The Chargistor, a New Class of Semiconductor Devices [Letter to the Editor]
H. N. Yu · IBM Journal of Research and Development · 1961
This correspondence will describe a new class of semiconductor devices called Chargistors. Each device is composed of a bar of either p-type or n-type high resistivity semiconductor material to which a number of rectifying contacts or control electrodes are attached. The conduction through the bar due to hole injection at one end and electron injection at the other is limited by space charges. The space-charge regions exist because both holes and electrons recombine in the intrinsic body. The potential and space-charge distribution in the body can be changed by the action of the control electrodes which cause the current flow to be modulated. The characteristic curves of these devices were observed to be similar to those of vacuum tube triodes, tetrodes, and pentodes, which indicates that the control electrodes behave in a similar manner to grids.