Light emitting device

Claim 1

An article comprising a semiconductor light-emitting element that comprises a) a first semiconductor region (to be referred to as the "emitter") comprising a semiconductor region of a first effective conductivity type; b) at least two spaced apart means for making electrical contact to the first semiconductor region; c) a second semiconductor region of a second effective conductivity type that differs from the first effective conductivity type, the means of b) being spaced from the second semiconductor region, associated with said first and second semiconductor regions being a first and at least a second bandgap, respectively, with the first bandgap not necessarily being different from the second bandgap; d) means for making electrical contact to the second semiconductor region; and e) a third semiconductor region intermediate the first and second semiconductor regions, the third semiconductor region (to be referred to as the "barrier") comprising undoped semiconductor material whose bandgap is such that under normal forward bias conditions a potential barrier for first conductivity type carriers exists between the emitter and the third semiconductor region, such that a potential barrier for second conductivity type carriers exists between the second and the third semiconductor region, and such that under said normal forward bias conditions a current that comprises hot charge carriers of the first conductivity type can flow from the first to the second semiconductor region, essentially without a simultaneous flow of charge carriers of the second conductivity type from the second to the first semiconductor region.