Micron Technology Incorporated

Innovative Silicon S.a.

Actlight Sa

Innovative Silicon Isi Sa

Ovonyx Memory Technology, LLC

Serguei Okhonin

Mikhail Nagoga

Pierre Fazan

Maxim Gureev

Denis Sallin

Eric Carman

Yogesh Luthra

Richard Ferrant

Michel Bron

Viktor Koldiaev

Pierre C Fazan

Cedric Bassin

Alexander Kvasov

Vivek Nautiyal

Mark-Eric Jones

Lucas Perrin

Techniques for controlling photodetector systems are disclosed. In one particular embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a system for controlling a photodetector. The system may comprise one or more processors and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to: receive a target value; receive an output from the photodetector; generate, based at least on the target value, a bias signal; and apply the bias signal to the photodetector to drive a parameter of the photodetector to the target value.

Control techniques for photodetector systems

A dynamic photodiode detector or detector array having a light absorbing region of doped semiconductor material for absorbing photons. Electrons or holes generated by photon absorption are detected with a construction of oppositely heavily doped anode and cathode regions and a heavily doped ground region of the same doping type as the anode region. Photon detection involves switching the device from reverse bias to forward bias to create a depletion region enclosing the anode region. When a photon is then absorbed the electron or hole thereby generated drifts under the electric field induced by the biasing to the depletion region where it causes the anode-to-ground current to increase. Furthermore, the detector is configured such that anode-to-cathode current starts to flow once a threshold number of electrons or holes reaches the depletion region, where the threshold may be one to provide single photon detection.

Photodetectors and photodetector arrays

A dynamic photodiode may comprise a substrate comprising a first surface opposite a second surface, the substrate being of a first doping type; a substrate region disposed on the first surface, the substrate region comprising a substrate contact configured to be grounded; a first doped region disposed on the first surface, the first doped region being of the first doping type and comprising a first contact configured to receive a first voltage; a second doped region disposed on the first surface, the second doped region being of a second doping type opposite to the first doping type and comprising a second contact configured to receive a second voltage. The substrate region may surround the second doped region, the second doped region may surround the first doped region, and exposed portions of the substrate form light absorbing regions may be configured to generate electron-hole pairs in the substrate.

Photo detector systems and methods of operating same

A photodetector device comprising n-type and p-type light absorbing regions arranged to form a pn-junction and n+ and p+ contact regions connected to respective contacts. The light absorbing regions and the contact regions are arranged in a sequence n+ p n p+ so that, after a voltage applied between the n+ and p+ contacts is switched from a reverse bias to a forward bias, electrons and holes which are generated in the light absorbing regions in response to photon absorption drift towards the p+ and n+ contact regions respectively, which causes current to start to flow between the contacts after a time delay which is inversely proportional to the incident light intensity.

Photodetector

A photodetector sensor array device as usable for camera chips comprises upper and lower contact layers of n+ and p+ semiconductor material either side of a light absorbing region made of either one layer, or two oppositely doped layers, of semiconductor material. Insulating trenches of dielectric material extending through the layers to form the individual pixels. Respective contacts are connected to the upper and lower contact layers so that each pixel can be reverse biased or forward biased. In operation, the device is reset with a reverse bias, and then switched to forward bias for sensing. After switching, carriers generated in response to photon absorption accumulate in potential wells in the light absorbing region and so reduce the potential barriers to the contact layers, which causes current to start to flow between the contacts after a time delay which is inversely proportional to the incident light intensity.

Photodetector sensor arrays

Techniques are disclosed for writing, programming, holding, maintaining, sampling, sensing, reading and/or determining a data state of a memory cell of a memory cell array, such as a memory cell array having a plurality of memory cells each comprising an electrically floating body transistor. In one aspect, the techniques are directed to controlling and/or operating a semiconductor memory cell having an electrically floating body transistor in which an electrical charge is stored in the body region of the electrically floating body transistor. The techniques may employ bipolar transistor currents to control, write and/or read a data state in such a memory cell. In this regard, the techniques may employ a bipolar transistor current to control, write and/or read a data state in/of the electrically floating body transistor of the memory cell.

