USA as Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Kevin D Goodman

Matthew Gadlage

Timothy Allen Morgan

Morgan E Ware

Pijush Kanti Ghosh

A microelectronic device that is radiation hardened through the incorporation of a quantum structure getter (QSG) is provided. The device, such as a field effect transistor (FET) includes a conductive channel and a material stack comprising: a capping layer, one or more barrier layers comprising a high band gap, one or more quantum structures comprising a small band gap, and a substrate. The quantum structures are positioned in close proximity to the conductive channel to form a quantum well charge getter. The getter forms a low energy area beneath the FET, which traps and confines electron-hole pair wave functions produced from ionizing radiation, causing the wave functions overlap, recombine, and produce light emission. The quantum structures getter the wave functions, which reduces the ionized photocurrent that reaches the conducting channel, thereby hardening the microelectronic device against ionizing radiation.

Quantum structure getter for radiation hardened transistors

Provided is a cadmium selenide-indium arsenide heterojunction bipolar transistor. The device includes a first layer comprising a collector of the transistor made of n-type cadmium selenide, a base layer containing indium arsenide, and an emitter layer that reverts to cadmium selenide. The inventive device includes a large neutron cross section via the cadmium selenide layer. The cadmium selenide layer holds a high reaction rate with neutrons thus altering the electrical signal of the HBT in a neutron environment. The inventive HBT also yields higher gains than current homojunction bipolar transistors, such as those utilizing pure indium arsenide or silicon.

Growing community of inventors

Ellettsville, IN, United States of America

Kevin D Goodman