US3614549A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
A semiconductor recombination radiation device
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
•
Filing: 1968-10-15
•
Granted: 1971-10-19
•
Expires: 1988-10-15
Abstract
Abstract The diode is a formed alloy of InP and GaP doped to provide a PN junction. A forward bias is applied to produce radiation in the green. The alloy provides efficient direct transition radiation even though it includes more of the indirect GaP semiconductor GaP than the direct gap semiconductor InP. For an output of about 2.2 electron-volts, the alloy includes about 80 percent gap and about 20 percent InP. This highly visible output is achievable with this alloy because the energy difference between the (000) aligned (direct) conduction band minima and the (100) misaligned (indirect) conduction band minima in InP is greater than the energy difference between the corresponding aligned and the misaligned minima in GaP. Also, the energy level for the misaligned minima in InP is essentially at the same energy level as the misaligned minima in GaP. Diodes are also formed of alloys of other III-V compounds.
Inventors
- 👤 Max R Lorenz
- 👤 Arthur H Nethercot Jr
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 01:19
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60R; B60R13/00; B60R13/10; H; H10; H10H; H10H20/00; H10H20/80; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S148/00; Y10S148/067; Y10S148/107
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
74 words
The recombination radiation device of claim 1 wherein the second conduction band minimum in said first semiconductor is at an energy which is at least 90 percent of the energy of the second conduction band minimum in said second semiconductor; and said recombination radiation is produced by direct transitions in said semiconductor alloy at an energy which is at least 85 percent of the energy of the indirect energy gap of said second semiconductor.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
58 words
The recombination radiation device of claim 1 wherein the second conduction band minimum of said first semiconductor is at a higher energy than the second conduction band minimum of said second semiconductor and said recombination radiation is produced in said semiconductor alloy by direct gap transitions at an energy greater than the indirect gap of said second semiconductor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
35 words
The recombination radiation device of claim 1 wherein said direct gap semiconductor alloy includes a percentage of said second indirect gap semiconductor material which is greater than the percentage of said direct gap semiconductor material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The recombination radiation device of claim 1 wherein said first semiconductor is indium phosphide, and said second semiconductor is gallium phosphide.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
The recombination radiation device of claim 5 wherein said semiconductor alloy is In1 xGaXP, and X had a value between 0.60 and 0.80.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
74 words
A semiconductor recombination radiation device comprising: a. a body of direct gap semiconductor material having a P region and an N region and a PN junction therebetween; b. and means connected to said body for applying a forward bias across said junction to produce a light output due to direct gap recombination radiation; c. said direct gap semiconductor material being an alloy In1 xGaXP; d. and X having a value between 0.60 and .80.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
The recombination radiation device of claim 7 wherein X is between 0.75 and 0.80 and said recombination radiation light output is in the green at an energy of about 2.2 electron volts.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
245 words
In a semiconductor recombination radiation device of the type which comprises a body of direct gap semiconductor material doped to include a PN junction across which a forward bias is applied to produce a light output by recombination radiation, the improvement comprising: a. said direct gap semiconductor material being an alloy of a first semiconductor selected from the group consisting of GaSb InP, InAs and InSb and a second semiconductor selected from the group consisting of GaP A1P, A1As and A1Sb, and said alloy is selected from the group consisting of In1 xGaxP, Ga1 xxP, In1 xA1xAs, InxA11 XP, Ga1 xA1xSb and In1 xA1xSb and where x is about 0.5 to about 0.8; b. said first semiconductor being a direct gap semiconductor having a first conduction band minimum aligned with the valence band maximum and a second conduction band minimum misaligned with the valence band maximum in the semiconductor and said second minimuM being at a higher energy than said first minimum; c. said second semiconductor being an indirect gap semiconductor having a first conduction band minimum aligned with the valence band maximum and a second conduction band minimum misaligned with the valence band maximum in the semiconductor and said second minimum being at a lower energy than said first minimum; d. and the second conduction band minima in said first semiconductor being at an energy which is at least 90 percent of the energy of the second conduction band minima in said second semiconductor.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
58 words
The recombination radiation device of claim 9 wherein the second conduction band minimum of said first semiconductor is at a higher energy than the second conduction band minimum of said second semiconductor and said recombination radiation is produced in said semiconductor alloy by direct gap transitions at an energy greater than the indirect gap of said second semiconductor.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
259 words
In a semiconductor recombination radiation device of the type in which charge carriers of one conductivity type are introduced into a body of semiconductor material of opposite conductivity type to produce recombination radiation, the improvement comprising: a. said direct gap semiconductor material being an alloy of a first semiconductor selected from the group consisting of GaSb, InP, InAs and InSb and a second semiconductor selected from the group consisting of GaP A1P, A1As, and A1Sb, and said alloy is selected from the group consisting of In1 xA1xSb, In1 xGaxP, Ga1 xSbxP, In1 xA1xAs, InxA11 xP, and Ga1 xA1xSb and where x is about 0.5 to about 0.8; b. Said first semiconductor being a direct gap semiconductor having a first conduction band minimum aligned with the valence band maximum and a second conduction band minimum misaligned with the valence band maximum in the semiconductor and said second minimum being at a higher energy than said first minimum; c. said second semiconductor being an indirect gap semiconductor having a first conduction band minimum aligned with the valence band maximum and a second conduction band misaligned with the valence band maximum in the semiconductor and said second minima being at a lower energy than said first minimum; d. the composition of said alloy including a greater percentage of said second indirect gap semiconductor than that of said first direct gap semiconductor than that of said first direct gap semiconductor but being within a range of compositions for which the direct gap energy of the alloy is lower than the indirect energy gap.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3416047A
Cited
US3436625A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-10-18 | 1975-04-19 | 1975-10-19 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-10-18 | 1979-04-19 | 1979-10-19 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-10-18 | 1983-04-19 | 1983-10-19 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |