EP0271346A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Transistor employing composite of semiconductor material and conductive material
Assignee: Verizon Laboratories Inc
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Filing: 1987-12-10
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2007-12-10
Abstract
Abstract A molten charge containing the constituents of a eutectic composition of a semiconductor material and a conductive material, for example silicon and TaSi2, in the proportions of the eutectic composition is prepared. A composite mass is pulled from the melt, and consists of a matrix (11) of single crystal semiconductor material having an array of individual rods (12) of the conductive material disposed therein. The rods (12) form Schottky barriers with the semiconductor material (11). A body (10) is cut from the composite mass. A semiconductor device, specifically an FET, is fabricated from the body (10) by making gate contact (20) to several of the rods (12) at one end, and source (30) and drain (31) contacts to the matrix (11) of semiconductor material. Current flow in the semiconductor material of the matrix (11) between the source (30) and the drain (31) is controlled by applying biasing potential to the gate contact (20) to enlarge the depletion zones around the rods.
Inventors
- 👤 Brian M. Ditchek
- 👤 Enid K. Sichel
- 👤 Adrian I. Cogan
- 👤 Walter L. Bloss Iii
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 22:37
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10D; H10D30/00; H10D30/01; H10D30/012; H10D64/00; H10D64/01; H10D64/011; H10D64/012; H10D64/0121; H10D64/0124; H10D64/20; H10D64/27; H10D64/311; H10D64/411; H10D64/60; H10D64/64; H10D8/00; H10D8/60; H10P; H10P95/00; H10P95/50
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 34
Claim 1
Independent Claim
147 words
A semiconductor device comprising a body including a matrix of single crystal semiconductor material having disposed therein an array of individual rods of conductive material forming rectifying barriers at the interfaces of the rods and the semiconductor material; said rods of said array being distributed throughout said body and extending from a first major surface of said body to a second major surface generally parallel to said first major surface; said rods of said array being disposed generally parallel to each other and transverse to said major surfaces of said body with said rods each having one end thereof exposed at said first major surface; a first conductive contact member in ohmic contact with a plurality of said rods at said one end of each of the rods of said plurality; and a second conductive contact member in ohmic contact with the semiconductor material of said matrix.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
147 words
A semiconductor device comprising a body including a matrix of single crystal semiconductor material having disposed therein an array of individual rods of conductive material forming rectifying barriers at the interfaces of the rods and the semiconductor material; said rods of said array being distributed throughout said body and extending from a first major surface of said body to a second major surface generally parallel to said first major surface; said rods of said array being disposed generally parallel to each other and transverse to said major surfaces of said body with said rods each having one end thereof exposed at said first major surface; a first conductive contact member in ohmic contact with a plurality of said rods at said one end of each of the rods of said plurality; and a second conductive contact member in ohmic contact with the semiconductor material of said matrix.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
A semiconductor device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the conductive material of said rods is a conductive compound of a first metal and the semiconductor material of the matrix or of a first metal and a constituent element of the semiconductor material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
68 words
A semiconductor device in accordance with claim 2 wherein the conductive compound and the semiconductor material are the constituents of a eutectic composition; and the mole ratio of semiconductor material to the first metal in the matrix and array of rods is approximately equal to the mole ratio of the semiconductor material to the first metal in the eutectic composition of the semiconductor material and the conductive compound.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
A semiconductor device in accordance with claim 3 wherein the volume fraction of the array of rods of the conductive compound in the body is from 0.5 to 35 percent.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
A semiconductor device in accordance with claim 4 wherein the semiconductor material is selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium and the III-V compound semiconductor materials.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
A semiconductor device in accordance with claim 5 wherein said first metal is selected from the group consisting of tantalum, tungsten, niobium zirconium, and chromium.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
A semiconductor device in accordance with claim 6 wherein the diameter of each of said rods is from 0.1 to 15 micrometers; and the spacing between adjacent rods is from 1 to 50 micrometers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
193 words
A field effect transistor comprising a body including a matrix of single crystal semiconductor material having disposed therein an array of individual rods of conductive material forming rectifying barriers at the interfaces of the rods and the semiconductor material; said rods of said array being distributed throughout said body and extending from a first major surface of said body to a second major surface generally parallel to said first major surface; said rods of said array being disposed generally parallel to each other and transverse to said major surfaces of said body with said rods each having one end thereof exposed at said first major surface; a gate contact member in ohmic contact with a plurality of said rods at said one end of each of the rods of said plurality; and a source contact member in ohmic contact with the semiconductor material of said matrix and a drain contact member in ohmic contact with the semiconductor material of said matrix so that current flow through the semiconductor material of the matrix from the source contact member to the drain contact member is controlled by biasing conditions applied to the gate contact member.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
193 words
