A device for creating a sparking voltage across the electrodes of a spark plug of an internal combustion engine comprising a rotatable member carrying a permanent magnet having an outwardly extending flux field movable in an annular path, a transformer having a first winding for creating a current change of a spark creating level and a second winding connected across the electrodes, a Hall Effect switch activated by a D.C. biasing voltage and having an output energized when the switch is exposed...

A semiconductor tunable capacitor is described. This tunable capacitor employs a plurality of metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitive segments and each element has a first and a second value of capacitance. The solid state capacitor employs a plurality of tuning terminals and a single capacitor terminal. Tuning signals are applied to each of the tuning terminals for switching that capacitive segment into its high or low capacitive state. The capacitor terminal is capacitively connected to...

An amplifier using a plurality of solid state diodes as the active elements is shown to comprise a plurality of amplifier channels fed, through a first radial line, by signals to be amplified and connected, through a second radial line, to a load.

A solid-state image sensor is provided, which has a high spectral response over the whole visible light range and wherein a photoconductor layer having a hetero-junction defined by a hole blocking layer and a layer consisting of a system (Zn.sub.1-x Cd.sub.x Te).sub.1-y (In.sub.2 Te.sub.3).sub.y is formed over a semiconductor substrate which has charge transfer type unit cells or X-Y switching matrix type unit cells.

The present invention relates to a solid state color camera in which a solid state imager is combined with a stripe filter and a color processor to obtain a three color electrical signal. The color filter is a composite filter consisting of a first sequence of pass and rejection stripes for one color alternating at the sensor interval and a second sequence of pass and rejection stripes for a second color alternating at twice the sensor interval. In one form of the invention, the imager is a char...

A lamp ballast connectable with a d.c. source comprises a regulating device having a voltage coil and a load coil. The voltage coil is connected in a circuit in parallel with the series-connected load coil and lamp. Alternate charge and discharge of a capacitor connected with the voltage coil impresses an alternating voltage thereacross. The capacitor is charged by current through the voltage coil and is discharged through a resonant commutating circuit comprising a thyristor triggered from an o...

An improved solid state pyroelectric imaging system having readout of the cture elements of the pyroelectric disc in a plurality of parallel readout channels. Each picture element of a given line is sequentially connected through photoconductive switches to an amplifier and a display device.

A bi-state linear amplifier is provided which, in response to a first state of a control signal, functions as a linear amplifier, and in response to a second state of a control signal, is cut off to define a high output impedance. The amplifier includes a control circuit responsive to relatively low-current control signals for selectively opening and closing the internal amplification circuit of the amplifier.

A solid state television camera which is free from the noise caused by defects in semiconductor substrate is disclosed. Solid state image sensors derive a plurality of picked up signals. Detectors detect the noise in the picked up signals when the image sensors pick up an image of a reference object, and these detected signals are temporarily stored in a memory which memorizes the noise signals derived by the detectors. Sampling hold circuits which are supplied with the picked up signals are con...

A solid state photoelectrochemical cell providing in-situ electrochemical energy storage having a homogeneous solid electrolyte matrix and associated ionic conductors with a central electrolyte separator portion providing ionic conductance and an oxidant portion on one side and a reductant portion on the other side each having redox couples in fixed lattice positions and possessing ionic and electronic conductivity. At least one photosensitive photoelectrode is in ionic communication with the ox...