Analysis of a Pumped Tunnel Diode Logic Circuit

A new high-speed logic circuit which uses tunnel diode switching and transistor isolation is presented. The basic gate is a two-input NOR gate with a logical fan-out of three. Information reduction is possible at a rate of 200 megabits per sec. The transistor is operated continuously in the linear mode. It provides isolation between input channels and unidirectionality of information flow. The tunnel diode is normally in the low-voltage region. A sinusoidal clock current switches the diode into its high-voltage state and back once per clock-cycle. In the presence of at least one input signal the switching is inhibited, hence the NOR-operation. The tunnel diode response to the driving signals is analyzed in considerable detail to determine optimum circuit operation and sensitivity to various circuit parameters. An analysis of circuit operation indicates that excellent operating margins can be expected, which is confirmed by experimental evidence.