Semiconductor device for varying the mobility of electrons by light irradiation

A semiconductor device for controlling a current, said device comprising:

• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• and
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and said drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing an .GAMMA. band and an X band and a plurality of quantum energy levels, and barrier layers adjacent to said quantum well layer, each of said barrier layers having a conduction band containing an .GAMMA. band and an X band,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layers being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layers, and
• said quantum well layer further being formed such that an energy level of the X band is lower than that of the .GAMMA. band and said well layer has a first quantum energy level of the X band and a second quantum energy level of the X band which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and said barrier layers further being formed such that an energy level of the X band is higher than that of the .GAMMA. band, and the .GAMMA. band of said barrier layers has an energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level of said quantum well layer but lower than the second quantum energy level of said quantum well layer,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layers, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A semiconductor device for controlling a current, said device comprising:

• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• and
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and said drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels, and barrier layers adjacent to said quantum well layer,
• said quantum well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level, a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and areas having respective mobilities of electrons therein in a width-wise direction which are different from each other, such that a number of electrons make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second energy level upon light irradiation of said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, and a spatial distribution of a wave function of the transited electrons is changed, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A method of controlling current using a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit, a channel unit through which electrons flow between the source unit and drain unit, the channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing an .GAMMA. band and an X band and a plurality of quantum energy levels, and barrier layers adjacent to the quantum well layer, each of said barrier layers having a conduction band containing an .GAMMA. band and an X band, said quantum well layer and said barrier layers being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layers, and said method comprising the steps of:

• moving electrons to the channel unit by applying a voltage between the source unit and drain unit;
• and
• irradiating light onto the quantum well layer of the channel unit,
• the quantum well layer further being formed such that an energy level of the .GAMMA. band is lower than that of the X band and the well layer has a first quantum energy level of the .GAMMA. band and a second quantum energy level of the .GAMMA. band which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and the barrier layers further being formed such that an energy level of the .GAMMA. band is higher than that of the X band and the X band of the barrier layers has an energy level higher than the first quantum energy level of the quantum well layer but lower than the second quantum energy level of the quantum well layer,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layers, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through the channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A method of controlling current using a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit, a channel unit through which electrons flow between the source unit and drain unit, the channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing an .GAMMA. band and an X band and a plurality of quantum energy levels, and barrier layers adjacent to the quantum well layer, each of said barrier layers having a conduction band containing an .GAMMA. band and an X band, said quantum well layer and said barrier layers being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layers, and said method comprising the steps of:

• moving electrons to the channel unit by applying a voltage between the source unit and drain unit;
• and
• irradiating light onto the quantum well layer of the channel unit,
• the quantum well layer further being formed such that an energy level of the X band is lower than that of the .GAMMA. band and the well layer has a first quantum energy level of the X band and a second quantum energy level of the X band which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and the barrier layers further being formed such that an energy level of the X band is higher than that of the .GAMMA. band and the .GAMMA. band of the barrier layers has an energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level of the well layer but lower than the second quantum energy level of the quantum well layer,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layers, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A method of controlling current using a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit, a channel unit through which electrons flow between the source unit and drain unit, the channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels, and barrier layers adjacent to the quantum well layer, said method comprising the steps of:

• moving electrons to the channel unit by applying a voltage between the source unit and drain unit;
• and
• irradiating light onto the quantum well layer of the channel unit,
• the quantum well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level, a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and areas having respective mobilities of electrons therein in a width-wise direction which are different from each other,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that a number of electrons make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level upon light irradiation of the well layer at a selected light intensity, and a spatial distribution of a wave function of the transitioned electrons is changed, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through the channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A semiconductor device for controlling a current, said device comprising:

• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• and
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and said drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing an .GAMMA. band, an X band, a first quantum energy level and a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and barrier layers adjacent to said quantum well layer, each of said barrier layers having a conduction band containing an .GAMMA. band and an X band,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layers being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layers,
• and said quantum well layer further being formed such that an energy level of the .GAMMA. band is lower than that of the X band and said first and second quantum energy levels are in the .GAMMA. band, and said barrier layers further being formed such that an energy level of the .GAMMA. band is higher than that of the X band and the X band of said barrier layers has an energy level higher than the first quantum energy level of said quantum well layer but lower then the second quantum energy level of said quantum well layer,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layers in an actual space, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A semiconductor device for controlling a current, said device comprising:

• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• and
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and said drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing an .GAMMA. band, an X band, a first quantum energy level and a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and barrier layers adjacent to said quantum well layer, each of said barrier layers having a conduction band containing an .GAMMA. band and an X band,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layers being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a higher mobility than electrons in said barrier layers,
• and said quantum well layer further being formed such that an energy level of the X band is lower than that of the .GAMMA. band and the first and second quantum energy levels are in the X band, and said barrier layers further being formed such that an energy level of the X band is higher than that of the .GAMMA. band and the .GAMMA. band of said barrier layers has an energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level of said quantum well layer but lower than the second quantum energy level of said quantum well layer,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layers in an actual space, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A method of controlling current using a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit, a channel unit through which electrons flow between the source unit and the drain unit, the channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a first energy level and a second energy level which is higher than the first energy level, and barrier layers adjacent to the quantum well layer, said method comprising the steps of:

