A photonic device that includes two electrodes and a two-dimensional (2D) material electrically connecting the two electrodes. The 2D material may be molybdenum ditelluride. Strain may be induced in the 2D material (e.g., by placing the 2D material on a waveguide) to reduce the band gap of the 2D material and increase the efficiency of the photodetector. The photonic device may be a photodetector with 2D material that absorbs light energy and converts it into a photocurrent in a circuit that includes the two electrodes. The photonic device may be an emitter with 2D material that emits light energy in response to an electric field across the two electrodes. The photonic device may be a modulator with 2D material that modulates a property of an optical signal (e.g., the amplitude or phase) by modulating the amount of strain induced in the 2D material.

A photoelectric conversion element for detecting the spot size of incident light. The photoelectric conversion element includes a photoelectric conversion substrate having two principal surfaces, and comprises a first sensitive part and a second sensitive part that have mutually different photoelectric conversion characteristics. When a sensitive region appearing in the principal surface of the first sensitive part is defined as a first sensitive region, and a sensitive region appearing in the principal surface of the second sensitive part is defined as a second sensitive region, the first sensitive region is configured to receive at least a portion of light incident on a light-receiving surface and to decrease, proportionally to enlargement in an irradiation region of the principal surface irradiated with the incident light, the ratio of the first sensitive region to the second sensitive region in the irradiation region.

A solar cell for a solar cell array with one or more grid on a surface thereof, wherein electrical connections are made to the grids in a plurality of locations positioned around the solar cell; and the electrical connections extend to one or more conductors located under the solar cell. The conductors located under the solar cell are buried within a substrate, and each of the conductors comprises a low resistance conducting path that distributes current from the solar cell. The conductors are loops, U-shaped, or have only up or down pathways. The solar cell comprises a full cell that has four cropped corners and the locations are in the cropped corners.

An example short-wave infrared imaging device includes: a detector to detect light representing an object to be imaged, the detector comprising a semiconductor wafer divided into an array of detector cells; and an image processor coupled to the detector to generate image data based on the reflected light detected at the detector; and wherein each detector cell comprises: a detection region of the semiconductor wafer; a dopant doped into the wafer in a sub-cell pattern having at least two spaced apart doped regions, the dopant to generate a signal based on light received in the detection region of the detector cell; a metal contact joining the at least two doped regions; and a signal processing circuit coupled to the metal contact to transmit the signal to the image processor.

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor structures and, more particularly, to photodiodes and/or PIN diode structures and methods of manufacture. The structure includes: a spiral fin structure comprising semiconductor substrate material and dielectric material; a photosensitive semiconductor material over sidewalls and a top surface of the spiral fin structure, the photosensitive semiconductor material positioned to capture laterally emitted incident light; a doped semiconductor material above the photosensitive semiconductor material; and contacts electrically contacting the semiconductor substrate material and the doped semiconductor material from a top surface thereof.

A photon avalanche diode includes: first, second, and third diodes formed in a semiconductor body, the second diode being a photodiode; a main cathode terminal connected to the cathode of the first diode; a main anode terminal connected to the anode of the third diode; an auxiliary cathode terminal connected to the cathode of the second and third diodes; and an auxiliary anode terminal connected to the anode of the first and second diodes. The main anode terminal is electrically connected to ground or a reference potential. The main cathode terminal is electrically connected to a voltage which causes a photocarrier multiplication region to form within the semiconductor body. The auxiliary anode terminal is electrically connected to ground or to a read-out circuit. The auxiliary cathode terminal is electrically connected to a constant bias voltage less than a voltage applied to the main cathode terminal.

A light-receiving device includes at least one pixel. The at least one pixel includes a first electrode; a second electrode; and a photoelectric conversion layer between the first electrode and the second electrode. The photoelectric conversion layer is configured to convert incident infrared light into electric charge. The photoelectric conversion layer has a first section and a second section. The first section is closer to the first electrode than the second section, and the second section is closer to the second electrode than the first section. At least one of the first section and the second section have a plurality of surfaces.

Methods, systems, and devices are disclosed for implementing high conversion efficiency solar cells. In one aspect, an optical-to-electrical energy conversion device includes a substrate formed of a doped semiconductor material and having a first region and a second region, an array of multilayered nanoscale structures protruding from the first region of the substrate, in which the nanoscale structures are formed of a first co-doped semiconductor material covered by a layer of a second co-doped semiconductor material forming a core-shell structure, the layer covering at least a portion of the doped semiconductor material of the substrate in the second region, and an electrode formed on the layer-covered portion of the substrate in the second region, in which the multilayered nanoscale structures provide an optical active region capable of absorbing photons from light at one or more wavelengths to generate an electrical signal presented at the electrode.

An avalanche photodiode (APD) device, in particular, a lateral separate absorption charge multiplication (SACM) APD device, and a method for its fabrication is provided. The APD device comprises a first contact region and a second contact region formed in a semiconductor layer. Further, the APD device comprises an absorption region formed on the semiconductor layer, wherein the absorption region is at least partly formed on a first region of the semiconductor layer, wherein the first region is arranged between the first contact region and the second contact region. The APD device further includes a charge region formed in the semiconductor layer between the first region and the second contact region, and an amplification region formed in the semiconductor layer between the charge region and the second contact region. At least the absorption region is curved on the semiconductor layer.

Thermal neutron detectors and methods of fabricating the same are provided. A thermal neutron detector can use boron in both the neutron conversion layer and as a source for conformal doping in a semiconductor substrate. The neutron detector can be a micro-structured diode with cavities having a depth of 60 microns or less. The boron can be filled in the cavities and diffused into the semiconductor substrate via a diffusion annealing process.