One-chip micro-integrated optoelectronic sensor

• US 6,881,979 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2003
• Issued: 04/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: University of Houston Law Center (University of Houston System)
• Original Assignee: University of Houston (University of Houston System)
• Inventors: Berishev, Igor, Starikov, David, Bensaoula, Abdelhak
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Hoai
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOUIE, WAI SING
• Application Number:
  US10/642,907
• Publication Number:
  US 20040080011A1
• Time in Patent Office: 610 Days
• Field of Search: 257/80, 257/82, 257/84, 257/96, 257/432, 257/440, 257/449, 257/461
• US Class Current: 257/80
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/108 the potential barrier being of the Schottky type
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/173 formed in, or on, a common substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/1852 comprising a growth substrate not being an AIIIBV compound
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/544 Solar cells from Group III-V materials
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

This disclosure describes one-chip micro-integrated optoelectronic sensors and methods for fabricating and using the same. The sensors may include an optical emission source, optical filter and a photodetector fabricated on the same transparent substrate using the same technological processes. Optical emission may occur when a bias voltage is applied across a metal-insulator-semiconductor Schottky contact or a p-n junction. The photodetector may be a Schottky contact or a p-n junction in a semiconductor. Some sensors can be fabricated on optically transparent substrate and employ back-side illumination. In the other sensors provided, the substrate is not transparent and emission occurs from the edge of a p-n junction or through a transparent electrode. The sensors may be used to measure optical absorption, optical reflection, scattering or fluorescence. The sensors may be fabricated and operated to provide a selected spectrum of light emitted and a multi-quantum well heterostructure may be fabricated to filter light reaching the photodetector.

Claims

1. An optoelectronic device, comprising:

a first ohmic contact on a first surface of a silicon wafer and a second ohmic contact on a first area of a second surface of the silicon wafer;

an aluminum nitride layer deposited on a second area of the second surface of the silicon wafer, a portion of the aluminum nitride having diffused into the silicon layer to form a p-n junction in the silicon wafer;

a first layer of gallium nitride deposited on the aluminum nitride layer;

a layer of indium gallium nitride deposited on the first layer of gallium nitride, the layer of indium gallium nitride having a top surface;

a second layer of gallium nitride deposited on a first area of the top surface of the indium gallium nitride layer and an ohmic contact on the second layer of gallium nitride; and

a second ohmic contact on a second area of the top surface of the layer of indium gallium nitride.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the first and the second gallium nitride layers and the indium gallium nitride layer is in the range from about 0.5 to about 1 micrometers.

3. The device of claim 1 further comprising a multi-quantum well heterostructure between the first layer of gallium nitride and the silicon wafer.

4. An optoelectronic device, comprising:

a silicon substrate;

a layer of semiconductor deposited on the silicon substrate;

an ohmic contact with a first area of the layer of semiconductor;

a metal-insulator layer on a second area of the layer of semiconductor to form an M-I-S Schottky contact;

a layer of a transparent electrode on the metal-insulator layer to form a metal-insulator-semiconductor Schottky contact on the second area of the layer of semiconductor, the layer of transparent electrode having an ohmic contact thereon;

a multi-quantum well heterostructure on a third area of the layer of semiconductor;

a gallium nitride layer deposited on the multi-quantum well heterostructure and having an ohmic contact; and

a layer of a transparent electrode deposited on a part of the layer of gallium nitride, the layer of transparent electrode having an ohmic contact.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the transparent electrode is comprised of fluorine-doped tin oxide.