a phenomenon observed in some semiconductors in which a steady electric field of magnitude greater than a threshold value generates electrical oscillations with microwave frequencies
Word origin
C20: named after John Battiscombe Gunn (1928–2008), British physicist
Gunn effect in American English
(ɡʌn)
noun
Physics & Electronics
the onset of microwave oscillations in a thin slice of a semiconductor when a voltage exceeding a given value is applied across the slice
Word origin
[named after J. B. Gunn (1928–2008), British physicist, who discovered the effect in 1963]