A photodetector comprising a photoabsorber, comprising a doped semiconductor, a contact layer comprising a doped semiconductor and a barrier layer comprising a charge carrier compensated semiconductor, the barrier layer compensated by doping impurities such that it exhibits a valence band energy level substantially equal to the valence band energy level of the photo absorbing layer and a conduction band energy level exhibiting a significant band gap in relation to the conduction band of the photo absorbing layer, the barrier layer disposed between the photoabsorber and contact layers. The relationship between the photo absorbing layer and contact layer valence and conduction band energies and the barrier layer conduction and valance band energies is selected to facilitate minority carrier current flow while inhibiting majority carrier current flow between the contact and photo absorbing layers.

A photovoltaic cell can include an interfacial layer in contact with a semiconductor layer.

An apparatus and method for producing a perpetual energy harvester which harvests ambient near ultraviolet to infrared radiation and provides continual power regardless of the environment. The device seeks to harvest the largely overlooked blackbody radiation through use of a semiconductor thermal harvester, providing a continuous source of power. Additionally, increased power output is provided through a solar harvester. The solar and thermal harvesters are physically connected but electrically isolated.

Disclosed herein are a radiation detector and a method of making it. The radiation detector is configured to absorb radiation particles incident on a semiconductor single crystal of the radiation detector and to generate charge carriers. The semiconductor single crystal may be a CdZnTe single crystal or a CdTe single crystal. The method may comprise forming a recess into a substrate of semiconductor; forming a semiconductor single crystal in the recess; and forming a heavily doped semiconductor region in the substrate. The semiconductor single crystal has a different composition from the substrate. The heavily doped region is in electrical contact with the semiconductor single crystal and embedded in a portion of intrinsic semiconductor of the substrate.

A method of fabricating a buffer layer of a photovoltaic device comprises: providing a substrate having a back contact layer disposed above the substrate and an absorber layer disposed above the back contact layer; depositing a metal layer on the absorber layer; and performing a thermal treatment on the deposited metal layer in an atmosphere comprising sulfur, selenium or oxygen, to form a buffer layer.

The present invention is directed towards a moisture resistant radiation detector core assembly which was constructed by first assembling the photon-electron conversion layer, integrated circuit and the connection elements between and then encapsulating the whole assembly. This provides improved moisture barrier properties, since the encapsulation also covers the connection elements and does not have to be opened to apply the electrical connections, as is done for known radiation detector core assemblies.

The invention relates to a photodetection device comprising a substrate and a diodes network, the substrate comprising an absorption layer (1) and each diode comprising a collection region with a first type of doping in the absorption layer (2). The device comprises a conduction mesh (7) under the surface of the substrate, comprising at least one conduction channel inserted between the collection regions (2) of two adjacent diodes, the at least one conduction channel (7) having a second doping type opposite the first type and a higher doping density than the absorption layer. The doping density of the at least one conduction channel (7) is derived from metal diffusion in the absorption layer from a metal mesh present on the substrate surface. The absorption layer has the first doping type. The invention also relates to a method of making such a device.

A photovoltaic device is disclosed including at least one Cadmium Sulfide Telluride (CdS.sub.xTe.sub.1−x) layer as are methods of forming such a photovoltaic device.

One embodiment provides a method, including: receiving a photon interaction occurring within a photon detector pixel array, wherein the photon detector pixel array comprises a plurality of pixels; determining a photoelectron cloud generated from the photon interaction, wherein the photon detector pixel array comprises an electric field, wherein an electrostatic repulsive force disperses a photon to the photoelectron cloud; identifying a subset of the plurality of pixels associated with the photon interaction, wherein each of the subset of the plurality of pixels corresponds to pixels activated by the photo electron cloud, wherein the subset of the plurality of pixels comprise a central pixel and a plurality of neighboring pixels, wherein the central pixel comprises the pixel having the highest amplitude response to the photon interaction; and determining, from the photoelectron cloud, a characteristic of the photon interaction, wherein the characteristic comprises at least one of: time, position, and energy of the interaction. Other aspects are described and claimed.

The present technology relates to a solid-state image capturing apparatus and an electronic device that can acquire a normal image and a narrow band image at the same time. The solid-state image capturing apparatus includes a plurality of substrates laminated in two or more layers, and two or more substrates of the plurality of substrates have pixels that perform photoelectric conversion. At least one substrate of the substrates having the pixels is a visible light sensor that receives visible light, and at least another substrate of the substrates having the pixels is a narrow band light sensor that includes narrow band filters being optical filters permeating light in a narrow wavelength band, and receives narrow band light in the narrow band.