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. 03, 1998
Filed:
May. 07, 1996
Jean-Pierre Fleurial, Duarte, FR;
Thierry Caillat, Pasadena, CA (US);
Alexander Borshchevsky, Santa Monica, CA (US);
Jan W Vandersande, Upland, CA (US);
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (US);
Abstract
Transition metals (T) of Group VIII (Co, Rh and Ir) have been prepared as semiconductor alloys with Sb, P, and As, having the general formula TX, wherein X is Sb.sub.3, P.sub.3, or As.sub.3. The skutterudite-type crystal lattice structure of these semiconductor alloys and their enhanced semiconductor properties results in semiconductor materials which may be used in the fabrication of power semiconductor devices to substantially improve the efficiency of the resulting semiconductor device. Semiconductor alloys having the desired skutterudite-type crystal lattice structure may be prepared in accordance with the present invention by using vertical gradient freeze techniques, liquid-solid phase sintering techniques, low temperature powder sintering and/or hot-pressing.