1949-02-24 1953-11-24 Rca Corp High input impedance semiconductor amplifier
US2679619A (en) * 1950-09-09 1954-05-25 Siemens Ag Controlled semiconductor rectifier

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2655607A (en) * 1948-10-27 1953-10-13 Int Standard Electric Corp Electric delay device employing semiconductors
US2660624A (en) * 1949-02-24 1953-11-24 Rca Corp High input impedance semiconductor amplifier
US2592683A (en) * 1949-03-31 1952-04-15 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Storage device utilizing semiconductor
US2679619A (en) * 1950-09-09 1954-05-25 Siemens Ag Controlled semiconductor rectifier

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2986653A (en) * 1954-09-27 1961-05-30 Ibm Non-commutative logical circuits
US3710269A (en) * 1970-02-13 1973-01-09 Atomic Energy Authority Uk Semiconductor devices

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
NL99002C (en:Method) 1961-09-15
FR1120519A (fr) 1956-07-09
NL192491A (en:Method) 1961-04-17

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