Abstract: The upper limit of longer wavelength response of a radiation detector using a Schottky-barrier diode operated in hot carrier mode is extended by a layer of relatively high concentration impurities ion implanted in Schottky barrier contact surface of the semiconductive region of the diode.

Abstract: Dark current compensation is obtained in a charge transfer circuit such as a charge coupled device (CCD) delay line by subtracting from each charge packet, after each predetermined number of shifts of that charge packet, a certain amount of charge. In a preferred form of the circuit, a reference charge packet is periodically introduced into the delay line and the amount of dark current it has accumulated after a given number of shifts is sensed and is employed to determine how much of each charge packet will be periodically removed.

Abstract: Uniform background charge subtraction in a radiation sensing array is realized by removing the background charge from the array detectors several times during each array integration time. Radiation sensing arrays of the type to which the method of the invention can be applied include a radiation sensor with a charge storage reservoir to which there is coupled a CCD output register having a channel with multiple charge storage sites. Signal background and bias charge is accumulated in the charge storage reservoir and transferred to a CCD storage site by a transfer gate. Charge in the CCD storage site can be shifted to another storage site in the CCD channel or it can be dispersed to drain by means of a drain barrier gate. According to the method of the invention a number of times during each array integration period the charge accumulated in the charge storage reservoir is transferred to a CCD charge storage site and then returned in part to the reservoir leaving a metered amount in the charge storage site.

Abstract: CCD imagers of the field transfer type which include a surface channel A register and a buried channel C register.

Abstract: The output register of a CCD imager system is loaded at high speed by, for each row of charges, first translating the m charges in each group of m adjacent ones of the n columns of the imager into m serially occurring charges and temporarily storing each group of m serially occurring charges in a separate CCD register. The time available for the translation and temporary storage is equal to the time required serially to read out the output register. The n/m temporarily stored groups of charges are then concurrently serially shifted from the n/m registers in which they are stored to the output register which comprises m parallel registers, each with n/m stages. This shifting for loading the register can be performed at very high speed.

Abstract: A comb filter comprising a charge transfer device (CTD) structure for separating frequency interleaved luminance and chrominance components of a composite color television signal directly within the CTD structure. The CTD structure has first and second pairs of input sections of substantially identical geometry, one input section of the second pair being preceded by a signal inverter. Signal charge as applied to the first and second input pairs are delayed such that signal charge from the first input pair exhibits a 1H delay relative to signal charge from the second input pair, when the signal charge from the respective input pairs are combined with each other.

Abstract: A gate electrode which is common to at least two CCD channels is formed with a "window" over one of the channels. A second gate electrode over the first controls the substrate potential of the one channel through the window but has no effect on the substrate potential of the other channel. The structure makes it possible to block or delay the propagation of charge in one channel relative to the other and is useful, for example, in structures for parallel-to-serial charge signal translation and vice versa.

Abstract: Each time a charge signal is shifted, it suffers a small transfer loss. In the charge transfer systems of interest here, that transfer loss charge combines with previous transfer loss charges to form a transfer loss sum charge packet which propagates behind the charge signal. In the present system each charge signal is restored to substantially its initial level, by combining the transfer loss sum charge packet for that charge signal with that charge signal once each n charge transfers, where n is a relatively large number such as 50 or more.