Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to the design of a system that converts sunlight into electricity. During operation, the system concentrates the sunlight onto a front surface of a selective absorber, wherein the selective absorber comprises a semiconductor material having a band gap capable of absorbing most spectral components of the sunlight (such as intrinsic silicon), and wherein the concentrated sunlight causes heat to build up in the selective absorber. Next, the system uses heat obtained from the selective absorber to drive a heat engine, which converts the heat into mechanical energy. Finally, the system converts the mechanical energy into electricity.

Abstract: A fuel for splitting water into hydrogen and an oxide component comprises a substantially solid pellet formed from a solid-like mixture of a solid-state source material capable of oxidizing in water to form hydrogen and a passivation surface layer of the oxide component, and a passivation preventing agent that is substantially inert to water in an effective amount to prevent passivation of the solid-state material during oxidation. The pellets are brought into contact with an alloy of the passivation preventing agent having a melting point temperature below that of the solid-like mixture to initiate the hydrogen-producing reaction at a lower temperature.

Abstract: A fuel for splitting water into hydrogen and an oxide component comprises a substantially solid pellet formed from a solid-like mixture of a solid-state source material capable of oxidizing in water to form hydrogen and a passivation surface layer of the oxide component, and a passivation preventing agent that is substantially inert to water in an effective amount to prevent passivation of the solid-state material during oxidation. The pellets may be introduced into water or other suitable oxidizer in a controlled rate to control the rate of reaction of the source material with the oxidizer, and thereby control the rate of formation of hydrogen. Methods are described for producing the solid-like mixture in varying weight percent of source material to passivation preventing agent.

Abstract: An optical device has an electrically insulating first barrier layer disposed over a first electrode layer, a photoconductive layer disposed over the first barrier layer, and a carrier confining layer disposed over the photoconducting layer. The carrier confining layer defines a volume throughout which a plurality of carrier traps are dispersed. Further, an electrically insulating second barrier layer is disposed over the carrier confining layer, a light blocking layer is disposed over the second barrier layer for blocking light of a selected wavelength band. A reflective layer is disposed over the light blocking layer for reflecting light within the selected wavelength band, a birefringent or dispersive layer is disposed over the reflective layer, and an optically transmissive second electrode layer is disposed over the birefringent or dispersive layer. A method is also disclosed, as are additional layers intervening between those detailed above.

Abstract: A novel technique for manufacturing nanostructures and nanostructure is disclosed. The invention exploits techniques to deposit a second semiconductor material on a first semiconductor material with incomplete coverage of the second layer, and forming the nanostructures by filling the holes in the second semiconductor layer with a third semiconductor material. This allows the production of nanowires, nanorods, nanocylinders, and nanotubes with a controllable density and size distribution. Additionally, contact can be made to the bottom of the nanostructures through the first semiconductor layer allowing large area contacts to arrays of nanostructures to be formed. Similarly, contact can be made to the top of the nanostructure by direct deposition of a large area contacting layer. This allows the formation of nanostructure diodes and other nanostructure interconnections.

Abstract: The invention, called hypercontacting, achieves a very high level of activated doping at an exposed surface region of a compound semiconductor. This enables production of low resistance ohmic contacts by creating a heavily doped region near the contact. Such region lowers the contact's tunneling barrier by decreasing the extent of the depletion region at the contact, thereby reducing resistance.

Abstract: The structure and growth method are disclosed for a novel heterojunction diode structure. The invention exploits the Fermi level pinning properties of dislocations and defects in compound semiconductors to achieve heterojunctions with nonlinear current-voltage characteristics despite highly defected, polycrystalline, or amorphous semiconductors. The invention enable new diode, photodetector, and transistor devices to be implemented using highly lattice-mismatched semiconductors. The invention additionally enables thin film diodes, photodetectors, and transistors to be realized.

Abstract: The invention discloses a method of passivating compound semiconductor surfaces aligned to the {110} crystal planes, and devices incorporating said passivated surfaces.

Abstract: The structure and growth method are disclosed for a novel heterojunction diode structure. The invention exploits the Fermi level pinning properties of dislocations and defects in compound semiconductors to achieve heterojunctions with nonlinear current-voltage characteristics despite highly defected, polycrystalline, or amorphous semiconductors. The invention enable new diode, photodetector, and transistor devices to be implemented using highly lattice-mismatched semiconductors. The invention additionally enables thin film diodes, photodetectors, and transistors to be realized.

Abstract: A method for non-destructively determining parameters of a doped semiconductor material involves applying an excitation to a surface of the semiconductor material to photogenerate minority carriers in a region of the semiconductor material, presenting an electric field across the region of the semiconductor material, measuring photoluminescence produced by recombination of the photogenerated minority carriers, and using the photoluminescence measurements to compute one or more parameters of the doped semiconductor material. Excitation may involve pulsed or CW lasers. Computed parameters may include one or more of: the minority carrier mobility of the semiconductor material; the saturation drift velocity of minority carriers in the semiconductor material; the diffusion constant of minority carriers in the semiconductor material; the recombination lifetime of minority carriers in the semiconductor material; and/or the effective temperature of the semiconductor material.

Abstract: A solid state photodetector is disclosed comprising a multiplicity of photodetector elements, each element using clamped Geiger mode gain to achieve high sensitivity and high speed. The elements are connected together using a common anode to sum their outputs, allowing operation with gray-scale response over a large total photosensitive area. In the preferred embodiment, high speed performance is achieved by isolating each element from the bias supply by means of an integrated series resistor.

Abstract: A structure and method of fabrication are disclosed for improving surface passivation of III-V compound semiconductors. The invention exploits certain anion-rich compound semiconductors to form a high quality interface with a dielectric when anion mobility is increased during an annealing step. Low post-annealing surface state densities result in a low fixed charge density at the interface and low surface recombination velocities. The invention enables microelectronic devices including diode, transistor, solar cell, photodetector, and CCDs with superior performance wherever prior art devices have inferior surface passivation.

Abstract: Certain compound semiconductor materials can be formed with nearly metal-like conductivity, while retaining the crystalline structure, high mobilities, and high carrier velocities of conventional semiconductors. Such bulk and thin-film states of matter, method of creating them, devices formed therefrom, and applications benefiting from said devices and states of matter are disclosed herein.

Abstract: This disclosure describes a structure for transistor devices formed from compound semiconductor materials; and particularly for heterojuntion bipolar transistors (HBTs); and more particularly for the collector structure of a double HBT (DHBT). The invention enables high output power at high frequency operation, of high frequency operation at high output power.

Abstract: This disclosure describes a structure for transistor devices formed from compound semiconductor materials; and particularly for heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs); and more particularly for the collector structure of a double HBT (DHBT). The invention enables high output power at high frequency operation, or high frequency operation at high output power.

Abstract: The invention, called hypercontacting, achieves a very high level of activated doping at an exposed surface region of a compound semiconductor. This enables production of low resistance ohmic contacts by creating a heavily doped region near the contact. Such region lowers the contact's tunneling barrier by decreasing the extent of the depletion region at the contact, thereby reducing resistance.