Voltage stand off characteristics of photoconductor devices
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorJeffrey C. Adams
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Abstract
The invention provides a way to improve the voltage stand-off characteristics of photoconductors, including both surface and bulk photoconductors. In a preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a photoconductor device having a semiconductor substrate with electrodes thereon, and a light source which illuminates the surface of the device in a pattern which is configured to increase the stand-off voltage of the device. A method according to the invention includes the steps of directing light onto the surface of the photoconductor thereby forming an illuminated area thereon, measuring the current draw of the photoconductor, and moving the illuminated area along the surface of the photoconductor until the current draw is minimized.
Claims14
A photoconductor device comprising:
- a semiconductor substrate;
- electrodes formed on said substrate;
- and
- a light source capable of illuminating at least a portion of at least one of said electrodes in a configuration which results in reducing the current draw of said photoconductor device compared to the current draw without illumination, thereby increasing the stand-off voltage of said photoconductor device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.