Tektronix, Inc.

John E Taggart

Kei-Wean Calvin Yang

Joseph R Peter

Raymond Hayes

The charge transfer efficiency of a two-phase charge-coupled device cell is enhanced by providing a three-tiered built-in potential in the channel of each cell. Two lower potential tiers form a trenched potential well in the cell for storing charge. A higher potential tier between the trenched potential well of a cell and the potential well of a preceding neighbor cell provides a potential barrier preventing backflow of charge from well-to-well. The potential trench is located at the downstream end of the well adjacent a succeeding neighbor cell of the CCD.

Trench structured charge-coupled device

A charge-coupled device includes an array of closely spaced electrodes aligned along a lateral path on an oxide layer covering a semiconductor substrate. A portion of a channel reigon in the substate below each electrode has a tilted potential gradient providing an electrical field assisting lateral charge carrier drift within the channel region.

Charge-coupled device channel with countinously graded built-in potential

A serial-parallel-serial, charged-coupled device includes an array of horizontal rows and columns of closely spaced charge storage cells. Each storage cell is formed by an electrode covering an insulation layer above a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate of each storage cell includes a channel region for conducting carriers laterally through the storage cell. The channel region of each storage cell included both in a first row of the array and in any column of the array has a tilted potential gradient providing an electric field facilitating charge carrier drift within the channel region in two lateral directions, toward a neighboring storage cell of the first row and also toward a neighboring storage cell of its column.

Tilted channel, serial-parallel-serial, charge-coupled device

An automatic intensity control circuit is provided for maintaining a constant perceived display brightness in an oscilloscope under varied operating conditions. The circuit includes an averaging circuit, a translation circuit, and a multiplier circuit to develop a cathode-ray tube grid bias control voltage which is inversely proportional to the duty cycle of the time-base sweep gate signal. Two or more such automatic intensity control circuits may be multiplexed for multi-trace oscilloscopes to maintain a constant perceived brightness when alternating between two or more traces.

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Beaverton, OR, United States of America

John E Taggart