Solid state light sensitive storage array

Claim 2

An electron beam storage device comprising a substrate of semiconductor material of one conductivity type having a first surface of a predetermined crystallographic orientation, a layer of insulating material having a plurality of apertures therein, each aperture extending from a first face to an opposed second face thereof, said first face of said layer being in intimate contact with said first surface of said substrate, a plurality of electrically conducting projections of semiconductor material of opposite conductivity type, each projection being an epitaxial extension of said substrate and extending from saiD first surface of said substrate through a respective aperture of said insulating layer and terminating beyond the plane of said second face of said insulating layer, each of said projections forming a rectifying diode with said substrate, means for reverse biasing said rectifying projections with an electrom beam, said projections being proportioned such that a substantial portion of said electron beam is intercepted by said projections during the scanning thereof.

Claim 3

The device of claim 1 in which said projections substantially cover said second face of said insulating layer, each of said projections being closed spaced and in insulated relationship to adjacent projections, and in which each of said projections extends a substantial distance beyond said second face of said insulating layer.

Claim 4

The device of claim 1 in which said projections are constituted of P-type conductivity semiconductor material.

Claim 5

The device of claim 2 in which extensions of said projections above said second face of said insulating layer are pyramid-shaped.

Claim 6

The device of claim 2 in which the extensions of said projections above said second face of said insulating layer are mesa-shaped.

Claim 7

The device of claim 2 in which the outlines of sections of said projections parallel to said second face of said layer are substantially identical and regular, adjacent edges of adjacent sections being substantially uniformly spaced.

Claim 8

The device of claim 1 in which said first surface of said substrate is a 1, 0, 0 plane as defined by Miller indicies.

Claim 9

The device of claim 1 in which said first surface of said substrate is a 1, 1, 1 plane as defined by Miller indices.

Claim 10

A target structure for an electron beam storage device comprising a substrate of semiconductor material of one conductivity type, an insulating layer in intimate contact with a surface of said substrate and having a plurality of apertures therein which expose selective portions of said substrate, a plurality of projections of semiconductor material, each projection having an end portion in contact with a respective exposed portion of said substrate, a body portion extending through a respective aperture of said insulating layer, and another end portion remote from the exposed portion of said insulating layer, each of said projections being constituted of opposite type semiconductor material to form a rectifying diode with said substrate and being an epitaxial extension of said substrate.

Claim 11

A target structure for an electron beam storage device comprising a substrate of semiconductor material of one conductivity type, an insulating layer in intimate contact with a surface of said substrate and having a plurality of apertures therein which expose selective portions of said substrate, a plurality of projections of semiconductor material, each projection having an end portion in contact with a respective exposed portion of said substrate, a body portion extending through a respective aperture of said insulating layer, and another end portion remote from the exposed portion of said insulating layer, each of said projections being constituted of opposite type semiconductor material to form a rectifying diode with said substrate and being an epitaxial extension of said substrate.

Claim 12

The target structure of claim 9 in which said projections substantially cover the exposed portion of said insulating layer and in which said other end portions of said projections lie a substantial distance beyond the exposed portion of said insulating layer.

Claim 13

The target structure of claim 9 in which said apertures are identical in size and arranged in an array, said array of apertures being set in relation to the crystalline orientation of the surface of said substrate in contact with said insulating layer such that said projections are identical in orientation and in which each projection is identically spaced in relation to adjacent projections.

Claim 14

The target structure of claim 9 in which said semiconductor material is silicon.

Claim 15

The target structure of claim 9 in which said substrate is of N-type semiconductor material and said electrically conducting material is P-type semiconductor material.

Claim 16

The target structure of claim 9 in which the end portions of each of said projections are identically symmetrical.

Claim 17

The target structure of claim 9 in which each of the end portions of said projections is a surface parallel to said second face of said insulating layer.

Claim 18

The target of claim 9 in which each of said projections is hexagonal in cross section and in which small gaps are provided between adjacent projections.

Claim 19

In combination, a substrate of semiconductor material having a first surface of a predetermined crystallographic orientation and A second surface spaced therefrom and opposed thereto, a layer of insulating material having a first face and a second face spaced therefrom and in opposed relation thereto, a plurality of apertures in said layer each extending from said first face to said second face thereof, said first face of said layer being in intimate contact with said first surface of said substrate, a plurality of electrically conducting projections of semiconductor material of opposite conductivity type, each of said projections being an epitaxial extension of said substrate and extending from said first surface of said substrate through a respective aperture of said insulating layer and terminating beyond said second face of said insulating layer, each of said projections forming a rectifying diode with said substrate, means for forming and directing an electron beam to scan the projections of said diodes to reversely biased said rectifying diodes, means for shielding said insulating layer from said electron beam including proportioning said projections to substantially cover said second face thereof and to extend a substantial distance beyond said second face whereby said rectifying diodes are reversely biased to a predetermined magnitude by the scanning of said diodes by said electron beam, means for projecting radiation representing an image to be recorded on said second surface of said substrate whereby each of said diodes is discharged from said predetermined magnitude to an extent corresponding to the extent of radiation received thereby and the scanning of said diodes producing a current flow in circuit with said substrate and said electron beam which varies in accordance with the radiation received by said diodes, means for developing a video signal in response to said current flow.

Claim 20

In combination, a substrate of semiconductor material having a first surface of a predetermined crystallographic orientation and A second surface spaced therefrom and opposed thereto, a layer of insulating material having a first face and a second face spaced therefrom and in opposed relation thereto, a plurality of apertures in said layer each extending from said first face to said second face thereof, said first face of said layer being in intimate contact with said first surface of said substrate, a plurality of electrically conducting projections of semiconductor material of opposite conductivity type, each of said projections being an epitaxial extension of said substrate and extending from said first surface of said substrate through a respective aperture of said insulating layer and terminating beyond said second face of said insulating layer, each of said projections forming a rectifying diode with said substrate, means for forming and directing an electron beam to scan the projections of said diodes to reversely biased said rectifying diodes, means for shielding said insulating layer from said electron beam including proportioning said projections to substantially cover said second face thereof and to extend a substantial distance beyond said second face whereby said rectifying diodes are reversely biased to a predetermined magnitude by the scanning of said diodes by said electron beam, means for projecting radiation representing an image to be recorded on said second surface of said substrate whereby each of said diodes is discharged from said predetermined magnitude to an extent corresponding to the extent of radiation received thereby and the scanning of said diodes producing a current flow in circuit with said substrate and said electron beam which varies in accordance with the radiation received by said diodes, means for developing a video signal in response to said current flow.