US4865923A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Selective intermixing of layered structures composed of thin solid films
Assignee: Raytheon Co
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Filing: 1988-03-07
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Granted: 1989-09-12
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Expires: 2008-03-07
Abstract
Abstract Synthetic layered structures, which may be semiconductor structures, are modified, both laterally and vertically, to provide novel electronic, optoelectronic, and optical properties. This is accomplished by selective intermixing of such layered structures through selective irradiation with laser beam or electron beam energy sources to effect interaction between neighboring regions, to a degree dependent on the energy density, while avoiding physical damage to the layered structures.
Inventors
- 👤 John D. Ralston
- 👤 Anthony L. Moretti
- 👤 Ravinder K. Jain
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 13:48
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P32/00; H10P32/10; H10P32/14; H10P14/00; H10P14/20; H10P14/38; H10P14/3824; H10P32/17; H10P32/174; H10P95/00; H10P95/90; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S148/00; Y10S148/084; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/12; Y10T428/12493; Y10T428/12528
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
131 words
A selectively intermixed multilayered thin solid film product, characterized as having selected lateral and/or vertical regions wherein adjoining layers which differ, at least in part, in their respective compositions are intermixed, forming composite material features which exhibit distinctively altered optical and/or electronic properties as compared to unmixed layers, there being an abrupt transition from said intermixed features to said unmixed layers, said product being prepared by an intermixing process comprising the steps of: (a) affording a multilayered structure having at least two separate thin solid film layers; (b) irradiating said multilayered structure over one or more selected regions with an energy source adapted to provide an energy density sufficient to effect selective intermixing between at least some of the thin sold film layers; and (c) recovering the selectively intermixed multilayered product.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
131 words
A selectively intermixed multilayered thin solid film product, characterized as having selected lateral and/or vertical regions wherein adjoining layers which differ, at least in part, in their respective compositions are intermixed, forming composite material features which exhibit distinctively altered optical and/or electronic properties as compared to unmixed layers, there being an abrupt transition from said intermixed features to said unmixed layers, said product being prepared by an intermixing process comprising the steps of: (a) affording a multilayered structure having at least two separate thin solid film layers; (b) irradiating said multilayered structure over one or more selected regions with an energy source adapted to provide an energy density sufficient to effect selective intermixing between at least some of the thin sold film layers; and (c) recovering the selectively intermixed multilayered product.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
The product of claim 1 wherein the multilayered structure of separate thin solid film layers comprise a plurality of layers of a first solid material interleaved with a plurality of layers of a second solid material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
The product of claim 1, wherein the process step (b) employs an energy source selected from the class consisting of pulsed laser beams, rapidly scanned laser beams, pulsed electron beams, rapidly scanned electron beams, and combinations thereof.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
The product of claim 2 wherein the multilayered structure additionally comprises a plurality of layers of a third solid material.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
12 words
The product of claim 2 wherein the first solid material is GaAs.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
The product of claim 2 wherein the second solid material is Al x Ga 1-x As.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
131 words
A selectively intermixed multilayered product, characterized as having selected lateral and/or vertical regions wherein adjoining layers which differ, at least in part, in their respective material properties are intermixed, forming composite material features which exhibit altered optical and/or electronic properties as compared to unmixed layers, there being an abrupt transition from said intermixed features to said unmixed layers, said product being prepared by an intermixing process of comprising the steps of: (a) affording a multilayered structure, said structure having at least two layers, each layer having a thickness of at least about 3 Å (b) irradiating said multilayered structure over a selected area with an energy source adapted to provide an energy density sufficient to effect selective intermixing between regions of adjacent layers; and (c) recovering the selectively intermixed multilayered product.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
131 words
A selectively intermixed multilayered product, characterized as having selected lateral and/or vertical regions wherein adjoining layers which differ, at least in part, in their respective material properties are intermixed, forming composite material features which exhibit altered optical and/or electronic properties as compared to unmixed layers, there being an abrupt transition from said intermixed features to said unmixed layers, said product being prepared by an intermixing process of comprising the steps of: (a) affording a multilayered structure, said structure having at least two layers, each layer having a thickness of at least about 3 Å (b) irradiating said multilayered structure over a selected area with an energy source adapted to provide an energy density sufficient to effect selective intermixing between regions of adjacent layers; and (c) recovering the selectively intermixed multilayered product.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
27 words
The product of claim 7 wherein the multilayered structure has at least one exposed surface layer and is irradiated over a selected area of said surface layer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
16 words
The product of claim 7 wherein the respective layers of the multilayered structure are semiconductor layers.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
The selectively intermixed multilayered product of claim 7, wherein adjacent layers of the multilayered structure comprise different structural compositions.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
21 words
The product of claim 7, wherein each layer of the multilayered structure has a thickness of up to about 50,000 A.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
The product of claim 7, wherein the intermixed multilayered structure has a thickness of up to 100,000 A.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
37 words
The product of claim 7, wherein the process step (b) employs an energy source selected from the class consisting of pulsed laser beams, rapidly scanned laser beams, pulsed electron beams, rapidly scanned electron beams, and combinations thereof.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
The selectively intermixed multilayered product of claim 7, wherein the afforded structure of process step (a) includes semiconductor layers that act as quantum-well regions.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
The selectively intermixed multilayered product of claim 7, wherein the afforded structure of process step (a) includes semiconductor layers that act as barrier regions.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
29 words
The selectively intermixed multilayered product of claim 7, wherein the afforded structure of process step (a) comprises semiconductor layers that act as a alternating quantumwell regions and barrier regions.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
24 words
The selectively intermixed multilayered product of claim 7, wherein the afforded structure comprises units of a two-layer structure, said structure being a single heterostructure.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
24 words
The selectively intermixed multilayered product of claim 7, wherein the afforded structure comprises units of a three-layer structure, said structure being a double heterostructure.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
16 words
The selectively intermixed multilayered product of claim 7, wherein the afforded structure comprises a doping superlattice.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
20 words
The selectively intermixed multilayered product of claim 10, wherein the afforded structure include, as one structural composition, layers of GaAs.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
24 words
The selectively intermixed multilayered product of claim 10, wherein the afforded structure includes, as one structural compositions, layers of Al x Ga 1-x As.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
25 words
The product of claim 11, wherein each layer of the multilayered structure has a thickness within the range from about 5 to about 2000 Å.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
25 words
The product of claim 12 wherein each layer of the multilayered structure has a thickness within the range from about 5 to about 500 Å.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
15 words
The product of claim 13 wherein the energy source is a pulsed excimer laser beam.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
18 words
The product of claim 13 wherein the energy source comprises a single pulse from a pulsed laser beams.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
17 words
The product of claim 13 wherein the energy source comprises multiple pulses from a pulsed layer beam.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
30 words
The selectively intermixed multilayered product of claim 14, wherein the afforded structure of process (a) includes at least one species of quantum-well region characterized by the presence of impurity atoms.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
15 words
The product of claim 24 wherein the energy source is a pulsed KrF laser beam.
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1992-09-11 | 1993-03-13 | 1993-09-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1996-09-11 | 1997-03-13 | 1997-09-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
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