Tunnel Diode Digital Circuitry
W Chow · IEEE Transactions on Electronic Computers · 1960
This paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, the basic tunnel diode logic circuits are discussed. These include the monostable and the bistable analog-threshold gates and the ``Goto-pair,'' which uses the principle of majority decision. These circuits are studied to determine the requirement on tunnel diodes and other component tolerances. Relations between the ``fan-in'' and the ``fan-out'' numbers and the component tolerances are derived. The results indicate that the ``Goto-pair'' is somewhat superior to the analog-threshold gates with respect to circuit reliability. In the second part, a tunnel diode flip-flop stage which has advantages with respect to speed, ease, of operation and component tolerances is described. Combination of these flip-flops in counter and shift-register configurations have been successfully operated. Several potential advantages over conventional transistor circuits are discussed.