# US 10,374,037 B2 · Incoherent type-III materials for charge carriers control devices

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- Number: US 10,374,037 B2
- Document ID: US10374037B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/759,478
- Filed: 2014-02-27
- Published: 2015-11-26
- Granted: 2019-08-06
- Earliest claimed: 2013-02-27
- Assignees: The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- Applicants: Raphael Tsu; Ian T. Ferguson; Nikolaus Dietz
- Inventors: Raphael Tsu; Ian T. Ferguson; Nikolaus Dietz
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10374037B2

## CPC

- H10D 62/125: {Shapes of junctions between the regions}
- H03K 3/011: Modifications of generator to compensate for variations in physical values, e.g. voltage, temperature {(to maintain energy constant H03K3/015)}
- H10D 62/815: of structures having periodic or quasi-periodic potential variation, e.g. superlattices or multiple quantum wells [MQW]
- H10D 62/82: Heterojunctions
- H10D 62/824: comprising only Group III-V materials heterojunctions, e.g. GaN/AlGaN heterojunctions
- H10F 77/1246: {III-V nitrides, e.g. GaN}
- H10F 77/146: {Superlattices; Multiple quantum well structures}
- H10D 62/8503: {Nitride Group III-V materials, e.g. AlN or GaN}
- Y02E 10/544: Solar cells from Group III-V materials
- H10D: INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
- H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M)
- H10F: INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

## Abstract

A semiconductor junction may include a first semiconductor material and a second material. The first and the second semiconductor materials are extrinsically undoped. At least a portion of a valence band of the second material has a higher energy level than at least a portion of the conduction band of the first semiconductor material (type-III band alignment). A flow of a majority of free carriers across the semiconductor junction is diffusive. A region of generation and/or recombination of a plurality of free carriers is confined to a two-dimensional surface of the second material, and at the interface of the first semiconductor material and the second material.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A semiconductor junction comprising:
a first semiconductor material; and
a second material;
wherein the first semiconductor material and the second material are extrinsically undoped, wherein the first semiconductor material is a group III-nitride heterostructure or group III-nitride multiple quantum well structure such that the first semiconductor material comprises In1-xGaxN wherein 0<x≤0.2, and the second material comprises a layer within the first semiconductor material formed by In1-xGaxP wherein 0<x≤0.6, so that a broken- gap band alignment is formed between the first semiconductor material and the second material, and
wherein at least a portion of a valence band of the second material has a higher energy level than at least a portion of a conduction band of the first semiconductor material such that an interface between the first semiconductor material and the second material creates a flow of a majority of carriers across the semiconductor junction that is diffusive, and the interface of the first semiconductor material and the second material is configured such that a region of generation or recombination of a plurality of the carriers is confined to a two-dimensional surface of the second material.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor junction of claim 1, wherein the first semiconductor material is between 1-500 nm thick, and the second material is no more than 100 monolayers thick.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor junction of claim 1, wherein the first semiconductor material is a ternary or quaternary group III-nitride.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor junction of claim 1, wherein the second material is a layer of graphite or metal-/transition-metal oxides or dichalcogenides.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor junction of claim 1, wherein the first material has an aperiodic superlattice structure.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor junction of claim 1, wherein the second material is a layer disposed between the first semiconductor material and a third material, the third material forming a layer between the second material and a fourth material.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor junction of claim 1, wherein confinement of the carriers at the semiconductor junction is a confinement of type-III carriers.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor junction of claim 1, wherein confinement of the carriers leads to surface plasmon generation and propagation conditions in a spectral range, acting as photonic emitter, a detector, or an interconnect.

### Claim 9

A method comprising :
providing a semiconductor junction comprising:
a first semiconductor material; and
a second material, wherein the first semiconductor material is a group Ill- nitride heterostructure or group III-nitride multiple quantum well structure such that the first semiconductor material comprises In1-xGaxN wherein 0<x≤0.2, and the second material comprises a layer within the first semiconductor material formed by In1-xGaxP wherein 0<x≤0.6, so that a broken-gap band alignment is formed between the first semiconductor material and the second material, and wherein at least a portion of a valence band of the second material has a higher energy level than at least a portion of a conduction band of the first semiconductor material;
applying a bias to lower the valence band of the second material with respect to the conduction band of the first semiconductor material resulting in a transverse current lower than prior to applying the bias; and
increasing the bias to further reduce electrons in the conduction band, thereby reducing the transverse current to a direction of the bias such that when carriers that are diffused into the conduction band is offset by the bias, the transverse current disappears.