Abstract: An apparatus for creating a light emission comprises at least one molecule which is positioned on a first electrode which is located at a tunneling distance from a second electrode. The molecule has a central entity which is bound to at least one peripheral entity which electrically decouples the central entity from the first electrode. This means that the central entity is not directly chemisorbed or physisorbed at the first electrode. The apparatus comprises voltage application means for applying an electrical voltage such that a tunneling current is flowing between the electrodes.

Abstract: The invention provides an apparatus and a method for defining a pattern on a substrate using a shadow masking technique. Said apparatus comprises a flexible member having a movable portion and at least one aperture. The flexible member is positioned in operation above the substrate thereby acting as a shadow mask. The apparatus further comprises a support for the substrate, distance-controlling means for controlling the distance between said movable portion and said substrate, and an actuator for moving the flexible member and substrate relative to each other parallel to a surface of the substrate. The apparatus further comprises an emission source which emits materials, electrons or light and which aims through the shadow mask at the substrate where the pattern is defined. Such a pattern might be employed in micromechanic, microoptic or microelectronic devices, for example. The described apparatus may be implemented using the AFM principal.

Abstract: The present invention concerns mechanical signal processing comprising a mechanical adder as a basic building block. Such a mechanical adder (40), which is a basic element of the present invention, comprises a first micromechanical member (40.1) being sensitive to a first frequency (f.sub.1) and a second micromechanical member (40.2) being sensitive to a second frequency (f.sub.2). The two micromechanical members (40.1, 40.2) are coupled via a linear coupling (41) to provide a superposition (sum) of the two frequencies (f.sub.1 and f.sub.2). Based on the adder, AND-gates and OR-gates can be realized by adding further micromechanical members and appropriate linear and non-linear coupling elements.

Abstract: The multiple STM-tip unit comprises a plurality of individually connectable, electrically separated tunnel tips (52 . . . 54) arranged in a common sandwiched block (5), in the form of a plurality of electrically conducting layers (41, 46, 50) each associated with at least one of said tunnel tips (52 . . . 54) with insulating layers (44, 48) intercalated between said conducting layers (41, 46, 50), the latter each having a contact pad (36, 42, 43) for connection to appertaining electronics. The thickness, area, and material characteristics of said insulating layers (44, 48) are chosen such that the tunnel current through any one of the intercalated insulating layers (44, 48) is negligible with respect to the tunnel current flowing across the gap between the involved tunnel tips (52 . . . 54) and the surface with which said tips cooperate.

Abstract: The transistor comprises two electrodes, (source (22) and drain (23), with a semiconductor tunnel channel (21A, 21B) arranged therebetween. A gate (24) for applying control signals is coupled to the channel. The semiconductor channel consists of a plurality of regions differing in their current transfer characteristics: contact regions (21c), connected to the source and drain electrodes, and a tunneling region (21t) arranged between the contact regions. The energy of free carriers in the contact regions differs from the energy of the conduction band or the valence band of the tunneling region which forms a low energy tunnel barrier the height (.DELTA.E) of which can be modified by control signals applied to the gate. The operating temperature of the device is kept sufficiently low to have the tunnel current through the barrier outweigh currents of thermionically excited carriers.

Abstract: The transistor comprises two electrodes, source (12) and drain (13), with a semiconductor tunnel channel (11) arranged therebetween. A gate (14) for applying control signals is coupled to the channel. The semiconductor, at low temperatures, behaves like an insulator with a low barrier (some meV) through which charge carriers can tunnel under the influence of an applied drain voltage. The tunnel current can be controlled by a gate voltage V.sub.G which modifies the barrier height between source and drain thereby changing the tunnel probability.

Abstract: A vacuum transfer device includes a central processing chamber and a plurality of additional chambers radially positioned around the central chamber and in vacuum-tight connection therewith. A rotatable coulisse arrangement in the central chamber is extendable so as to reach into the additional chambers when correctly aligned. The device can transfer objects among several work stations without intermediate venting and re-evacuation of the system of chambers.

Abstract: Two Josephson gates are connected in series to a low impedance voltage source. Each junction is bridged by a load impedance. The feed voltage is maintained in the order of the gap voltage which corresponds to the voltage drop across a Josephson junction when it is in its single-particle-tunneling state. Therefore, only one out of both Josephson elements can exist in the voltage state at a time, and the other junction is forced to assume the superconducting pair-tunneling state.In its symmetric form, the basic circuit can be used as flip-flop or storage means. If asymmetric, the basic circuit shows monostable switching behavior, and it can be used as logic gate. Circuit asymmetry can be caused either by design using different junction areas or electrically by proper bias control currents applied to either or both gates of the basic circuit. The degree of symmetry or asymmetry can even be shifted with electrical means.