Light-controlled semiconductor heterostructure component for generating oscillation at microwave frequencies
AssigneeFrance Telecom
InventorsHenri Le Person, Christophe Minot, Jean-Fran.cedilla.ois Palmier
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to a light-controlled semiconductor heterostructure component for generating microwave frequency oscillations, wherein the heterostructure comprises at least two semiconductor materials: at least one of them absorbing light by creating electron-hole pairs; and the other one of them having majority carriers with a relationship of velocity as a function of electric field that presents a region of negative slope.
Claims3
An optically controlled oscillator comprising the following layers successively epitaxially deposited on a semi-insulating substrate:
- a doped layer serving to make electrical contact;
- a doped graded layer;
- a superlattice exhibiting for majority carriers a relationship of velocity as a function of electric field that presents a region of negative slope;
- a non-doped graded layer;
- a layer including light absorbing material for creating electron-hole pairs;
- a doped graded layer;
- a window-forming layer that is transparent at the exciting wavelength;
- a doped graded layer;
- and
- a doped layer,
- so that said oscillator generates a train of microwave oscillations following reception on said light absorbing material of a low energy light pulse.
An optically controlled oscillator comprising the following layers deposited epitaxially in succession on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate:
- a doped GaAs layer for making electrical contact;
- a doped graded layer which is constituted, as are all the graded layers, by a GaAs/AlAs superlattice of varying period;
- a non-doped GaAs/AlAs superlattice comprising 53 periods of 14 GaAs monolayers, and of 6 AlAs monolayers exhibiting for majority carriers a relationship of velocity as a function of electric field that presents a region of negative slope;
- a non-doped graded layer;
- a non-doped GaAs solid layer including light absorbing material for creating electron-hole pairs;
- a doped graded layer;
- a doped window-forming layer that is transparent at the exciting wavelength and that is constituted by 100 periods of a GaAs/AlAs superlattice each having three GaAs monolayers and 4 AlAs monolayers;
- a doped graded layer;
- and
- a doped GaAs layer,
- so that said oscillator generates a train of microwave oscillations following reception on said light absorbing material of a low energy light pulse.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.