• moving electrons to the channel unit by applying voltage between the source unit and the drain unit;
• and
• irradiating light onto the quantum well layer of the channel unit, said quantum well layer and said barrier layers being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layers,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layers in an actual space, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A semiconductor device for controlling a current, said device comprising:

• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• and
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and said drain unit, said channel unit having a conduction band containing a first energy level and a second energy level which is higher than the first energy level, and semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having areas where respective mobilities of electrons flowing therein are different from each other,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and a spatial distribution of a wave function of transitioned electrons is varied, and a current flowing between said source unit and drain unit is controlled by varying the mobilities of the electrons
• said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A method of controlling current using a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit, and a channel unit through which electrons flow between the source unit and the drain unit, the channel unit having a conduction band containing first energy level and a second energy level which is higher than the first energy level, and semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having areas where respective mobilities of electrons flowing therein are different from each other, said method comprising the steps of:

• moving electrons to the channel unit by applying voltage between the source unit and the drain unit;
• and
• irradiating light onto the quantum well layer of the channel unit, said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and a spatial distribution of a wave function of the transitioned electrons is changed,
• said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A photodetector comprising:

• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels and a barrier layer adjacent to said well layer having a k space with an X band;
• means for applying voltage between said source unit and said drain unit;
• and
• means for detecting an amount of current flowing between said source unit and drain unit,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layer being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layer,
• said quantum well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level and a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and said barrier layer being formed such that the X band in the k space of the barrier layer has an energy level which is higher than the first energy level of said quantum well layer and lower than the second energy level,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layer, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A photodetector comprising:

• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels and a barrier layer adjacent to said well layer having a k space with an X band and an .GAMMA. band;
• means for applying voltage between said source unit and said drain unit;
• and
• means for detecting an amount of current flowing between said source unit and drain unit,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layer being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layer,
• said quantum well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level and a second energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and said barrier layer being formed to have an energy level of the X band in the k space of the barrier layer is higher than a highest value of an energy level of the .GAMMA. band in the k space of said barrier layer and further the .GAMMA. band in the k space of said barrier layer has an energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level of said quantum well layer and lower than the second quantum energy level,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layer, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A photodetector comprising:

• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels and a barrier layer adjacent to said well layer;
• means for applying voltage between said source unit and said drain unit;
• and
• means for detecting an amount of current running between said source unit and drain unit,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layers being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layers,
• said well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level, a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and areas having respective mobilities of electrons flowing therein in a width-wise direction which are different from each other,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and a spatial distribution of a wave function of transited electrons is changed,
• said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A method of detecting light using a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit, a channel unit through which electrons flow between the source unit and the drain unit, the channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels, and a barrier layer adjacent to the quantum well layer having a conduction band containing an X band with a k space, said method comprising the steps of:

• moving electrons to the channel unit by applying voltage between the source unit and the drain unit;
• irradiating light onto the quantum well layer of the channel unit, said quantum well layer and said barrier layer being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layer;
• and
• detecting variations in the amount of current flowing between the source unit and the drain unit,
• the quantum well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level and a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and the X band in the k space of the barrier layer having an energy level which is higher than the first energy level of the quantum well layer and lower than the second energy level,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layer, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A method of detecting light using a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit, a channel unit through which electrons flow between the source unit and the drain unit, the channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band including a plurality of quantum energy levels, and a barrier layer adjacent to the well layer having a k space with an X band and an .GAMMA. band, said method comprising the steps of:

• moving electrons to the channel unit by applying voltage between the source unit and the drain unit;
• irradiating light onto the quantum well layer of the channel unit, said quantum well layer and said barrier layer being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layer;
• and
• detecting variations in the amount of current flowing between the source unit and the drain unit,
• the quantum well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level and a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and an energy level of the X band in the k space of the barrier layer being higher than a highest value of an energy level of the .GAMMA. band in the k space of the barrier layer and further the .GAMMA. band in the k space of the barrier layer having an energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level of the quantum well layer and lower than the second quantum energy level,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layers, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

A method of detecting light using a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit, a channel unit through which electrons flow between the source unit and the drain unit, the channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels, and a barrier layer adjacent to the quantum well layer, said method comprising the steps of:

• moving electrons to the channel unit by applying voltage between the source unit and the drain unit;
• irradiating light onto the quantum well layer of the channel unit;
• and
• detecting variations in the amount of current flowing between the source unit and the drain unit,
• the quantum well layer further being formed such that a first quantum energy level, a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and areas having respective mobilities of electrons flowing therein in a width-wise direction which are different from each other,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and a spatial distribution of a wave function of the transitioned electrons is changed,
• said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

An optical signal receiver in an optical system including an optical signal transmitter and the optical signal receiver, comprising:

