Semiconductor chip carriers with monolithically integrated quantum dot devices and method of manufacture thereof

• US 9,123,768 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2011
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: L. Pierre De Rochemont
• Original Assignee: L. Pierre De Rochemont
• Inventors: de Rochemont, L. Pierre
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Chuong A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hossain, Moazzam
• Application Number:
  US13/288,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20120104358A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,398 Days
• Field of Search: 977/774, 257/14, 257/E29.072, 257/E21.115, 438/502
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 40/00 Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02521 Materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02532 Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02535 including tin
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02592 amorphous
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02595 polycrystalline
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02628 using solutions
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02672 using crystallisation enhancing elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/04 characterised by their crystalline structure, e.g. polycrystalline, cubic or particular orientation of crystalline planes characterised by physical imperfections H01L29/30
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0665 the shape of the body defining a nanostructure nanotechnology per se B82B
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/127 Quantum box structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/151 Compositional structures H01L29/157 and H01L29/158 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/16 including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/205 in different semiconductor regions , e.g. heterojunctions
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7395 Vertical transistors, e.g. vertical IGBT
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/78 with field effect produced by an insulated gate H01L29/7725, H01L29/775, H01L29/778 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/06 within the light emitting region, e.g. quantum confinement structure or tunnel barrier
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/18 within the light emitting region
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/34 containing only elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table

Abstract

A three-dimensional polycrystalline semiconductor material provides a major ingredient forming individual crystalline grains having a nominal maximum grain diameter less than or equal to 50 nm, and a minor ingredient forming boundaries between the individual crystalline grains.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional polycrystalline semiconductor material that forms a free electron gas characteristic of quantum wells, comprising a uniform three-dimensional assembly of granular quantum wells, with each granular quantum well further comprising:

a semiconducting major ingredient forming individual crystalline grains having the same nominal maximum grain diameter between 20 nm and 50 nm and atomic-scale chemical uniformity throughout the interior of the granular quantum well; and

a minor ingredient enveloping the major ingredient within the granular quantum wells and forming energetic grain boundaries between the semiconducting major ingredients within adjacent crystalline grains;

wherein the assembly of three-dimensional granular quantum wells forming the polycrystalline semiconductor material has a uniform nanoscale microstructure and grain size; and

further wherein the free electron gas formed by polycrystalline semiconductor material extends to distances greater than the grain diameter in every direction.

2. The material of claim 1, wherein the molar concentrations of the minor ingredient are between 0.0001 mol % and 0.75 mol % of the polycrystalline material.

3. The material of claim 1, wherein the major ingredient comprising the crystalline grains is silicon, germanium, tin, or any admixture thereof.

4. The material of claim 3, wherein the minor ingredient forming the grain boundaries is an insulating, semi-insulating, or semiconducting material consisting of a metal halide comprising an alkali element from the first (I) column or an alkaline earth element from second (II) column of the periodic table, or a transition-metal having chemical properties similar to an alkali or alkaline earth metal, and a halogen element selected from the seventh (VII) column of the periodic table.

5. The material of claim 4, wherein the insulating or semi-insulating material has an energy band gap that is larger than the band gap of the semiconductor material comprising the polycrystalline grain.

6. The material of claim 1, wherein the major ingredient comprising crystalline grains is a III-V compound semiconducting material and the minor ingredient forming the boundaries is an insulating, semi-insulating, or semiconducting material consisting of a metal halide comprising an alkali element from the first (I) column or a transition-metal having chemical properties similar to an alkali metal, and a halogen element selected from the seventh (VII) column of the periodic table.

7. The material of claim 1, wherein the major ingredient of the crystalline grains is a II-VI compound semiconductor and the minor ingredient forming the boundaries is silicon, silicon carbide, germanium, tin or an admixture thereof.

8. The material of claim 1, wherein the free electron gas formed by polycrystalline semiconductor material extends to distances greater than 50 nm in every direction.

9. The material of claim 1, wherein the polycrystalline material is monolithically integrated into an active device.

10. The material of claim 9, wherein the active device is a field effect transistor, an opto-electronic device or a photonic device.

11. The material of claim 4, wherein the minor ingredient is semi-insulating or semiconducting material.

12. A semiconductor carrier, comprising an active device including a polycrystalline semiconductor layer that is monolithically integrated into the semiconductor carrier, wherein the polycrystalline semiconductor layer is comprised of an assembly of granular quantum wells further comprising grains of a semiconducting major ingredient having atomic-scale chemical uniformity, nominally equal size, and maximal physical dimensions in the range of 20 nm to 50 nm that are enveloped by a grain boundary material of a minor ingredient that forms an energy barrier and is 2 nm to 10 nm thick, such that the quantum size effects within the granular quantum wells induce a free electron gas characteristic of a quantum well across all spatial directions of the assembly of granular quantum wells.

13. The semiconductor carrier of claim 12, wherein the active device is field effect transistor, an opto-electronic device or a photonic device.

14. The semiconductor carrier of claim 12, wherein the active device comprises a power management module having passive network circuitry monolithically integrated on to its surface.

15. The semiconductor carrier of claim 12, wherein the active device comprises a semiconductor die mounted on the carrier surface.

16. The semiconductor carrier of claim 12, wherein the semiconductor carrier comprises a semiconducting substrate that has active circuitry integrated within and passive network circuitry monolithically integrated upon the carrier substrate.