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:
Nov. 11, 1997
Filed:
Jul. 14, 1995
Yoshihiro Hamakawa, Kawanishi, JP;
Shigetoshi Sugawa, Atsugi, JP;
Tadashi Atoji, Machida, JP;
Hiroaki Okamoto, Kawanishi, JP;
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A high performance thin film semiconductor device having a heterojunction such as a photoelectric conversion device is disclosed. In accordance with the present invention, the thin film semiconductor device comprises a thin semiconductor layer which forms a heterojunction with a non-single crystal silicon layer or non-single crystal silicon-germanium layer, wherein the valence band discontinuity at the heterointerface arising from the difference in optical energy bandgap is as small as 0.3 eV or less and wherein the thin semiconductor layer has an optical energy bandgap greater than 2.8 eV, so that hole transport performance may not be degraded. Such a thin semiconductor layer may be formed by using silane gas and methane gas with a flow rate ratio greater than 30 at a deposition rate less than 0.5 .ANG./sec.