Memory cell and memory cell array having an electrically floating body transistor, and methods of operating same

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a dynamic photodiode may include a substrate including a major surface; a hedge formation extruding perpendicularly from the major surface; a first resettable region disposed on a top surface the hedge formation; a second resettable region disposed on the top surface of the hedge formation; a first doped region disposed on the top surface of the hedge formation between the first resettable region and the second resettable region, the first doped region including a first contact configured to receive a first voltage; and a second doped region disposed on a top surface of the hedge formation, the second doped region including a second contact configured to receive a second voltage. Exposed portions of the substrate form light absorbing regions configured to generate electron-hole pairs in the substrate.

In some embodiments, a measurement system may include a time to digital converter (TDC) configured to determine a first digitized time at which it receives a command signal and a second digitized time at which it receives an alert signal. The first digitized time and the second digitized time may be determined for N number of iterations. The command signal may be delayed by a delay time, and the delay time may be varied for each of the N number of iterations. The measurement system may include a first dynamic photodiode (DPD) configured to switch from a reverse bias mode to an active mode based on the command signal. The TDC may calculate a difference between the first digitized time and the second digitized time for each of the N number of iterations, and the difference may vary as the delay time is varied.

Techniques for performing time of flight measurements

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a dynamic photodiode may include a substrate, a first doped region, a second doped region, a first resettable doped region between the first doped region and the second doped region, and a first light absorbing region between the first doped region and the second doped region. The first doped region may include a first contact that receives a first voltage. The second doped region may include a second contact that receives a second voltage. The first resettable doped region may include a first resettable contact that receives a reset voltage or is set as an open circuit. The first light absorbing region may generate first electron-hole pairs in the substrate when the first resettable contact is set as an open circuit, and the first electron-hole pairs may be removed from the substrate when the first resettable contact receives the reset voltage.

A monolithic photo detector device disposed on a bulk substrate, comprising a photo detector disposed integrated in the bulk substrate including: (1) a p-type doped impurity region extending along a first direction in the major surface of the substrate and receiving a first voltage, (2) first and second gates being spaced apart from each other and extending in the first direction over the major surface of the substrate, wherein the gates receives a second voltage, (3) an n-type doped impurity region, extending along the first direction in the major surface of the substrate and receiving a third voltage; and (4) a light absorbing region, disposed between the second doped impurity region and the first gate. The device also includes control circuitry, integrated in the substrate to generate the first, second and third voltages that control an operating state of the detector.

A photo detector comprising a first doped impurity region (adapted to receive a first voltage) disposed in or on a substrate; a body region, juxtaposed the first doped impurity region; a gate (adapted to receive a second voltage) spaced from a first portion of the body region; a light absorbing region, juxtaposed a second portion of the body region, includes a material which, in response to light incident thereon, generates carrier pairs including a first and second type carriers; a contact region (adapted to receive a third voltage) juxtaposed the light absorbing region; wherein, in response to incident light, the gate attracts first type carriers of the carrier pairs to the first portion of the body region which causes second carriers from the first doped impurity region to flow to the contact region, and the contact region attracts second type carriers.

Photo detector and methods of manufacturing and operating same

Techniques for providing a direct injection semiconductor memory device are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for biasing a direct injection semiconductor memory device. The method may comprise applying a first voltage potential to a first N-doped region via a bit line and applying a second voltage potential to a second N-doped region via a source line. The method may also comprise applying a third voltage potential to a word line, wherein the word line is spaced apart from and capacitively coupled to a body region that is electrically floating and disposed between the first N-doped region and the second N-doped region. The method may further comprise applying a fourth voltage potential to a P-type substrate via a carrier injection line.

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Lausanne, Switzerland

Serguei Okhonin