Back to results
US 5,606,177 AGranted
Silicon oxide resonant tunneling diode structure
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsRobert M. Wallace, Alan C. Seabaugh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A resonant tunneling diode (400) made of a silicon quantum well (406) with silicon oxide tunneling barriers (404, 408). The tunneling barriers have openings (430) of size smaller than the electron wave packet spread to insure crystal alignment through the diode without affecting the tunneling barrier height, and the openings (430) have an irregular (nonperiodic) shape.
Claims9
A resonant tunneling diode, comprising:
- (a) a first terminal, a second terminal, and a quantum well, said quantum well made of a first material;
- and
- (b) first and second tunneling barriers, said first tunneling barrier separating said quantum well from said first terminal and said second tunneling barrier separating said quantum well from said second terminal, said first tunneling barrier characterized by first regions of said first material and which extend from said quantum well through said first tunneling barrier to said first terminal and second regions of a second material which forms a heterojunction with said first material, said first and second regions of complementary nonperiodic patterns.
An integrated circuit, comprising:
- (a) a silicon-based transistor;
- and
- (b) a silicon resonant tunneling diode with tunneling barriers including an amorphous silicon-oxygen compound, said diode coupled to said transistor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.