A field effect transistor comprising a body including a matrix of single crystal semiconductor material having disposed therein an array of individual rods of conductive material forming rectifying barriers at the interfaces of the rods and the semiconductor material; said rods of said array being distributed throughout said body and extending from a first major surface of said body to a second major surface generally parallel to said first major surface; said rods of said array being disposed generally parallel to each other and transverse to said major surfaces of said body with said rods each having one end thereof exposed at said first major surface; a gate contact member in ohmic contact with a plurality of said rods at said one end of each of the rods of said plurality; and a source contact member in ohmic contact with the semiconductor material of said matrix and a drain contact member in ohmic contact with the semiconductor material of said matrix so that current flow through the semiconductor material of the matrix from the source contact member to the drain contact member is controlled by biasing conditions applied to the gate contact member.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
43 words
A field effect transistor in accordance with claim 8 wherein said gate contact member is in ohmic contact with each of said rods of said plurality and is in rectifying contact with semiconductor material of said matrix at said surface of the body.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
44 words
A field effect transistor in accordance with claim 9 wherein the conductive material of said rods is a conductive compound of a first metal and the semiconductor material of the matrix or of a first metal and a constituent element of the semiconductor material.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
69 words
A field effect transistor in accordance with claim 10 wherein the conductive compound and the semiconductor material are the constituents of a eutectic composition; and the mole ratio of semiconductor material to the first metal in the matrix and array of rods is approximately equal to the mole ratio of the semiconductor material to the first metal in the eutectic composition of the semiconductor material and the conductive compound.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
156 words
A field effect transistor in accordance with claim 8 wherein said gate contact member is adherent to a portion of said first major surface, is in low resistance ohmic contact with the plurality of rods at said one ends thereof, and is in rectifying contact with the adjacent semiconductor material of the matrix at said first major surface; said source contact member is in contact with the matrix of semiconductor material at a first side surface of the body lying normal to said first and second major surfaces and parallel to said rods; and said drain contact member is in contact with the matrix of semiconductor material at a second side surface of the body lying parallel to said first side surface so that current flows from the source contact member to the drain contact member between the rods and the depletion zones around the rods established by biasing potential applied to the gate contact member.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
44 words
A field effect transistor in accordance with claim 12 wherein the conductive material of said rods is a conductive compound of a first metal and the semiconductor material of the matrix or of a first metal and a constituent element of the semiconductor material.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
69 words
A field effect transistor in accordance with claim 13 wherein the conductive compound and the semiconductor material are the constituents of a eutectic composition; and the mole ratio of semiconductor material to the first metal in the matrix and array of rods is approximately equal to the mole ratio of the semiconductor material to the first metal in the eutectic composition of the semiconductor material and the conductive compound.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
31 words
A field effect transistor in accordance with claim 14 wherein the volume fraction of the array of rods of the conductive compound in the body is from 0.5 to 35 percent.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
45 words
A field effect transistor in accordance with claim 15 wherein the semiconductor material is selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, and the III-V compound semiconductor materials; and said first metal is selected from the group consisting of tantalum, tungsten, niobium, zirconium, and chromium.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
44 words
A field effect transistor in accordance with claim 16 wherein said gate contact member is a conductive compound of a second metal selected from the group consisting of cobalt, platinum, yttrium, nickel, titanium, tantalum, tungsten, and molybdenum, and the semiconductor material of the matrix.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
35 words
A field effect transistor in accordance with claim 17 wherein the diameter of each of said rods is from 0.1 to 15 micrometers; and the spacing between adjacent rods is from 1 to 50 micrometers.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
242 words
The method of producing a semiconductor device comprising providing a charge containing the constituents of a eutectic composition of a semiconductor material and a conductive material; the constituents being present in the charge in approximately the proportions the constituents are present in the eutectic composition of the semiconductor material and conductive material; heating said charge to a temperature above the eutectic temperature to form a molten charge; contacting the surface of the molten charge with a single crystal seed of the semiconductor material; raising the seed and pulling a composite mass of the semiconductor material and the conductive material having a portion consisting essentially of a matrix of single crystal semiconductor material having disposed therein individual rods of the conductive material forming rectifying barriers at the interfaces of the rods and the semiconductor material, said rods being oriented generally parallel to the direction of pulling; removing from said portion of the mass a body including a matrix of semiconductor material having therein an array of individual rods of the conductive material, said body having a surface transverse to the direction of pulling so that said rods each have one end at the surface of the body encircled by semiconductor material of said matrix; forming a first conductive contact member at said surface in ohmic contact with a plurality of said rods at said one ends thereof; and forming a second conductive member in ohmic contact with the semiconductor material of said matrix.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
242 words
