A semiconductor device is provided, which includes a first semiconductor structure, a second semiconductor structure, and an active region. The active region is located between the first semiconductor structure and the second semiconductor structure. The active region includes a light-emitting region having N pair(s) of semiconductor stack(s). Each of the semiconductor stack includes a well layer and a barrier layer, in which N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. The well layer includes a first group III-V semiconductor material including indium with a first percentage of indium content. The barrier layer includes a second group III-V semiconductor material including indium with a second percentage of indium content. The first group III-V semiconductor material and the second group III-V semiconductor material further includes phosphorus. The second percentage of indium content is less than the first percentage of indium content.

A device for producing electrical current. In one embodiment, the device comprises a stack of epitaxial layers (from a bottom surface): a p-doped semiconductor reflector layer, a p-doped semiconductor emitter layer, an n-doped semiconductor base layer, and an n-doped semiconductor window layer. A radioisotope source, disposed above or in contact with an uppermost layer of the stack, produces radioisotope decay particles or gamma rays that impinge the stack. The electrical current is produced between the first and second conductive regions by action of the radioisotope decay particles or the gamma rays on the emitter and base layers.

A device for producing electricity. The device includes a substrate having spaced apart first and second surfaces and doped a first dopant type, first semiconductor material layers disposed atop the first substrate surface and doped the first dopant type, and second semiconductor material layers disposed atop the first semiconductor material layers and doped a second dopant type. A first contact is in electrical contact with the second substrate surface or in electrical contact with one of the first semiconductor material layers. A beta particle source emits beta particles that penetrate into the semiconductor material layers; the beta particle source is proximate the uppermost layer of the second plurality of semiconductor material layers. A second contact is in electrical contact with one of the second plurality of semiconductor material layers. In one embodiment, bi-polar contacts (the first and second contacts) are co-located on each major face of the device.

A photodiode, such as a linear mode avalanche photodiode can be made free of excess noise via having a superlattice multiplication region that allows only one electrical current carrier type, such as an electron or a hole, to accumulate enough kinetic energy to impact ionize when biased, where the layers are lattice matched. A photodiode can be constructed with i) a lattice matched pair of a first semiconductor alloy and a second semiconductor alloy in a superlattice multiplication region, ii) an absorber region, and iii) a semiconductor substrate. A detector with multiple photodiodes can be made with these construction layers in order to have a cutoff wavelength varied anywhere from 1.7 to 4.9 m as well as a noise resulting from a dark current at a level such that an electromagnetic radiation signal with the desired minimum wavelength cutoff can be accurately sensed by the photodiode.

According to an aspect of the present inventive concept there is provided a device for imaging of a microscopic object, the device comprising: an array of light sensitive areas sensitive to detect light spanning a wavelength range of at least 400-1200 nm; at least one light source comprising at least a first point of operation in which the at least one light source is configured to generate visible light, and a second point of operation in which the at least one light source is configured to generate infrared light, and being arranged to illuminate the microscopic object such that light is scattered by the microscopic object; wherein the array of light sensitive areas is configured to detect an interference pattern formed between the scattered light and non-scattered light; the device being configured to be set in a selected point of operation from the at least first and second points of operation, for detecting the interference pattern for imaging the microscopic object at a wavelength defined by the selected point of operation.

Disclosed is an infrared detecting device with a high SNR. The infrared detecting device includes a semiconductor substrate; a first layer formed on the semiconductor substrate and having a first conductivity type; a light receiving layer formed on the first layer; and a second layer formed on the light receiving layer and having a second conductivity type. The first layer includes, in the stated order: a layer containing Al.sub.x(1)In.sub.1-x(1)Sb; a layer having a film thickness t.sub.y(1) in nanometers and containing Al.sub.y(1)In.sub.1-y(1)Sb; and a layer containing Al.sub.x(2)In.sub.1-x(2)Sb, where t.sub.y(1), x(1), x(2), and y(1) satisfy the following relations: for j=1, 2, 0<t.sub.y(1)2360(y(1)x(j))240 (0.11y(1)x(j)0.19), 0<t.sub.y(1)1215(y(1)x(j))+427 (0.19<y(1)x(j)0.33), and 0<x(j)<0.18.

A camera having an integrated dewar cooler assembly (IDCA) with an optical window, and a reduced dark current photodetector disposed within the IDCA to receive light passing through the optical window. The photodetector comprising a semiconductor photo absorbing layer, a semiconductor barrier layer having a thickness and a first side adjacent a side of the photo absorbing layer, the barrier layer exhibiting 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 an energy gap in relation to the conduction band of the photo absorbing layer, and a contact area comprising a doped semiconductor, the contact area is adjacent a second side of the barrier layer opposing the first side. The energy gap and/or the thickness of the of the barrier layer is sufficient to minimize charge carriers tunneling and thermalization.

A semiconductor light receiving device (1) has a light receiving portion (6) with a light absorbing layer (4) on a first surface (2a) side of a semiconductor substrate (2) transparent to incident light in an infrared range for optical communications, a reflecting portion (11) in a region where light that was incident on the light receiving portion (6) and passed through the light absorbing layer (4) is reached on a second surface (2b) side opposite the first surface (2a) to reflect the light toward the second surface (2b), and end surfaces (2c, 2d) of the semiconductor substrate (2), where light reflected by the reflecting portion (11) and reflected by the second surface (2b) reaches, are formed as a rough surface having roughness with a height equal to or greater than the wavelength of the incident light.

An electromagnetic radiation detectors includes anti-reflective epitaxial structures incorporated into an epitaxial stack of the electromagnetic radiation detector. An anti-reflective structures as described herein are grown between (and thereby connect) two lattice-matched epitaxial layers that have different refractive indices. The anti-reflective structure reduces Fresnel reflections that would otherwise occur if the two epitaxial layers were directly connected.

Described herein is a semiconductor structure, comprising: a drain region; a drift region comprised of a wide band gap material disposed over the drain region; and a channel structure disposed over the drift region. In some embodiments, the channel structure comprises: an optically active material disposed over the drift region, wherein the optically active material generates charge carriers in response to an optical signal; and a source region disposed over the optically active material, wherein in an off state charge carriers in the optically active material are depleted to turn off the semiconductor structure, and in an on state charge carriers in the optically active material conduct a current in the semiconductor structure when an electric field is applied across the source region and drain region, causing the current to substantially flow directly between the source region and the drain region.