Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

James Andrew Robert Dimmock

Matthias Kauer

Jonathan Heffernan

Valerie Berryman-Bousquet

Diego Gallardo

Stephen Day

Nicholas J Ekins-Daukes

Paul Nicholas Stavrinou

Paul N Stavrinou

A semiconductor device has a layered structure. The semiconductor device includes a metallic layer of thickness 1-100 nm, with a thickness optimized to absorb light in a wavelength range of operation. The device further includes an adjacent semiconductor layer additionally adjacent to an ohmic electrical contact, wherein the interface between the metallic layer and the semiconductor layer is electrically rectifying and energy selective. The device further includes a reflective back surface positioned opposite to the semiconductor layer relative to incident light providing broadband reflection in the wavelength range of operation. The semiconductor layer includes a quantum well adjacent to the metallic layer, wherein the energy selectivity is provided by the quantum well allowing charge carrier tunneling from the metallic layer. The device further may include an additional anti-reflection dielectric layer deposited on the metallic layer that is configured to minimize reflection of light in the wavelength range of operation.

Energy selective photodetector

A ballistic carrier spectral sensor includes a photon absorption region to generate photo-generated carriers from incident light; a first potential barrier region adjacent the photon absorption region and having an adjustable height defining a minimum energy of the photo-generated carriers required to pass therethrough; a second potential barrier region having an adjustable height defining a minimum energy of the photo-generated carriers required to pass therethrough; a spillage well region disposed between the first potential barrier region and the second potential barrier region and configured to collect photo-generated carriers having an energy lower than that required to pass through the second potential barrier region; and a collection region adjacent the second potential barrier region and configured to collect carriers that cross the second potential barrier region. A total thickness of the first potential barrier region and the spillage well region is less than a mean free path of the photo-generated carriers.

Ballistic carrier spectral sensor

A resonant tunneling device includes a first semiconductor material with an energy difference between valence and conduction bands of E, and a second semiconductor material with an energy difference between valence and conduction bands of E, wherein Eand Eare different from one another. The device further includes an energy selectively transmissive interface connecting the first and second semiconductor materials.

Energy conversion device with selective contacts

Growing community of inventors

Oxford, United Kingdom

James Andrew Robert Dimmock