| Translucent, Inc. Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
|---|
| 20120256232 | Multilayer Rare Earth Device - Examples of device structures utilizing layers of rare earth oxides to perform the tasks of strain engineering in transitioning between semiconductor layers of different composition and/or lattice orientation and size are given. A structure comprising a plurality of semiconductor layers separated by transition layer(s) comprising two or more rare earth compounds operable as a sink for structural defects is disclosed. | 10-11-2012 |
| 20120090672 | REO-Ge Multi-Junction Solar Cell - The invention relates to a semiconductor based structure for a device for converting radiation to electrical energy comprising various combinations of rare-earths and Group IV, III-V, and II-VI semiconductors and alloys thereof enabling enhanced performance including high radiation conversion efficiency. | 04-19-2012 |
| 20120085399 | REO-Ge Multi-Junction Solar Cell - The invention relates to a semiconductor based structure for a device for converting radiation to electrical energy comprising various combinations of rare-earths and Group IV, III-V, and II-VI semiconductors and alloys thereof enabling enhanced performance including high radiation conversion efficiency. | 04-12-2012 |
| 20120012166 | Thin Film Semiconductor-on-Glass Solar Cell Devices - The present invention relates to semiconductor devices suitable for electronic, optoelectronic and energy conversion applications. In a particular form, the present invention relates to the fabrication of a thin film solar cells and thin film transistors through the advantageous combination of semiconductors, insulators, rare-earth based compounds and amorphous and/or ceramic and/or glass substrates. Example embodiments of crystalline or polycrystalline thin film semiconductor-on-glass formation using rare-earth based material as impurity barrier layer(s) are disclosed. In particular, thin film silicon-on-glass substrate is disclosed as the alternate embodiment, with impurity barrier designed to inhibit transport of deleterious alkali species from the glass into the semiconductor thin film. | 01-19-2012 |
| 20120001171 | Semiconductor Structures with Rare-earths - The present invention discloses structures to increase carrier mobility using engineered substrate technologies for a solid state device. Structures employing rare-earth compounds enable heteroepitaxy of different semiconductor materials of different orientations. | 01-05-2012 |
| 20110037048 | Composition Comprising Rare-earth Dielectric - Compositions comprising a single-phase rare-earth dielectric disposed on a substrate. Embodiments of the present invention provide the basis for high-K gate dielectrics in conventional integrated circuits and high-K buried dielectrics as part of a semiconductor-on-insulator wafer structure. | 02-17-2011 |
| 20100140755 | Rare-earth oxides, rare-earth nitrides, rare-earth phosphides and ternary alloys - Fabrication of new forms of rare-earth oxides, rare-earth nitrides and rare-earth phosphides is disclosed. Further, ternary compounds composed of binary (rare-earth oxides, rare-earth nitrides and rare-earth phosphides) mixed with silicon and or germanium to form compound semiconductors. The presented growth techniques and material system can be applied to silicon electronics, opto-electronic, magneto-electronics and magneto-optics devices. | 06-10-2010 |
| 20100122720 | Passive Rare Earth Tandem Solar Cell - The use of rare-earth (RE+O, N, P) based materials to transition between two semiconductor materials is disclosed. Rare earth based oxides, nitrides and phosphides provide a wide range of lattice spacings enabling, compressive, tensile or stress-free lattice matching with Group IV, III-V, and Group II-VI compounds. Disclosed embodiments include tandem solar cells. | 05-20-2010 |
| 20100116315 | Active rare earth tandem solar cell - The use of rare-earth (RE and O, N, P) based materials to transition between two different semiconductor materials and enable up and/or down conversion of incident radiation is disclosed. Rare earth based oxides, nitrides and phosphides provide a wide range of lattice spacing enabling, compressive, tensile or stress-free lattice matching with Group IV, III-V, and Group II-VI compounds. | 05-13-2010 |
| 20100109047 | Multijunction rare earth solar cell - Examples of device structures utilizing layers of rare earth oxides to perform the tasks of strain engineering in transitioning between semiconductor layers of different composition and/or lattice orientation and size are given. A structure comprising a plurality of semiconductor layers separated by transition layer(s) comprising two or more rare earth compounds operable as a sink for structural defects is disclosed. | 05-06-2010 |
