Combined thin film pinhole and semiconductor photodetectors
First Claim
1. A combined thin film pinhole and semiconductor photodetector array for use with an external electrical biasing source and current measurement devices in optical applications, said combined thin film pinhole and semiconductor photodetector array comprising:
- a semiconductor substrate of a selected material defining a pinhole having a perimeter of a selected size and shape therethrough said substrate; and
said substrate including thereon an array of a selected number of photodiodes formed thereon at selected locations around the perimeter of said pinhole.
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Abstract
A thin-film semiconductor pinhole component with monolithically integrated position-sensing photodetectors is herein referred to as a Position Sensitive Pinhole (PSP). Another embodiment is also discussed where a PSP is integrated onto a platform with controllable motion and is herein referred to as a Movable Position Sensitive Pinhole (MPSP). A third embodiment describes the MPSP with capacitive, electrostatic actuation incorporated into the device to achieve controlled motion, herein referred to as a Capacitively Actuated Movable Position Sensitive Pinhole (CAMPSP). Each of those embodiments of the present invention are discussed, as are their method of manufacture and use in a laser environment as a spatial filter.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A combined thin film pinhole and semiconductor photodetector array for use with an external electrical biasing source and current measurement devices in optical applications, said combined thin film pinhole and semiconductor photodetector array comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate of a selected material defining a pinhole having a perimeter of a selected size and shape therethrough said substrate; and said substrate including thereon an array of a selected number of photodiodes formed thereon at selected locations around the perimeter of said pinhole. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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2. An optical system comprising:
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a combined thin film pinhole and semiconductor photodetector array having; a semiconductor substrate of a selected material defining a pinhole having a perimeter of a selected size and shape therethrough said substrate; and said substrate including thereon an array of a selected number of photodiodes formed thereon at selected locations around the perimeter of said pinhole; and an external electrical biasing source connected to said photodiodes of said semiconductor substrate to back-bias each of said photodiodes; and a plurality of current measurement devices connected to said photodiodes of said semiconductor substrate to detect variations in individual currents as a result of variations in illumination of each of said photodiodes.
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12. An optical system comprising:
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a combined thin film pinhole and semiconductor photodetector array having; a semiconductor substrate of a selected material having a pinhole of predetermined size and shape through said semiconductor substrate; and an array of a predetermined number of semiconductor photodetectors formed on said semiconductor substrate at selected locations around the perimeter of said pinhole; and an electronic means for biasing, current measurement or voltage measurement of the elements of said semiconductor photodetector capable of detecting variations in the light induced current or voltage resulting from variations in illumination of each element of said photodetector array. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A position sensing photodetector array comprising a semiconductor substrate including multiple photodiode elements, with each of said multiple photodiode elements:
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sharing a common anode or a common cathode with all other elements of said photodetector array; and having an anode or a cathode which is separate from all other elements of said photodetector array; and having a separate connection to said common anode or common cathode at a position unique to each of said elements of said semiconductor photodetector array. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification