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US5070375A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Semiconductor device having a coupled quantum box array structure

Assignee: Japan Science and Technology Agency
•
Filing: 1989-11-17
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Granted: 1991-12-03
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Expires: 2009-11-17
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Abstract

Abstract The present invention teaches a semiconductor having a quantum box structure, where the quantum box structure consists of quantum boxes and barriers and arranged in adjacent positions. By combining the quantum boxes with the barriers, electrons are confined by a quantum within the quantum effects box structure, and an electron state having a miniband with finite width and gap with finite width is generated so that the electrons can move between quantum box structures by a tunnel effect. It is characterized in that the width of the miniband is smaller than the intrinsic energy of a phonon, that the gap between the miniband generated from the lower energy level and the miniband generated from the next lowest energy level is bigger than said intrinsic energy, and that most of the electrons are in the miniband state generated from the lowest energy level. This makes it possible to suppress the lattice vibration by confining the electrons within the quantum boxes while enabling electric conduction and to improve the dependency of electron mobility on temperature in the semiconductor.

Inventors

  • 👤 Hiroyuki Sakai

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-30 14:02
CPC Classifications
B; B82; B82Y; B82Y10/00; H; H10; H10D; H10D62/00; H10D62/80; H10D62/81; H10D62/815; H10D62/8161; H10D62/8181

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim 86 words
A semiconductor device having a coupled quantum box array structure, comprising a plurality of quantum boxes alternatingly arranged with a plurality of barriers, in which electronic states have energy minibands of finite width and energy gaps of finite width, each potential of said barriers being sufficiently high to confine electrons within respective ones of said plurality of quantum boxes, and each width of said barriers being sufficiently small to permit electrons to move between said quantum box through corresponding ones of said barriers by quantum tunneling.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 86 words
A semiconductor device having a coupled quantum box array structure, comprising a plurality of quantum boxes alternatingly arranged with a plurality of barriers, in which electronic states have energy minibands of finite width and energy gaps of finite width, each potential of said barriers being sufficiently high to confine electrons within respective ones of said plurality of quantum boxes, and each width of said barriers being sufficiently small to permit electrons to move between said quantum box through corresponding ones of said barriers by quantum tunneling.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 71 words
A semiconductor device having a coupled quantum box array structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the width of said energy miniband is smaller than an intrinsic phonon energy, the width of said energy gap between a lowest energy miniband and a next lowest energy miniband is greater than said intrinsic phonon energy level, and most electrons in respective ones of said quantum boxes are in said lowest energy miniband.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 49 words
A semiconductor device having a coupled quantum box array structure as set forth in claim 1, comprising a thin film which has a thickness comparable to a quantum wavelength of electrons, and further comprising a plurality of grooves on said thin film to produce potentials serving as said barriers.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 51 words
A semiconductor device having a coupled quantum box array structure as set forth in claim 1, comprising a thin film which has a thickness comparable to a quantum wavelength of electrons, and further comprising a plurality of control electrodes disposed on said thin film to produce potentials serving as said barriers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 67 words
A semiconductor device having a coupled quantum box array structure as set forth in claim 1, comprising a thin film which has a thickness comparable to a quantum wavelength of electrons, and further comprising a plurality of semiconductor layers inserted in said thin film to produce potentials serving as said barriers, wherein said semiconductor layers are composed of a different material from that of said thin film.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 51 words
A semiconductor device having a coupled quantum box array structure as set forth in claim 2, comprising a thin film which has a thickness comparable to a quantum wavelength of electrons, and further comprising a plurality of control electrodes inserted in said thin film to produce potentials serving as said barriers.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US4751194A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1994-12-02 1995-06-03 1995-12-03 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1998-12-02 1999-06-03 1999-12-03 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2002-12-02 2003-06-03 2003-12-03 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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