| 20100068858 | DOUBLE GATE FET AND FABRICATION PROCESS - A method of fabricating a double gate FET on a silicon substrate includes the steps of sequentially epitaxially growing a lower gate layer of crystalline rare earth silicide material on the substrate, a lower gate insulating layer of crystalline rare earth insulating material, an active layer of crystalline semiconductor material, an upper gate insulating layer of crystalline rare earth insulating material, and an upper gate layer of crystalline rare earth conductive material. The upper gate layer and the upper gate electrically insulating layer are etched and a contact is deposited on the upper gate layer to define an upper gate structure. An impurity is implanted into the lower gate layer to define a lower gate area aligned with the upper gate structure. A source and drain are formed in the active layer and contacts are deposited on the source and drain, respectively. | 03-18-2010 |
| 20100038541 | Monolithicallly integrated IR imaging using rare-earth up conversion materials - Infrared imaging at wavelengths longer than the silicon bandgap energy (>1100 nm) typically require expensive focal plane arrays fabricated from compound semiconductors (InSb or HgCdTe) or use of slower silicon microbolometer technology. Furthermore, these technologies are available in relatively small array sizes, whereas silicon focal plane arrays are easily available with 10 megapixels or more array size. A new technique is disclosed to up convert infrared light to wavelengths detectable by silicon focal plane arrays, or other detector technologies, thereby enabling a low-cost, high pixel count infrared imaging system. | 02-18-2010 |
| 20100038521 | Photovoltaic up conversion and down conversion using rare earths - The use of rare-earth (REO, N, P) based materials to covert long wavelength photons to shorter wavelength photons that can be absorbed in a photovoltaic device (up-conversion) and (REO, N, P) materials which can absorb a short wavelength photon and re-emit one (downshifting) or more longer wavelength photons is disclosed. The wide spectral range of sunlight overlaps with a multitude of energy transitions in rare-earth materials, thus offering multiple up-conversion pathways. The refractive index contrast of rare-earth materials with silicon enables a DBR with >90% peak reflectivity and a stop band greater than 150 nm. | 02-18-2010 |
| 20090183774 | Thin Film Semiconductor-on-Sapphire Solar Cell Devices - The present invention relates to semiconductor devices suitable for electronic, optoelectronic and energy conversion applications. In a particular form, the present invention relates to the fabrication of a thin film solar energy conversion device and wafer scale module through the combination of single crystal semiconductors, insulators, rare-earth based compounds and sapphire substrates. The use of thin film silicon allows large change in optical absorption co-efficient as a function of wavelength to be optimized for solar cell operation. New types of solar cell devices are disclosed for use as selective solar radiation wavelength absorbing sections to form multi-junction device and exceed single junction limit, without the use of different band gap semiconductors. A method for concentrating and/or recycling solar optical radiation within the active semiconductor layers is also disclosed to form a 1+-sun concentrator solar cell via the use of sapphire substrate and advantageously positioned planar reflector. | 07-23-2009 |
| 20090085115 | TRANSISTOR AND IN-SITU FABRICATION PROCESS - A method of fabricating semiconductor components in-situ and in a continuous integrated sequence includes the steps of providing a single crystal semiconductor substrate, epitaxially growing a first layer of rare earth insulator material on the semiconductor substrate, epitaxially growing a first layer of semiconductor material on the first layer of rare earth insulator material, epitaxially growing a second layer of rare earth insulator material on the first layer of semiconductor material, and epitaxially growing a second layer of semiconductor material on the second layer of rare earth insulator material. The first layer of rare earth insulator material, the first layer of semiconductor material, the second layer of rare earth insulator material, and the second layer of semiconductor material form an in-situ grown structure of overlying layers. The in-situ grown structure is etched to define a semiconductor component and electrical contacts are deposited on the semiconductor component. | 04-02-2009 |
