General Electric Company

Marvin Garfinkel

Dale M Brown

Mario Ghezzo

John A Laurent

Dominic A Cusano

Gerald J Michon

Richard D Baertsch

Henry H Woodbury

A low capacitance radiation detector comprises a monocrystalline silicon substrate heavily doped to N type conductivity with a more lightly doped N type conductivity epitaxial layer formed on the substrate. A plurality of heavily doped N type upper surface layer segments are formed in the epitaxial layer. A patterned region of the epitaxial layer, heavily doped to P type conductivity and in the shape of parallel stripes joined at each end by a respective stripe perpendicular to the parallel stripes, is formed in the epitaxial layer and situated between adjacent ones of the upper surface layer segments, with each stripe extending into the epitaxial layer deeper than, and separated from, the upper surface layer segments so as to form a minority charge carrier-collecting PN junction with the epitaxial layer. The parallel stripes are spaced apart from each other by a distance smaller than or comparable to the minority charge carrier recombination diffusion length for the epitaxial layer, and the epitaxial layer thickness is smaller than or comparable to the minority charge carrier recombination diffusion length. In a second embodiment, the epitaxial layer has beveled edges and the heavily doped N type upper surface layer segments formed in the epitaxial layer extend over the beveled edges.

Low capacitance X-ray radiation detector

A solid state relay having a light-emitting diode, an array of series connected photodiodes and a field effect transistor is described.

Solid state relay

A composite conductive structure in integrated circuit devices is described. The composite conductive structure includes an insulating substrate on which is provided a conductor of a refractory metal substantially nonreactive with silicon dioxide. A layer of a silicide of the refractory metal covers the conductor and a layer of silicon dioxide covers the layer of the silicide. A method of making such structures is also described.

Composite conductive structures in integrated circuits and method of

Composite conductive structures in integrated circuits

A solid state relay having a light-emitting diode, an array of series connected photodiodes and a field effect transistor is described. The light-emitting diode is optically coupled to the array of photodiodes. The conductive state of the transistor is determined entirely by the voltage developed by the array of photodiodes.

In connection with a charge sensing device having a P-N junction and which develops background charge as well as signal charge in the operation thereof, a circuit is provided for reversely biasing the P-N junction and maintaining substantially constant voltage across the P-N junction to balance the background charge developed while sensing signal charge collected by the P-N junction and developing an output proportional to the collected signal charge.

Charge sensing circuit

In a substrate of semiconductor material of one conductivity type and high resistivity, a thin layer of the same conductivity and low resistivity is provided adjacent a major surface of the substrate. A region of opposite conductivity type is provided in the substrate adjacent the major surface to form a PN junction therewith spaced adjacent to the thin layer. Zero bias is provided on the PN junction. Minority charge carriers generated in the semiconductor substrate underlying the thin layer in response to applied radiation diffuse to the region of opposite conductivity type and are sensed.

Radiation detector

A layer of transparent conductive material insulatingly overlies a major surface of a substrate of semiconductor material to provide a CIS (conductor-insulator-semiconductor) capacitor. A region of opposite conductivity type is provided in the substrate adjacent the major surface of the substrate. The capacitor is biased in accumulation and the region of opposite conductivity type is reversely biased with respect to the substrate. Minority charge carriers generated in the semiconductor substrate underlying the conductive layer in response to applied radiation diffuse to the region of opposite conductivity type and are sensed.

A structure is described in which a large area depletion region is provided in a semiconductor substrate of one conductivity type for the conversion of photons into charge and in which a small area region of opposite conductivity type is provided in the substrate for read out of the collected charge.

Semiconductor radiation detector

An array of radiation sensing devices, each including a pair of conductor-insulator-semiconductor capacitors, arranged in rows and columns in which the row stripes or lines form row connected capacitors in relation to selected surface regions of a semiconductor substrate and in which the column stripes or lines form column connected capacitors in relation to the selected surface regions. Each of the row stripes overlies first portions of the selected surface regions of a respective row. Each of the column stripes overlies entirely the selected surface regions of a respective column.

Radiation sensing and charge storage devices

In a semiconductor device low impedance ohmic connection is provided between a first conductor constituted of a metallic oxide material and a second conductor constituted of aluminum by the inclusion between the two conductors of a conductive interface member making low impedance ohmic contact to each of the first and second conductors.

Growing community of inventors

Schenectady, NY, United States of America

Marvin Garfinkel