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:
Jan. 18, 1994
Filed:
Jul. 24, 1992
Devin T Walsh, Goleta, CA (US);
Santa Barbara Research Center, Goleta, CA (US);
Abstract
A photodiode (10) fabricated in accordance with the method of the invention includes a substrate (11) and a semiconductor base region (12) overlying the substrate. The base region is comprised of Group IIB-VIA material and has a first type of electrical conductivity. A passivation layer (16) overlies the base region and is also comprised of Group IIB-VIA material. A dielectric layer (18) at least partially overlies the passivation layer. During fabrication the dielectric layer functions as an etch stop during a removal of excess cap material, the remaining cap material forming a cap region (14) within an opening that is etched through the dielectric layer and the passivation layer. The cap region is also comprised of Group IIB-VIA material, has a second type of electrical conductivity, and forms a heterojunction (14a) with the base region. An electrically conductive contact pad (20) and an electrically conductive interconnect, preferably an indium bump (22), are formed upon the cap region. The topside surface of the photodiode is substantially planar, and the indium bump may be made significantly larger than the area of an underlying photodetector unit cell.