1953/04/01 by John N. Shive · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced MEMS and NEMS Technologies #Advanced Semiconductor Detectors and Materials #Semiconductor Quantum Structures and Devices
paper · doi:10.1364/josa.43.000239
openalex publication_date 1953/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
This paper describes, summarizes, and compares the properties of three photoelectric devices, namely: point contact phototransistors, p-n junction phototransistors, and n-p-n junction multiplier phototransistors, which have resulted from the prosecution of the transistor program at the Bell Telephone Laboratories. The first of these devices is characterized by a comparatively high dark current and a quantum yield of 3 or 4 electrons per quantum. The second has a dark current in the microampere range and a quantum yield of approximately unity. The n-p-n device has a sensitivity corresponding at best to a quantum yield of several hundred electrons per quantum. All these devices have long-wave thresholds around 1.8 microns. The structures lend themselves readily to miniature encapsulation.