B.S.T.J. Briefs: Charge Coupled Semiconductor Devices

In this paper ice describe a new semiconductor device concept. Basically, it consists of storing charge in potential icells created at the surface of a semiconductor and moving the charge (representing information) over the surface by moving the potential minima. We discuss schemes for creating, transferring, and detecting the presence or absence of the charge. In particular, ice consider minority carrier charge storage at the SiSi02 interface of a MOS capacitor. This charge may be transferred to a closely adjacent capacitor on the same substrate by appropriate manipulation of electrode potentials. Examples of possible applications are as a shift register, as an imaging device, as a display device, and in performing logic. A new semiconductor device concept has been devised which shows promise of having wide application. The essence of the scheme is to store minority carriers (or their absence) in a spatially defined depletion region (potential well) at the surface of a homogeneous semiconductor and to move this charge about the surface by moving the potential minimum. A variety of functions can then be performed by having a means of generating or injecting charge into the potential well, transferring this charge over the surface of a semiconductor, and detecting the magnitude of the charge at some location. One method of producing and moving the potential wells is to form an array of conductor-insulator-semiconductor capacitors and to create and move the potential minima by applying appropriate voltages to the conductors.