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US5486706A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Quantization functional device utilizing a resonance tunneling effect and method for producing the same

Assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
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Filing: 1994-05-26
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Granted: 1996-01-23
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Expires: 2014-05-26
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Abstract

Abstract By etching, a first groove and a second groove are formed in a silicon substrate. Surfaces of the side walls of these grooves have a surface orientation of (111). The first and second grooves sandwich a silicon thin plate therebetween, which is formed as a part of the silicon substrate. The silicon thin plate is sufficiently thin so as to act as a quantum well. Further, a pair of silicon oxide films acting as tunneling barriers are formed on the surfaces of the side walls of the silicon thin plate, thus forming a double barrier structure. In addition, a pair of polysilicon electrodes are formed and sandwich the double barrier structure. As a result, the structure of a resonance tunneling diode, which utilizes the resonance tunneling effect, is provided. Adding a third electrode to the above structure provides a hot electron transistor. In the quantization functional devices having the above-described configuration, the satisfactory resonance effect is obtained due to a high crystallinity of the quantum well, a high potential barrier brought by the high quality silicon oxide films used as the tunneling barriers and a smooth interface between the quantum well and the tunneling barriers.

Inventors

  • 👤 Koichiro Yuki
  • 👤 Yoshihiko Hirai
  • 👤 Kiyoshi Morimoto
  • 👤 Masaaki Niwa
  • 👤 Juro Yasui
  • 👤 Kenji Okada
  • 👤 Masaharu Udagawa

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-09 03:25
CPC Classifications
B; B82; B82Y; B82Y30/00; B82Y10/00; H; H10; H10D; H10D48/00; H10D48/30; H10D48/32; H10D48/36; H10D48/362; H10D62/00; H10D62/40; H10D62/405; H10D8/00; H10D8/01; H10D8/053; H10D8/70; H10D8/755; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S438/00; Y10S438/962; Y10S438/979

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim 78 words
A quantization functional device, comprising: a silicon thin plate having a plurality of side walls each having a surface orientation of (111), a distance between the plurality of side walls being sufficiently thin as to allow the silicon thin plate to act as a quantum well; a pair of tunneling barriers respectively provided on surfaces of the side walls of the silicon thin plate; and a first electrode and a second electrode sandwiching the pair of tunneling barriers.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 78 words
A quantization functional device, comprising: a silicon thin plate having a plurality of side walls each having a surface orientation of (111), a distance between the plurality of side walls being sufficiently thin as to allow the silicon thin plate to act as a quantum well; a pair of tunneling barriers respectively provided on surfaces of the side walls of the silicon thin plate; and a first electrode and a second electrode sandwiching the pair of tunneling barriers.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 30 words
A quantization functional device according to claim 1, wherein the silicon thin plate is formed in a silicon substrate which has a surface orientation of one of (001) and (110).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 30 words
A quantization functional device according to claim 1, wherein the silicon thin plate is formed in a silicon-on-insulator substrate which has a surface orientation of one of (001) and (110).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 20 words
A quantization functional device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of tunneling barriers have different thicknesses from each other.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 35 words
A quantization functional device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of tunneling barriers are formed of a material selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon nitride oxide, SiC and SiGe.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 19 words
A quantization functional device according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second electrodes are formed of polysilicon.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 40 words
A quantization functional device according to claim 1, further comprising an impurity layer provided at least at a lowermost position of the silicon thin plate, the impurity layer having a different conductivity from the conductivity of the silicon thin plate.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 42 words
A quantization functional device according to claim 1, wherein at least the silicon thin plate includes an impurity doped therein, the impurity having a different conductivity type from the conductivity type of a substrate in which the silicon thin plate is formed.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 23 words
A quantization functional device according to claim 1, further comprising a third electrode provided in the vicinity of the first and second electrodes.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 34 words
A device, comprising: a plurality of quantization functional devices according to claim 1 connected to each other in series; and an additional electrode provided for connecting the plurality of quantization functional devices in series.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 39 words
An integrated circuit, comprising: at lest one quantization functional device according to claim 1; and an insulation layer insulating the at least one quantization functional device from at least one other device to be formed in the same substrate.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3121177A Cited
US3171762A Cited
US5093699A Cited
US5234848A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1999-01-22 1999-07-24 2000-01-23 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2003-01-22 2003-07-24 2004-01-23 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2007-01-22 2007-07-24 2008-01-23 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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