EP0359329A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Wide band gap semiconductor light-emitting devices
Assignee: Koninklijke Philips NV
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Filing: 1989-09-11
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-09-11
Abstract
Abstract Wide band gap, single conductivity type semiconductor light-emitting diodes (LED's) (90) feature a bias potential across the device below that required for carrier multiplication by avalanche breakdown, together with separate means for carrier introduction, such as an electron beam or a pn junction diode (91), to achieve light emission. The addition of Fabry-Perot surfaces (154, 155) converts the LED to a semiconductor laser (150). Efficiency enhancing heterostructure, including potential wells (95, 96) and staircases (92-94), may be added to the device. Arrays of such devices (172) on a substrate (171) may be scanned by an electron beam to display video information.
Inventors
- 👤 Sel Brian Colak
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 15:53
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10H; H10H20/00; B; B82; B82Y; B82Y20/00; H01; H01S; H01S5/00; H01S5/04; H01S5/30; H01S5/34; H01S5/347; H01S5/40; H10H20/80; H10H20/81; H10H20/811; H10H20/822; H10H20/823; H10H20/824; H10H29/00; H10H29/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
103 words
Wide band gap, single conductivity type semiconductor light-emitting device, the device having at least two electrodes and an active region between the electrodes comprising an essentially single crystal semiconductor compound of a single conductivity type selected from the group of II-VI and III-V semiconductor compounds and mixed compounds, characterized in that separate means for carrier introduction into the active region is provided, whereby in operation, application of a bias potential across the electrodes below that required for carrier multiplication by avalanche breakdown enables excitation of light emission by separate carrier introduction at a lower energy than would be required without the bias potential.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
103 words
Wide band gap, single conductivity type semiconductor light-emitting device, the device having at least two electrodes and an active region between the electrodes comprising an essentially single crystal semiconductor compound of a single conductivity type selected from the group of II-VI and III-V semiconductor compounds and mixed compounds, characterized in that separate means for carrier introduction into the active region is provided, whereby in operation, application of a bias potential across the electrodes below that required for carrier multiplication by avalanche breakdown enables excitation of light emission by separate carrier introduction at a lower energy than would be required without the bias potential.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The device of claim 1 in which the active region includes at least one potential well.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The device of claim 2 in which the composition of the active region is n-type ZnS x Se 1-x and the composition of the potential well is n-type ZnSe.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
The device of claim 2 in which the composition of the active region is n-type Al x Ga 1-1 N, and the composition of the potential well is n-type GaN.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
The device of claim 1 in which the active region includes at least one staircase.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
The device of claim 5 in which the composition of the active region corresponds to the formula n-type ZnS x Se 1-x , and the composition changes uniformly across the staircase region.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The device of claim 6 in which the value of x across the staircase region ranges from a low of about 0.05 to a high of about 0.3.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The device of claim 1 in which the active region includes at least one potential well and at least one staircase region.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
The device of claim 8 in which the potential well is located within the staircase region.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
The device of claim 1 in which separate carrier introduction is achieved by impingement of an electron beam on one surface of the device.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
24 words
The device of claim 1 in which separate carrier introduction is achieved by a carrier injection structure on one surface of the active region.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The device of claim 11 in which the carrier injection structure is a pn junction diode.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
The device of claim 11 in which at least one carrier injection structure is located in a single crystal semiconductor substrate, and at least one active region comprising one or more epitaxial layers is located over the carrier injection structure on the substrate.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
16 words
The device of claim 13 in which the carrier injection structure is a pn junction diode.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
The device of claim 14 in which the substrate material is selected from the group consisting of single crystal silicon and gallium arsenide.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
36 words
The device of claim 13 in which the substrate contains an array of spaced apart carrier injection structures and in which the substrate supports an array of active regions located over the carrier injection structure array.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
40 words
The device of claim 1 in which a pair of parallel reflective surfaces are provided to form a Fabry-Perot cavity for at least the recombination region of the active region, thereby to promote amplification and lasing of the emitted light.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
18 words
The device of claim 17 in which the electrodes are located outside the path of the laser light.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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