The method of producing a semiconductor device comprising providing a charge containing the constituents of a eutectic composition of a semiconductor material and a conductive material; the constituents being present in the charge in approximately the proportions the constituents are present in the eutectic composition of the semiconductor material and conductive material; heating said charge to a temperature above the eutectic temperature to form a molten charge; contacting the surface of the molten charge with a single crystal seed of the semiconductor material; raising the seed and pulling a composite mass of the semiconductor material and the conductive material having a portion consisting essentially of a matrix of single crystal semiconductor material having disposed therein individual rods of the conductive material forming rectifying barriers at the interfaces of the rods and the semiconductor material, said rods being oriented generally parallel to the direction of pulling; removing from said portion of the mass a body including a matrix of semiconductor material having therein an array of individual rods of the conductive material, said body having a surface transverse to the direction of pulling so that said rods each have one end at the surface of the body encircled by semiconductor material of said matrix; forming a first conductive contact member at said surface in ohmic contact with a plurality of said rods at said one ends thereof; and forming a second conductive member in ohmic contact with the semiconductor material of said matrix.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method in accordance with claim 19 wherein the conductive material is a conductive compound of a metal and the semiconductor material or of a metal and a constituent element of the semiconductor material.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method in accordance with claim 20 wherein the semiconductor material is selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, and the III-V compound semiconductor materials; and said metal is selected from the group consisting of tantalum, tungsten, niobium, zirconium, and chromium.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method in accordance with claim 21 wherein the volume fraction of the array of rods of the conductive compound in the body is from 0.5 to 35 percent.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method in accordance with claim 22 wherein the diameter of each of said rods is from 0.1 to 15 micrometers; and the spacing between adjacent rods is from 1 to 50 micrometers.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method in accordance with claim 23 including applying a source contact member in ohmic contact with a first side surface of said body generally transverse to said first-mentioned surface; and applying a drain contact member in ohmic contact with a second side surface of said body generally parallel to said first side surface so that current flow from said source contact member to said drain contact member is controlled by biasing potential applied to said first conductive contact member.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
251 words
The method of producing a semiconductor device comprising providing a charge of silicon and a silicide-forming metal, the metal being capable of reacting with silicon to form a conductive silicide which forms a eutectic composition with silicon; the mole ratio of silicon to the metal present in the charge being approximately equal to the mole ratio of silicon to the metal in the eutectic composition; heating said charge to a temperature above the eutectic temperature to form a molten charge; contacting the surface of the molten charge with a seed of single crystal silicon; raising the seed and pulling a composite mass of silicon and the metal silicide having a portion consisting essentially of a matrix of single crystal silicon having disposed therein individual rods of the metal silicide forming rectifying barriers at the interfaces of the rods and the silicon, said rods being oriented generally parallel to the direction of pulling; removing from said portion of the mass a body including a matrix of silicon having therein an array of individual rods of the metal silicide, said body having a major surface transverse to the direction of pulling so that said rods each have one end at said major surface of the body and encircled by silicon of said matrix; forming a first conductive contact member at said major surface in ohmic contact with a plurality of said rods at said one ends thereof; and forming a second conductive contact member in ohmic contact with the silicon of said matrix.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
251 words
The method of producing a semiconductor device comprising providing a charge of silicon and a silicide-forming metal, the metal being capable of reacting with silicon to form a conductive silicide which forms a eutectic composition with silicon; the mole ratio of silicon to the metal present in the charge being approximately equal to the mole ratio of silicon to the metal in the eutectic composition; heating said charge to a temperature above the eutectic temperature to form a molten charge; contacting the surface of the molten charge with a seed of single crystal silicon; raising the seed and pulling a composite mass of silicon and the metal silicide having a portion consisting essentially of a matrix of single crystal silicon having disposed therein individual rods of the metal silicide forming rectifying barriers at the interfaces of the rods and the silicon, said rods being oriented generally parallel to the direction of pulling; removing from said portion of the mass a body including a matrix of silicon having therein an array of individual rods of the metal silicide, said body having a major surface transverse to the direction of pulling so that said rods each have one end at said major surface of the body and encircled by silicon of said matrix; forming a first conductive contact member at said major surface in ohmic contact with a plurality of said rods at said one ends thereof; and forming a second conductive contact member in ohmic contact with the silicon of said matrix.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method in accordance with claim 25 wherein said metal is selected from the group consisting of tantalum, tungsten, niobium, zirconium, and chromium.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method in accordance with claim 26 wherein the volume fraction of the array of rods of the metal silicide in the body is from 0.5 to 35 percent.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method in accordance with claim 27 wherein the diameter of each of said rods is from 0.1 to 15 micrometers; and the spacing between adjacent rods is from 1 to 50 micrometers.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method in accordance with claim 28 wherein said first conductive contact member is in ohmic contact with each of said rods of said plurality and is in rectifying contact with the silicon of said matrix at said major surface of the body.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method in accordance with claim 29 including applying a source contact member in ohmic contact with a first side surface of said body generally transverse to said major surface; and applying a drain contact member in ohmic contact with a second side surface of said body generally parallel to said first side surface so that current flow from said source contact member to said drain contact member is controlled by biasing potential applied to said first conductive contact member.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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