Solid state ephemeral electric potential and electric field sensor

• US 10,024,900 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2016
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration
• Original Assignee: United States of America as represented by the Administrator of NASA
• Inventors: Generazio, Edward R.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HOAI AN D
• Application Number:
  US15/177,798
• Publication Number:
  US 20170356942A1
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: 324457, 324 7611, 324109, 257 27, 257 69, 257124, 257133, 257183, 257192, 257213, 257256, 257259, 257272, 257274, 257288, 257327, 257338, 257351, 257369
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 29/12 Measuring electrostatic fields or voltage-potential
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/088 the components being field-effect transistors with insulated gate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/402 Field plates
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/778 with two-dimensional charge carrier gas channel, e.g. HEMT ; with two-dimensional charge-carrier layer formed at a heterojunction interface H01L29/803 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/788 with floating gate H01L29/78391 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/808 with a PN junction gate , e.g. PN homojunction gate H01L29/7725, H01L29/775, H01L29/778, H01L29/806 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H10B 63/34 of the vertical channel field-effect transistor type

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices of the various embodiments provide a field effect transistor (FET) that controls equilibrium by reversing the effects of leakage currents affecting the gate response of the FET by using an equilibrium pump electrode. The equilibrium reversing gate FETs (ergFETs) of the various embodiments, may include an equilibrium pump electrode located within a non-conducting gap. The ergFETs of the various embodiments may provide solid state ephemeral electric potential and electric field sensor systems and methods for measuring ephemeral electric potentials and electric fields.

Claims

1. A field effect transistor (FET), comprising:

a source electrode;

a drain electrode;

a gate electrode; and

an equilibrium pump electrode located in a non-conducting gap of the FET.

2. The FET of claim 1, wherein the equilibrium pump electrode is configured to reverse the effect of a leakage current of the gate electrode.

3. The FET of claim 2, wherein the gate electrode is in a floating gate electronic configuration.

4. The FET of claim 3, wherein the equilibrium pump electrode is located above the gate electrode or is located below a p-type layer or a n-type layer of the FET.

5. The FET of claim 3, wherein the equilibrium pump electrode is located in a position other than above the gate electrode or below a p-type layer or a n-type layer of the FET.

6. The FET of claim 3, further comprising at least one additional equilibrium pump electrode configured to reverse the effect of a leakage current of the gate electrode.

7. A solid state ephemeral electric potential and electric field sensor system, comprising:

a field effect transistor (FET), comprising;

a source electrode;

a drain electrode;

a gate electrode; and

an equilibrium pump electrode located in a non-conducting gap of the FET.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the equilibrium pump electrode is configured to reverse the effect of a leakage current of the gate electrode.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the gate electrode is in a floating gate electronic configuration.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the equilibrium pump electrode is located above the gate electrode or is located below a p-type layer or a n-type layer of the FET.

11. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a measurement circuit including the FET, the measurement circuit comprising;

a feedback equilibrium pump control configured to provide a pump potential to the equilibrium pump electrode of the FET; and

a quasi-static direct potential control configured to provide a source potential to the source electrode and a drain potential to the drain electrode of the FET.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the feedback equilibrium pump control is configured to monitor the drain potential of the FET; and

the pump potential is based at least in part on the drain potential of the FET.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the pump potential is a constant, an oscillating, or a time dependant potential.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the source potential and the drain potential are constant potentials or varied potentials.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a display; and

a processor connected to the display and the measurement circuit, wherein the processor is configured with processor executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

controlling the measurement circuit to perform electrical potential measurements;

receiving the electrical potential measurements from the measurement circuit;

generating images based at least in part on the received electrical potential measurements; and

outputting the images on the display.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the FET is an array of FETs.

17. An ephemeral electric potential and electric field measurement method, comprising:

receiving, at a processor, electrical potential measurements from a measurement circuit including a field effect transistor (FET), the FET comprising;

a source electrode;

a drain electrode;

a gate electrode; and

an equilibrium pump electrode located in a non-conducting gap of the FET;

generating, at the processor, images based at least in part on the received electrical potential measurements; and

outputting, from the processor, the images on a display.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the equilibrium pump electrode is configured to reverse the effect of a leakage current of the gate electrode; and

the gate electrode is in a floating gate electronic configuration.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing a pump potential to the equilibrium pump electrode of the FET; and

providing a source potential to the source electrode and a drain potential to the drain electrode of the FET,

wherein;

the pump potential is a constant, an oscillating, or a time dependant potential; and

the source potential and the drain potential are constant potentials or varied potentials.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising monitoring the drain potential of the FET, wherein providing the pump potential to the equilibrium pump electrode of the FET comprises providing the pump potential based at least in part on the drain potential of the FET.