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US 4,151,484 AGranted
Radiation-hardened transistor amplifiers
AssigneeRCA Corporation
InventorThomas J. Robe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An amplifier transistor has its base-to-collector voltage maintained substantially zero, and its collector-base junction has in inverse-parallel connection therewith an auxiliary semiconductor junction exposed to the same transient ionizing radiation environment. Photo-currents generated in the collector-base junction of the amplifier transistor responsive to transient ionizing radiation are counteracted by the photo-currents concurrently generated in the auxiliary semiconductor junction, so amplification can continue without being unduly hampered by such radiation.
Claims5
A radiation-hardened circuit comprising:
- a first transistor having base and emitter and collector electrodes and having a collector-base junction between its collector and base electrodes;
- a first auxiliary semiconductor junction similar in profile and area to said collector-base junction, said first auxiliary semiconductor junction being arranged with respect to the collector-base junction of said first transistor to be subject to similar transient ionizing radiation and connected in a first inverse-parallel connection with the collector-base junction of said first transistor;
- and
- means for maintaining the potential across each of said junctions in said first inverse-parallel connection substantially zero.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.