Acoustic charge transport device and method

Claim 2

A semiconductor device, comprising: a support layer; a layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material disposed over said support layer; a conductive barrier layer disposed over a region of said piezoelectric semiconductor material and defining a channel in the piezoelectric semiconductor material beneath the barrier layer; transducer means disposed on said piezoelectric semiconductor material for receiving a transducer energizing signal and establishing a surface acoustic wave in said piezoelectric semiconductor material that propagates through the channel; means, other than said transducer means, for injecting into the channel an input electrical charge signal; and means for extracting a delayed version of the input electrical signal from the channel after said input electrical signal has been carried along by the surface acoustic wave.

Claim 3

The device as defined by claim 1, further comprising means for depleting majority carriers from the channel.

Claim 4

The device as defined by claim 2 wherein said support layer is also a piezoelectric semiconductor material.

Claim 5

The device as defined by claim 2 wherein a confining layer of semiconductor material is disposed between said support layer and said layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material.

Claim 6

The device as defined by claim 2 wherein said layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material is gallium arsenide.

Claim 7

The device as defined by claim 5 wherein said support layer is gallium arsenide.

Claim 8

The device as defined by claim 5 wherein said layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material is N-type gallium arsenide and said support layer is semi-insulating gallium arsenide.

Claim 9

The device as defined by claim 2 wherein said means for injecting and means for extracting comprise diodes disposed on the surface of said layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material on opposite sides of said barrier layer.

Claim 10

The device as defined by claim 7 wherein said means for injecting and means for extracting comprise diodes disposed on the surface of said layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material on opposite sides of said barrier layer.

Claim 11

The device as defined by claim 2 wherein said transducer means comprises an interdigitated transducer.

Claim 12

The device as defined by claim 2 wherein said barrier layer has a plurality of spaced openings therein such that said barrier layer is divided into barrier layer portions.

Claim 13

The device as defined by claim 11 wherein said electrical signal is caused to be injected into the channel by incident light.

Claim 14

The device as defined by claim 11, further comprising a plurality of taps disposed over said channel in the openings of said barrier layer, and wherein delayed versions of said electrical signal are extracted at said taps.

Claim 15

The device as defined by claim 12, further comprising a plurality of taps disposed over said channel in the openings of said barrier layer, and wherein delayed versions of said electrical signal are extracted at said taps.

Claim 16

The device as defined by claim 11, further comprising means for applying control voltage potentials to said barrier layer portions to control the presence of potential wells beneath selected ones of the barrier layer portions so as to temporarily prevent the electrical signal from being carried along by the surface acoustic wave.

Claim 17

The device as defined by claim 12, further comprising means for applying control voltage potentials to said barrier layer portions to control the presence of potential wells beneath selected ones of the barrier layer portions so as to temporarily prevent the electrical signal from being carried along by the surface acoustic wave.

Claim 18

The device as defined by claim 13, further comprising means for applying control voltage potentials to said barrier layer portions to control the presence of potential wells beneath selected ones of the barrier layer portions so as to temporarily prevent the electrical signal from being carried along by the surface acoustic wave.

Claim 19

The device as defined by claim 14, further comprising means for applying control voltage potentials to said barrier layer portions to control the presence of potential wells beneath selected ones of the barrier layer portions so as to temporarily prevent the electrical signal from being carried along by the surface acoustic wave.

Claim 20

The device as defined by claim 11, further comprising a plurality of gate controlled electrodes operative to selectively cause injection of electrical signal to the channel regions beneath selected ones of said barrier layer portions.

Claim 21

The device as defined by claim 12, further comprising a plurality of gate controlled electrodes operative to selectively cause injection of electrical signal to the channel regions beneath selected ones of said barrier layer portions.

Claim 22

The device as defined by claim 13, further comprising a plurality of gate controlled electrodes operative to selectively cause injection of electrical signal to the channel regions beneath selected ones of said barrier layer portions.

Claim 23

The device as defined by claim 15, further comprising a plurality of gate controlled electrodes operative to selectively cause injection of electrical signal to the channel regions beneath selected ones of said barrier layer portions.

Claim 24

A semiconductor device, comprising: a support layer; a layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material disposed over said support layer; a conductive barrier layer disposed over a region of said piezoelectric semiconductor material and defining a channel in the piezoelectric semiconductor material beneath the barrier layer, said conductive barrier layer having a plurality of spaced openings therein; a plurality of taps disposed over said channel in the openings of said barrier layer, said taps comprising metal barrier contacts capacitively coupled to a reference potential; means for depleting majority carriers from said channel; transducer means disposed on said piezoelectric semiconductor material for receiving a transducer energizing signal and establishing a surface acoustic wave in said piezoelectric semiconductor material that propagates through the channel; means, other than said transducer means, for injecting into the channel an electrical charge signal; and means for sensing delayed versions of the electrical charge signal at said taps.

Claim 25

A semiconductor device, comprising: a support layer; a layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material disposed over said support layer; a conductive barrier layer disposed over a region of said piezoelectric semiconductor material and defining a channel in the piezoelectric semiconductor material beneath the barrier layer, said conductive barrier layer having a plurality of spaced openings therein; a plurality of taps disposed over said channel in the openings of said barrier layer, said taps comprising metal barrier contacts capacitively coupled to a reference potential; means for depleting majority carriers from said channel; transducer means disposed on said piezoelectric semiconductor material for receiving a transducer energizing signal and establishing a surface acoustic wave in said piezoelectric semiconductor material that propagates through the channel; means, other than said transducer means, for injecting into the channel an electrical charge signal; and means for sensing delayed versions of the electrical charge signal at said taps.

Claim 26

The device as defined by claim 23 wherein said layer of piezoelectric semiconducter material is gallium arsenide.

