Magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device

Claim 2

A MAGNETIC-TO-ELECTRIC CONVERSION SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE TRANSISTOR STRUCTURE UNIT INCLUDING A COLLECTOR REGION OF A FIRST SEMICONDUCTIVITY TYPE, A BASE REGION OF A SECOND SEMICONDUCTIVITY TYPE INSET IN SAID COLLECTOR REGION TO FORM A PN JUNCTION THEREBETWEEN, AN EMITTER REGION DISPOSED ON SAID BASE REGION TO FORM A PN JUNCTION THEREBETWEEN FOR INJECTING CARRIERS INTO THE BASE REGION, A BASE ELECTRODE DISPOSED ON SAID BASE REGION IN SPACED-APART RELATIONSHIP FROM SAID EMITTER REGION, AND A COLLECTOR ELECTRODE DISPOSED ON SAID COLLECTOR REGION, AND BIAS MEANS FOR APPLYING A FIRST BIAS POTENTIAL BETWEEN SAID EMITTER REGION AND SAID BASE ELECTRODE AND A SECOND BIAS POTENTIAL BETWEEN SAID EMITTER REGION AND SAID COLLECTOR ELECTRODE TO INJECT CARRIERS FROM SAID EMITTER REGION INTO SAID BASE REGION, AND WHEREIN SAID TRANSISTOR STRUCTURE UNIT IS CONFIGURATED IN RELATION TO THE BIAS POTENTIALS DEVELOPED BY SAID BIAS MEANS SUCH THAT THE TIME QUANTITY D2/D, WHEREIN D REPRESENTS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE EMITTOR AND COLLECTOR REGIONS AS MEASURED ALONG THE THICKNESS DIRECTION OF SAID TRANSISTOR STRUCTURE UNIT, AND D REPRESENTS THE DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT OF MINORITY CARRIERS IN THE BASE REGION

Claim 3

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1; including a semiconductor substrate having first and second main surfaces lying in opposed substantially parallel relationship to one another, said collector region defining said first main surface, said base region defining at least almost the entire surface of said second main surface, means connecting said collector electrode to said collector region on said first main surface in an ohmic contact relationship, said emitter region and said base electrode being disposed on said second main surface, and means connecting said base electrode in ohmic contact relationship to said base region.

Claim 4

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1; further comprising a plurality of transistor structure units all having a common collector region and having independent base regions, emitter regions, and base electrodes and wherein said bias means comprises means for supplying a bias potential between said emitter region and said base electrode of the respective units and between said emitter region and said collector electrode of the respective units.

Claim 5

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device as claimed in claim 2; wherein said device is orientated so that the applied magnetic field is substantially parallel to each of said main surfaces and has a component intersecting at substantially right angles with a line along which said emitter region and said base electrode oppose to each other.

Claim 6

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device as claimEd in claim 2; wherein said emitter region includes a region of the first semiconductivity type inserted from said second main surface into said base region.

Claim 7

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device as claimed in claim 2; wherein said base region is provided at that side of the second main surface with an auxiliary region of the second semiconductivity type including a high concentration impurity, and said base electrode is junctioned to said auxiliary region.

Claim 8

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device as claimed in claim 2; wherein said base electrode is provided with a signal output terminal.

Claim 9

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device as claimed in claim 2; wherein said collector electrode is provided with a signal output terminal.

Claim 10

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device comprising a plurality of transistor structure units including a common collector region of a first semiconductivity type, independent base regions of a second semiconductivity type inset in said collector region to form PN junctions therebetween, independent emitter regions each disposed on one of said base regions to form a PN junction therebetween for injecting carriers into each base region, base electrodes each disposed on one of said base regions in spaced-apart relationship from each of said emitter regions, and a collector electrode disposed on said collector region; and bias means for applying a bias potential between said emitter region and said base electrode of the respective units and a bias potential between said emitter region and said collector electrode of the respective units to inject carriers from said emitter region into said base region of the respective units; and wherein each of said transistor structure units is configured in relation to the bias potentials developed by said bias means such that the time quantity d2/D, wherein d represents the distance between the emitter and collector regions as measured along the thickness direction of said transistor structure unit, and D represents the diffusion coefficient of minority carriers in the base region is substantially equal to the time quantity l2/ Mu VEB, wherein l represents the distance between the emitter region and the region of said base region on which said base electrode is disposed, Mu represents the carrier mobility of minority carriers in the base region, and VEB represents the voltage applied across said emitter region and base electrode so that the flow of carriers through said base region toward said collector region varies in coefficient of transportation in accordance with the direction of an applied magnetic field to accordingly vary the number of carriers that reach said base electrode.

