# US 10,374,105 B2 · Optoelectronic device including a buried metal grating for extraordinary optical transmission (EOT)

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- Number: US 10,374,105 B2
- Document ID: US10374105B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/200,345
- Filed: 2016-07-01
- Published: 2017-01-05
- Granted: 2019-08-06
- Earliest claimed: 2015-07-01
- Assignees: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
- Applicants: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
- Inventors: Xiuling Li; Daniel M. Wasserman; Xiang Zhao
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10374105B2

## CPC

- H10F 77/413: {directly associated or integrated with the devices, e.g. back reflectors (directly associated or integrated with photovoltaic cells H10F77/42)}
- H10F 10/161: comprising multiple PN heterojunctions, e.g. tandem cells
- H10F 10/163: comprising only Group III-V materials, e.g. GaAs/AlGaAs or InP/GaInAs photovoltaic cells
- H10F 77/1433: {Quantum dots}
- H10F 77/933: {for devices having potential barriers}
- H10F 77/935: {for photovoltaic devices or modules}
- H10H 20/812: within the light-emitting regions, e.g. having quantum confinement structures
- H10H 20/855: Optical field-shaping means, e.g. lenses
- H10H 20/857: Interconnections, e.g. lead-frames, bond wires or solder balls
- G02F 1/133509: {Filters, e.g. light shielding masks}
- G02F 2202/36: Micro- or nanomaterials
- G02F 2203/055: wavelength filtering
- H10H 20/0363: {of optical field-shaping means}
- H10H 20/0364: {of interconnections}
- Y02E 10/544: Solar cells from Group III-V materials
- H10F: INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
- H10H: INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS
- G02F: OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

## Abstract

An optoelectronic device includes an etched body comprising a buried metal contact layer on a top surface of a semiconductor structure, which comprises one or more semiconductor layers. The buried metal contact layer includes an arrangement of holes therein. A plurality of nanopillar structures protrude from the top surface of the semiconductor structure and pass through the arrangement of holes. Each nanopillar structure is surrounded at a base thereof by a portion of the buried metal contact layer. When the etched body is exposed to incident radiation having a wavelength in the range from about 300 nm to about 10 microns, at least about 50% of the incident radiation is transmitted through the etched body at a peak transmission wavelength λmax.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An optoelectronic device including a buried extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) structure, the optoelectronic device comprising:
an etched body comprising:
a buried metal contact layer disposed on a top surface of a semiconductor structure comprising one or more semiconductor layers, the buried metal contact layer comprising an arrangement of holes therein; and
a plurality of nanopillar structures protruding from the top surface of the semiconductor structure and passing through the arrangement of holes, each nanopillar structure being surrounded at a base thereof by a surrounding portion of the buried metal contact layer,
wherein, when the etched body is exposed to incident radiation having a wavelength in the range from about 300 nm to about 10 microns, at least about 50% of the incident radiation is transmitted through the etched body at a peak transmission wavelength λmax.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein at least about 70% of the incident radiation is transmitted at the peak transmission wavelength λmax.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the peak transmission wavelength lies in a predetermined wavelength range selected from the group consisting of: near-ultraviolet wavelengths from about 300 nm to about 400 nm, visible wavelengths from about 400 nm to about 700 nm, near-infrared wavelengths from about 700 nm to about 2 microns, and mid-infrared wavelengths from about 2 microns to about 10 microns.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the buried metal contact layer is a top metal contact layer, and further comprising a bottom metal contact layer disposed on a bottom surface of the semiconductor structure for electrical connection to the optoelectronic device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the buried metal contact layer comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of: Ag, Al, Au, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hf, Ir, Mn, Mo, Pd, Pt, Rb, Re, Rh, Ta, Ti, V, W, Zn, and Zr.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the buried metal contact layer does not comprise a conductive oxide.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more semiconductors are selected from the group consisting of Si, Ge, GaAs, InAs, InSb, GaN, GaP, GaSb, GaAsP, GaAsN, GaInAs, GaInP, AlGaAs, AlGaIn, AlGaP, AlGaInP, InGaAs, InGaN, InGaSb, InGaP, InAsSb, AlN, AlGaN, ZnSe, diamond (C), SiC and Ga2O3.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the base of each nanopillar structure is in physical contact with an entirety of the surrounding portion of the buried metal contact layer.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the arrangement of holes in the buried metal contact layer is a periodic arrangement of holes.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein each hole comprises a width or diameter D from about 10 nm to about 5 microns.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein a height h of the nanopillar structures is at least about 50 nm.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein a pitch A defining a hole spacing in the buried metal contact layer is in the range from 50 nm to 5 microns.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the buried metal contact layer comprises a thickness in the range from about 5 nm to about 200 nm.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the buried metal contact layer covers from about 30% to about 90% of the top surface of the semiconductor structure.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more semiconductor layers comprise one or more of the following: an n-doped semiconductor layer, a p-doped semiconductor layer, and an intrinsic semiconductor layer.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more semiconductor layers comprise an active region.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The optoelectronic device of claim 16, wherein the active region comprises a p-n junction, a p-i-n junction, a double heterostructure, a multiple quantum well structure or a quantum dot structure.

### Claim 18 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1 being selected from a photodetector and a light emitting diode (LED).

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1 comprising two of the etched bodies disposed facing each other with a liquid-crystal material therebetween, each of the etched bodies being disposed on a transparent substrate, the optoelectronic device being a liquid crystal display (LCD).

### Claim 20 (depends on 1)

The optoelectronic device of claim 1 comprising a stack of the etched bodies, adjacent facing etched bodies being separated by an adhesion layer, the optoelectronic device being a multi-terminal tandem solar cell.