Semiconductor devices made from crystalline materials with locally modifying electronic and optoelectronic properties

摘要

An electronic or optoelectronic device fabricated from a crystalline material in which a parameter of a bandgap characteristic of said crystalline material has been modified locally by introducing distortions on an atomic scale in the lattice structure of said crystalline material and the electronic and/or optoelectronic parameters of said device are dependent on the modification of said bandgap is exemplified by a radiation emissive optoelectronic semiconductor device which comprises a junction (10) formed from a p-type layer (11) and an n-type layer (12), both formed from indirect bandgap semiconductor material. The p-type layer (11) contains a array of dislocation loops which create a strain field to confine spatially and promote radiative recombination of the charge carriers.

主权项

1. A radiation-emissive optoelectronic device comprising a junction formed, at least in part, from a region of p-type indirect band-gap semiconductor material and/or a region of n-type indirect band gap semiconductor material, wherein said junction incorporates an array of dislocation loops creating a strain field, the strain field being effective, in operation of the device, to confine spatially charge carriers, and thereby promote radiative recombination of said charge carriers giving rise to a dominant peak in an entire electroluminescence spectrum of the device, the dominant peak being attributable to the presence of the array of dislocation loops.