The distributed resistance-capacitance (

) problem arising in the buried collector of the three-terminal charge injection device is treated analytically. The results are applied to several signal detection methods. It is found that the minimum time required to detect 99 percent of the signal is approximately 2τ where

with ρ
sthe collector sheet resistance,

the junction capacitance per unit area and

the collector length. The calculated results are applicable to signal transients that occur in long polysilicon and other transparent electrodes.