Claim 27

The device as defined by claim 23 wherein said means for injecting said electrical signal into said channel comprises a diode disposed at one end of the channel, and further comprising a control gate disposed between said diode and said barrier layer.

Claim 28

A semiconductor device, comprising: a support layer; a layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material disposed over said support layer; a conductive barrier layer disposed over a region of said piezoelectric semiconductor material and defining a channel in the piezoelectric semiconductor material beneath the barrier layer, said conductive barrier layer having a plurality of spaced openings therein; a plurality of conductive barrier taps disposed over said channel in the openings of said barrier layer; means for depleting majority carriers from said channel; transducer means disposed on said piezoelectric semiconductor material for establishing a surface acoustic wave in said piezoelectric semiconductor material that propagates through the channel; means for injecting an electrical signal into the channel via said taps; and means for extracting electrical signals from the channel.

Claim 29

A semiconductor device, comprising: a support layer; a layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material disposed over said support layer; a conductive barrier layer disposed over a region of said piezoelectric semiconductor material and defining a channel in the piezoelectric semiconductor material beneath the barrier layer, said conductive barrier layer having a plurality of spaced openings therein; a plurality of conductive barrier taps disposed over said channel in the openings of said barrier layer; means for depleting majority carriers from said channel; transducer means disposed on said piezoelectric semiconductor material for establishing a surface acoustic wave in said piezoelectric semiconductor material that propagates through the channel; means for injecting an electrical signal into the channel via said taps; and means for extracting electrical signals from the channel.

Claim 30

The device as defined by claim 26, wherein said layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material is gallium arsenide.

Claim 31

A semiconductor register device, comprising: a support layer; a layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material disposed over said support layer; a conductive barrier layer disposed over a region of said piezoelectric semiconductor material and defining a channel in the piezoelectric semiconductor material beneath the barrier layer, said barrier layer having a plurality of spaced openings therein such that said barrier layer is divided into barrier layer portions; means for depleting majority carriers from said channel; transducer means disposed on said piezoelectric semiconductor material for receiving a transducer energizing signal and establishing a surface acoustic wave in said piezoelectric semiconductor material that propagates through the channel; means, other than said transducer means, for injecting into the channel electrical charge signals; means for applying control voltage potentials to said barrier layer portions to control the presence of potential wells beneath alternating ones of the barrier layer portions at selected times so as to temporarily prevent the electrical charge signals from being carried along by the surface acoustic wave; and means for extracting electrical charge signals from the channel.

Claim 32

A semiconductor register device, comprising: a support layer; a layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material disposed over said support layer; a conductive barrier layer disposed over a region of said piezoelectric semiconductor material and defining a channel in the piezoelectric semiconductor material beneath the barrier layer, said barrier layer having a plurality of spaced openings therein such that said barrier layer is divided into barrier layer portions; means for depleting majority carriers from said channel; transducer means disposed on said piezoelectric semiconductor material for receiving a transducer energizing signal and establishing a surface acoustic wave in said piezoelectric semiconductor material that propagates through the channel; means, other than said transducer means, for injecting into the channel electrical charge signals; means for applying control voltage potentials to said barrier layer portions to control the presence of potential wells beneath alternating ones of the barrier layer portions at selected times so as to temporarily prevent the electrical charge signals from being carried along by the surface acoustic wave; and means for extracting electrical charge signals from the channel.

Claim 33

The device as defined by claim 28 wherein said layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material is N-type gallium arsenide and said support layer is semi-insulating gallium arsenide.

Claim 34

A semiconductor device for generating electrical signals dependent upon a pattern of incident light, comprising: a support layer; a layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material disposed over said support layer; a conductive barrier layer disposed over a region of said piezoelectric semiconductor material and defining a channel in the piezoelectric semiconductor material beneath the barrier layer, said conductive barrier layer having a plurality of spaced openings therein so as to divide the barrier layer into a plurality of barrier layer portions; means for depleting majority carriers from said channel; transducer means disposed on said piezoelectric semiconductor material for establishing a surface acoustic wave in said piezoelectric semiconductor material that propagates through the channel; said channel being disposed to receive said incident light pattern such that hole-electron pairs can be generated in said channel as a function of said incident light; and means for extracting electrical signals from the channel.

Claim 35

A semiconductor device for generating electrical signals dependent upon a pattern of incident light, comprising: a support layer; a layer of piezoelectric semiconductor material disposed over said support layer; a conductive barrier layer disposed over a region of said piezoelectric semiconductor material and defining a channel in the piezoelectric semiconductor material beneath the barrier layer, said conductive barrier layer having a plurality of spaced openings therein so as to divide the barrier layer into a plurality of barrier layer portions; means for depleting majority carriers from said channel; transducer means disposed on said piezoelectric semiconductor material for establishing a surface acoustic wave in said piezoelectric semiconductor material that propagates through the channel; said channel being disposed to receive said incident light pattern such that hole-electron pairs can be generated in said channel as a function of said incident light; and means for extracting electrical signals from the channel.

Claim 36

The device as defined by claim 30 further comprising means for applying control voltage potentials to said barrier layer portions to control the presence of potential wells beneath selected ones of the barrier layer portions so as to temporarily prevent the electrical signals from being carried along by the surface acoustic wave.

Claim 39

The method as defined by claim 32 further comprising the step of depleting majority carriers from the channel.

Claim 40

The method as defined by claim 33 further comprising the step of selectively controlling the potential in different portions of the buried channel to temporarily prevent said electrical charge from being carried along by the surface acoustic wave.

Claim 43

The method as defined by claim 35 further comprising the step of depleting majority carriers from the channel.

Claim 44

The method as defined by claim 36 further comprising the step of selectively controlling the potential in different portions of the channel to temporarily prevent said electrical charge from being carried along by the surface acoustic wave.