Claim 11

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device comprising a plurality of transistor structure units including a common collector region of a first semiconductivity type, independent base regions of a second semiconductivity type inset in said collector region to form PN junctions therebetween, independent emitter regions each disposed on one of said base regions to form a PN junction therebetween for injecting carriers into each base region, base electrodes each disposed on one of said base regions in spaced-apart relationship from each of said emitter regions, and a collector electrode disposed on said collector region; and bias means for applying a bias potential between said emitter region and said base electrode of the respective units and a bias potential between said emitter region and said collector electrode of the respective units to inject carriers from said emitter region into said base region of the respective units; and wherein each of said transistor structure units is configured in relation to the bias potentials developed by said bias means such that the time quantity d2/D, wherein d represents the distance between the emitter and collector regions as measured along the thickness direction of said transistor structure unit, and D represents the diffusion coefficient of minority carriers in the base region is substantially equal to the time quantity l2/ Mu VEB, wherein l represents the distance between the emitter region and the region of said base region on which said base electrode is disposed, Mu represents the carrier mobility of minority carriers in the base region, and VEB represents the voltage applied across said emitter region and base electrode so that the flow of carriers through said base region toward said collector region varies in coefficient of transportation in accordance with the direction of an applied magnetic field to accordingly vary the number of carriers that reach said base electrode.

Claim 12

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device as claimed in claim 9, including means connecting said two units in such a relationship that an electrical potential on a common signal output terminal is variable.

Claim 13

A magnetic-to-electric conversion semiconductor device as claimed in claim 9, wherein recombination lifetime in said base region of carriers injected from said emitter region into said base region is greater than both of said transit times.

Claim 14

A magnetic-to-electric semiconductor transducer device comprising: a semiconductor body having a collector region of a first conductivity type, a base region of a second conductivity type inset in and contiguous with a portion of said collector region, and an emitter region of said first conductivity type contiguous with a portion of said base region and separated from said collector region by said base region; a base electrode ohmically connected to said base region; a collector electrode ohmically connected to said collector region; biasing means for forwardly biasing the emitter-base junction and reversely biasing the collector-base junction during use of the device to inject charGe carriers from said emitter region into said base region afterwhich some of the charge carriers flow through said base region to said base electrode and others flow through said base region across said collector-base junction and then through said collector region to said collector electrode; wherein said semiconductor body is configured in relation to the output of said biasing means such that said base electrode is spaced apart from said emitter region a distance suitably selected in relation to the dimensions of said semiconductor body so that the time quantity d2/D, wherein d represents the distance between the emitter and collector regions as measured along the thickness direction of said transistor structure unit, and D represents the diffusion coefficient of minority carriers in the base region and the time quantity 12/ Mu VEB, wherein l represents the distance between the emitter region and the region of said base region on which said base electrode is disposed, Mu represents the carrier mobility of minority carriers in the base region, and VEB represents the voltage applied across said emitter region and base electrode are substantially equal to each other and less than the recombination lifetime in said base region of charge carriers injected from said emitter region into said base region so that the coefficient of transportation of the charge carriers flowing to said collector region varies in accordance with the strength of a magnetic field applied to said semiconductor body to accordingly vary the number of charge carriers flowing to said base electrode; and means responsive to the number of charge carriers reaching said base and collector electrodes for providing an electrical signal representative of the strength of the applied magnetic field.

Claim 15

A magnetic-to-electric semiconductor transducer device comprising: a semiconductor body having a collector region of a first conductivity type, a base region of a second conductivity type inset in and contiguous with a portion of said collector region, and an emitter region of said first conductivity type contiguous with a portion of said base region and separated from said collector region by said base region; a base electrode ohmically connected to said base region; a collector electrode ohmically connected to said collector region; biasing means for forwardly biasing the emitter-base junction and reversely biasing the collector-base junction during use of the device to inject charGe carriers from said emitter region into said base region afterwhich some of the charge carriers flow through said base region to said base electrode and others flow through said base region across said collector-base junction and then through said collector region to said collector electrode; wherein said semiconductor body is configured in relation to the output of said biasing means such that said base electrode is spaced apart from said emitter region a distance suitably selected in relation to the dimensions of said semiconductor body so that the time quantity d2/D, wherein d represents the distance between the emitter and collector regions as measured along the thickness direction of said transistor structure unit, and D represents the diffusion coefficient of minority carriers in the base region and the time quantity 12/ Mu VEB, wherein l represents the distance between the emitter region and the region of said base region on which said base electrode is disposed, Mu represents the carrier mobility of minority carriers in the base region, and VEB represents the voltage applied across said emitter region and base electrode are substantially equal to each other and less than the recombination lifetime in said base region of charge carriers injected from said emitter region into said base region so that the coefficient of transportation of the charge carriers flowing to said collector region varies in accordance with the strength of a magnetic field applied to said semiconductor body to accordingly vary the number of charge carriers flowing to said base electrode; and means responsive to the number of charge carriers reaching said base and collector electrodes for providing an electrical signal representative of the strength of the applied magnetic field.

Claim 16

A magnetic-to-electric semiconductor transducer device according to claim 12; wherein said semiconductor body includes an auxiliary region interposed between said base region and said base electrode and having said second conductivity type including therein a high concentration impurity.

Claim 17

A magnetic-to-electric semiconductor transducer device according to claim 12; wherein said collector region has a recess therein, and wherein said base region lies within said recess and is contiguous with said collector region at all surfaces thereof except for one exposed surface, and wherein both said emitter region and said base electrode are contiguous with said exposed surface.