Abstract :
The transistor itself is not ideal for use in a truly miniature ¿solid-state circuit¿. The tunnel diode as the active element has the desirable feature of low power consumption and is tiny, robust, cheap, immune to surface effects and amenable to mass production. Tunnel diode stages will perform gating and storage functions equivalent to conventional transistor stages, but with greater circuit simplicity, and might therefore be made basic ¿solid state functional units¿ in the design of a complete system. It is proposed that the functional units should be separately enclosed in suitably small capsules adapted for association with printed or evaporated wiring networks. Various circuits, such as triggers, a register and gate and serializer, are described to illustrate the application of tunnel diodes to ¿solid state¿ and miniaturized systems.
