Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems and devices with improved efficiencies are disclosed herein. In one example, a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cell includes an active layer; a back-surface reflective (BSR) layer; and a spacer layer positioned between the active layer and back-surface reflective layer.

A solid-state imaging device includes M pixel units to and a correction unit. The pixel unit includes a main amplifier, a capacitive element, a first switch, a second switch, a photodiode, a feedback capacitive element, and an initialization switch. The correction unit includes a null amplifier, a capacitive element, a first switch, and a second switch. An effective offset voltage of the main amplifier is small.

A radiation detector includes a stack of layers along a direction Z, the stack comprising: an absorbent layer, a first contact layer, an assembly consisting of at least one intermediate layer, referred to as an intermediate assembly, an upper layer, the first contact layer and the upper layer having a plurality of detection zones and separation zones, a detection zone corresponding to a pixel of the detector, a passivation layer made from a dielectric material, arranged on the upper layer and having openings at the level of the detection zones of the upper layer, the semiconductor layers of the stack being compounds based on elements of groups IIIA and VA of the periodic table of the elements, the second material comprising the VA element antimony and the third material not comprising the VA element antimony.

Techniques for realizing compound semiconductor (CS) optoelectronic devices on silicon (Si) substrates are disclosed. The integration platform is based on heteroepitaxy of CS materials and device structures on Si by direct heteroepitaxy on planar Si substrates or by selective area heteroepitaxy on dielectric patterned Si substrates. Following deposition of the CS device structures, device fabrication steps can be carried out using Si complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication techniques to enable large-volume manufacturing. The integration platform can enable manufacturing of optoelectronic module devices including photodetector arrays for image sensors and vertical cavity surface emitting laser arrays. Such module devices can be used in various applications including light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems for automotive and robotic vehicles as well as mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, and for other perception applications such as industrial vision, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Photovoltaic (PV) cell structures are disclosed. In one example embodiment, a PV cell includes an emitter layer, a base layer adjacent to the emitter layer, and a back surface field (BSF) layer adjacent to the base layer. The BSF layer includes a first layer, and a second layer adjacent to the first layer. The first layer includes a first material and the second layer includes a second material different than the first material.

A bonded semiconductor light-receiving device including an epitaxial layer to serve as a device-functional layer, and a support substrate made of a material different from that of the device-functional layer and bonded to the epitaxial layer via a bonding material layer. The device-functional layer has a bonding surface with an uneven pattern formed thereon.

Techniques for enhancing the absorption of photons in semiconductors with the use of microstructures are described. The microstructures, such as pillars and/or holes, effectively increase the effective absorption length resulting in a greater absorption of the photons. Using microstructures for absorption enhancement for silicon photodiodes and silicon avalanche photodiodes can result in bandwidths in excess of 10 Gb/s at photons with wavelengths of 850 nm, and with quantum efficiencies of approximately 90% or more.

An apparatus for light detection includes a light, or photon, detector assembly and a dielectric resonator layer coupled to the detector assembly. The dielectric resonator layer is configured to receive transmission of incident light that is directed into the detector assembly by the dielectric resonator layer. The dielectric resonator layer resonates with a range of wavelengths of the incident light.

An infrared detector includes: a first light receiving layer having a first cutoff wavelength; a second light receiving layer having a second cutoff wavelength longer than the first cutoff wavelength; an intermediate filter layer having a third cutoff wavelength that is the same as or longer than the first cutoff wavelength and the same as or shorter than the second cutoff wavelength, the intermediate filter layer being disposed between the first light receiving layer and the second light receiving layer; a first barrier layer disposed between the first light receiving layer and the intermediate filter layer; and a second barrier layer disposed between the second light receiving layer and the intermediate filter layer.

An optical waveguide type photodetector includes a first semiconductor layer of a first conductive type, a multiplication layer of a first conductive type on the first semiconductor layer, an optical waveguide structure, and a photodiode structure. The photodiode structure has a third semiconductor layer of a second conductive type, an optical absorption layer of an intrinsic conductive type or of a second conductive type, and a second semiconductor layer of a second conductive type. The optical waveguide structure includes an optical waveguiding core layer and a cladding layer. An end face of the photodiode structure located in a second region of the first semiconductor layer and an end face of the optical waveguide structure located in a first region of the first semiconductor layer are in contact.