US4968886A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Infrared detector and method
Assignee: Texas Instruments Inc
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Filing: 1989-08-30
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Granted: 1990-11-06
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Expires: 2009-08-30
Abstract
Abstract Materials for infrared transparent, electrically conductive applications such as gate for infrared detectors made of titanium oxynitride (TiN x O y ), bismuth, and antimony. Titanium oxynitride with resistivity of at least 0.001 Ω-cm provides sufficient transmittance for infrared detector gate application as illustrated in FIG. 4.
Inventors
- 👤 Chang-Feng Wan
- 👤 Frank C. Sulzbach
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 04:40
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10F; H10F30/00; H10F30/20; H10F30/21; H10F30/28; H10F30/2823; H10F39/00; H10F39/011; H10F39/10; H10F39/12; H10F39/18; H10F39/184; H10F39/80; H10F39/802
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
71 words
An infrared imager, comprising: (a) a plurality of photocapacitive detectors, each of said detectors including: i. semiconductor material with a bandgap comparable to the energy of infrared photons; ii. an infrared transmissive, insulated gate on said semiconductor material, said gate made of a material selected from the group consisting of titanium oxynitride (TiN x O y ); titanium oxynitride and bismuth; titanium oxynitride and antimony; and titanium oxynitride, antimony and bismuth.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
71 words
An infrared imager, comprising: (a) a plurality of photocapacitive detectors, each of said detectors including: i. semiconductor material with a bandgap comparable to the energy of infrared photons; ii. an infrared transmissive, insulated gate on said semiconductor material, said gate made of a material selected from the group consisting of titanium oxynitride (TiN x O y ); titanium oxynitride and bismuth; titanium oxynitride and antimony; and titanium oxynitride, antimony and bismuth.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The imager of claim 1, wherein: (a) the resistivity of said gate material is at least as great as 0.001 Ω-cm.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
The imager of claim 1, wherein: (a) the resistivity of said titanium oxynitride is in the range of 0.002 to 0.05 Ω-cm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
8 words
The imager of claim 1, wherein: (a) 2≧x/y≧0.5.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
The imager of claim 1, wherein: (a) a single layer of gate material includes a plurality of said gates plus a plurality of interconnections for said gates, with said interconnections characterized by conversion of said gate material to higher conductivity.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
41 words
A method of fabrication of transparent gates for infrared detectors, comprising the steps of: (a) providing an insulated narrow bandgap semiconductor layer; (b) forming a titanium oxynitride layer on said insulated semiconductor layer; and (c) defining gates from said titanium oxynitride.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
41 words
A method of fabrication of transparent gates for infrared detectors, comprising the steps of: (a) providing an insulated narrow bandgap semiconductor layer; (b) forming a titanium oxynitride layer on said insulated semiconductor layer; and (c) defining gates from said titanium oxynitride.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 6, wherein: (a) said forming is by sputtering titanium in a nitrogen containing atmosphere followed by converting said sputtered layer to titanium oxynitride by exposure to an oxygen-containing atmosphere.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 6, wherein: (a) said forming includes sputtering titanium in a nitrogen plus oxygen containing atmosphere.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 6, wherein: (a) said forming includes electron beam evaporation of titanium in a nitrogen containing atmosphere.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 9, wherein: (a) said evaporation is aided by ion bombardment.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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