• a photodetector for receiving optical signals transmitted by the optical signal transmitter;
• and
• a demodulator for demodulating signals from an output of said photodetector, the photodetector comprising:
• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels and a barrier layer adjacent to said well layer having a k space with an X band;
• means for applying voltage between said source unit and said drain unit;
• and
• means for detecting an amount of current flowing between said source unit and drain unit,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layer being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layer,
• said quantum well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level and a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and said barrier layer being formed such that the X band in the k space of the barrier layer has an energy level which is higher than the first energy level of said quantum well layer and lower than the second energy level,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layer, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

An optical signal receiver in an optical system including an optical signal transmitter and the optical signal receiver, comprising:

• a photodetector for receiving optical signals transmitted by the optical signal transmitter;
• and
• a demodulator for demodulating signals from an output of said photodetector, the photodetector comprising:
• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels and a barrier layer adjacent to said well layer having a k space with an X band and an .GAMMA. band;
• means for applying voltage between said source unit and said drain unit;
• and
• means for detecting an amount of current flowing between said source unit and drain unit,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layer being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layer,
• said quantum well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level and a second energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and said barrier layer being formed to have an energy level of the X band in the k space of the barrier layer is higher than a highest value of an energy level of the .GAMMA. band in the k space of said barrier layer and further the .GAMMA. band in the k space of said barrier layer has an energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level of said quantum well layer and lower than the second quantum energy level,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layer, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

An optical signal receiver in an optical system including an optical signal transmitter and the optical signal receiver, comprising:

• a photodetector for receiving optical signals transmitted by the optical signal transmitter;
• and
• a demodulator for demodulating signals from an output of said photodetector, the photodetector comprising:
• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels and a barrier layer adjacent to said well layer;
• means for applying voltage between said source unit and said drain unit;
• and
• means for detecting an amount of current running between said source unit and drain unit,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layers being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layers,
• said well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level, a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and areas having respective mobilities of electrons flowing therein in a width-wise direction which are different from each other,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and a spatial distribution of a wave function of transited electrons is changed,
• said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

An optical communications system comprising:

• an optical transmission line for transmitting optical signals;
• and
• a plurality of terminals connected to said optical transmission line, each of the terminals having a photodetector for detecting optical signals transmitted from an optical signal transmitter and other terminals, said photodetector comprising:
• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels and a barrier layer adjacent to said well layer having a k space with an X band;
• means for applying voltage between said source unit and said drain unit;
• and
• means for detecting an amount of current flowing between said source unit and drain unit,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layer being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layer,
• said quantum well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level and a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and said barrier layer being formed such that the X band in the k space of the barrier layer has an energy level which is higher than the first energy level of said quantum well layer and lower than the second energy level,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layer, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

An optical communications system comprising:

• an optical transmission line for transmitting optical signals;
• and
• a plurality of terminals connected to said optical transmission line, each of the terminals having a photodetector for detecting optical signals transmitted from an optical signal transmitter and other terminals, said photodetector comprising:
• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels and a barrier layer adjacent to said well layer having a k space with an X band and an .GAMMA. band;
• means for applying voltage between said source unit and said drain unit;
• and
• means for detecting an amount of current flowing between said source unit and drain unit,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layer being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layer,
• said quantum well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level and a second energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and said barrier layer being formed to have an energy level of the X band in the k space of the barrier layer is higher than a highest value of an energy level of the .GAMMA. band in the k space of said barrier layer and further the .GAMMA. band in the k space of said barrier layer has an energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level of said quantum well layer and lower than the second quantum energy level,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and after that the transited electrons flow from said quantum well layer to said barrier layer, said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.

An optical communications system comprising:

• an optical transmission line for transmitting optical signals;
• and
• a plurality of terminals connected to said optical transmission line, each of the terminals having a photodetector for detecting optical signals transmitted from an optical signal transmitter and other terminals, said photodetector comprising:
• a semiconductor member having a source unit and a drain unit;
• a channel unit through which electrons flow between said source unit and drain unit, said channel unit comprising semiconductor layers including a quantum well layer having a conduction band containing a plurality of quantum energy levels and a barrier layer adjacent to said well layer;
• means for applying voltage between said source unit and said drain unit;
• and
• means for detecting an amount of current running between said source unit and drain unit,
• said quantum well layer and said barrier layers being formed such that electrons in said quantum well layer have a different mobility from electrons in said barrier layers,
• said well layer further being formed to have a first quantum energy level, a second quantum energy level which is higher than the first quantum energy level, and areas having respective mobilities of electrons flowing therein in a width-wise direction which are different from each other,
• said quantum well layer being formed so as to be responsive to light such that when light is irradiated onto said quantum well layer at a selected light intensity, a number of electrons in said quantum well layer make transitions from the first quantum energy level to the second quantum energy level and a spatial distribution of a wave function of transited electrons is changed,
• said number of transited electrons being in accordance with the selected light intensity and a current flowing through said channel unit varying in accordance with said number of transited electrons, whereby said current is controlled in accordance with the selected light intensity.