# US 5,703,379 A · Light-controlled semiconductor heterostructure component for generating oscillation at microwave frequencies

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- Number: US 5,703,379 A
- Document ID: US5703379A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/429,835
- Filed: 1995-04-27
- Granted: 1997-12-30
- Earliest claimed: 1994-04-28
- Assignees: France Telecom
- Inventors: Henri Le Person; Christophe Minot; Jean-Fran.cedilla.ois Palmier
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5703379A

## CPC

- H10F 77/146: {Superlattices; Multiple quantum well structures}
- B82Y 20/00: Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
- H10F: INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
- B82Y: SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES

## 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.

## Claims

### Claim 1

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.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The oscillator of claim 1, wherein the substrate is doped and a doped layer is deposited on the substrate prior to depositing the above-specified layers.

### Claim 3

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.