Abstract: This disclosure provides a polycrystalline semiconductor material which has a high luminous efficiency because of an especial profile of impurity concentration within each grain thereof. The regions immediately adjacent to the grain surfaces or grain boundaries are preferentially and selectively doped with impurity atoms to achieve a relatively high concentration of majority carriers of the same conductivity type as is in the grain center. As a result of the noted doping profile in the material, minority carriers which are excited within each grain by externally originated radiation are confined to the central portion of the grain where they emit electromagnetic radiation by efficient luminescent recombination. The material of this disclosure in polycrystalline thin film form obtains a high resolution screen for an electron beam optical display device.

Abstract: The practice of this invention provides display of information which utilizes the inherent characteristic of the displacement by an applied electric field intensity distribution of the interface between two fluid dielectric media which are operationally immiscible in each other and have different total dielectric properties at the interface. In particular, the information handling and display in the practice of this invention are with an optical display device in which the two dielectric media are immiscible liquids, e.g., oil and water. The local displacement of the interface therebetween is accomplished by the local application of an electric field which effects movement of the interface by electrohydrodynamic interaction with the dielectric media at the interface.

Abstract: The practice of this disclosure obtains a relatively high efficiency operation for a crystalline semiconductor solar cell containing various defects of the linear and planar types. Linear defects include screw dislocations as well as full and partial dislocations. Planar defects include twins, stacking faults, grain boundaries and surfaces. Such defects normally contain recombination centers at which electrons and holes generated in the semiconductor region recombine with loss to the external current of the charge carried thereby. Through application of the principles of this invention, especial dopant concentrations and conductivity regions are established in a finite region around the linear and planar defects so that electrons and holes which are generated in the semiconductor region by incident radiation are substantially collected for external current as consequence thereof.

Abstract: A slow wave stripline is disposed on the surface of a semiconductor, sandwiched between insulating layers, and covered by a ground plane, to thus form a waveguide structure. The electric field created by a r.f., electromagnetic wave propagated along the stripline establishes potential inversion wells in the surface of the semiconductor which propagate smoothly along with the wave. Minority carriers may be injected into selected wells to propagate therewith, where the presence or absence of such minority carriers represents 1 or 0 in binary notation. Practical applications include recirculating shift registers, logic arrangements, delay line memories, and optical image sensing or generating devices. In the latter two applications a matrix is developed by intersecting a meandering stripline with heavily doped strips in the semiconductor surface to maintain potential well separation between the matrix rows.

Abstract: A dielectric diode is provided in accordance with the principles of this invention. The dielectric diode is in the form of a capacitor wherein one of the electrodes has a high contact barrier, e.g., 4 electron-volts, and the other has a low contact barrier, e.g., 1 electron-volt, giving the resulting structure a diode behavior. Illustratively, the electrode at the low contact barrier comprises a valve metal or a very reactive metal which has been anodized or oxidized to provide a layer region with a given concentration of positive ions. The resulting metal oxide is covered with a wide band gap insulator such as SiO.sub.2. The composite contact barrier from the conductor to the insulator is typically less than 1 eV and results from the transition layer region between the conductor electrode and the insulator layer. The wide gap insulator layer is covered on the opposite surface with another electrode which has a high contact barrier.