Photoconductor and Method for Its Manufacture

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This patent describes a novel photoconductor (photoleiter) with a specialized multilayer structure made up of sub-layers, each containing two photoconductive semiconductor layers that are doped to different degrees. By using at least two such sub-layers, with one layer highly doped (to promote fast recombination of electron-hole pairs) and the other lightly doped (to provide high electrical resistance and suppress so-called 'dark currents'), the invention achieves optimal photoconducting properties, especially for converting optical radiation into electrical signals. The patent also covers a method for manufacturing this advanced layered photoconductor using molecular beam epitaxy and specific doping with transition metals like iron, rhodium, or ruthenium.

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• Terahertz (THz) detectors and emitters for security screening, medical imaging, or scientific research.
• High-speed photodetectors in telecommunications and optical sensing applications.
• Semiconductor devices that require tailored electron mobility and recombination rates, such as ultrafast switches.
• Spectroscopy devices utilizing photoconductive antennas.
• Optoelectronic integrated circuits for high-frequency applications.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Enhanced photoconductive efficiency due to layer-specific doping, leading to faster electron-hole recombination and reduced parasitic currents.
• Ability to customize electronic and photonic properties for different applications by precisely controlling the doping profile and material composition of each layer.
• Improved noise suppression (especially dark current) for greater signal accuracy and sensitivity.
• Enables ultrathin device architectures (sub-10 nm layers) and dense integration.
• Manufacturing process compatible with advanced semiconductor fabrication techniques (e.g., molecular beam epitaxy).
• Improved device longevity and reliability through diffusion barrier layers.

Technical Classifications (CPCs)

Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates inter alia to a photoconductor (10) comprising a multilayer (13) which comprises a plurality of photoconductive semiconductor layers (131-134). According to the invention, the multilayer (13) comprises at least two sublayers (130) which each comprise at least a first photoconductive semiconductor layer (131) and a second photoconductive semiconductor layer (132), wherein the first and the second photoconductive semiconductor layer (131, 132) are doped to different degrees for each of the sublayers (130).