The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 13, 1986
Filed:
Nov. 01, 1984
William L Hansen, Walnut Creek, CA (US);
Eugene E Haller, Berkeley, CA (US);
Abstract
Passivation of predominantly crystalline semiconductor devices (12) is provided for by a surface coating (21) of sputtered hydrogenated amorphous semiconductor material. Passivation of a radiation detector germanium diode, for example, is realized by sputtering a coating (21) of amorphous germanium onto the etched and quenched diode surface (11) in a low pressure atmosphere of hydrogen and argon. Unlike prior germanium diode semiconductor devices (12), which must be maintained in vacuum at cryogenic temperatures to avoid deterioration, a diode processed in the described manner may be stored in air at room temperature or otherwise exposed to a variety of environmental conditions. The coating (21) compensates for pre-existing undesirable surface states as well as protecting the semiconductor device (12) against future impregnation with impurities.