Charge‐coupled devices would be cheap, compact

A new concept for a semiconductor device—charge coupling—shows promise for use as a shift register, delay line, memory and optical pick‐up device. Because the devices transfer charge without the use of leads connecting discrete elements, they are inherently simpler than integrated circuits, and would, presumably be cheaper to make and more compact for some applications. The concept, proposed by Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith of Bell Labs, essentially consists of storing charge carriers in potential wells created at the surface of a semiconductor and moving the charge across the surface by moving the potential minima. The easiest way to produce the minima is to apply fields across a thin oxide formed on the surface of the semiconductor.