Patents by Inventor Jill A. Nolde

Jill A. Nolde has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230178667
    Abstract: An infrared detector and a method for forming it are provided. The detector includes absorber, barrier, and contact regions. The absorber region includes a first semiconductor material, with a first lattice constant, that produces charge carriers in response to infrared light. The barrier region is disposed on the absorber region and comprises a superlatice that includes (i) first barrier region layers comprising the first semiconductor material, and (ii) second barrier region layers comprising a second semiconductor material, different from, but lattice matched to, the first semiconductor material. The first and second barrier region layers are alternatingly arranged. The contact region is disposed on the barrier region and comprises a superlattice that includes (i) first contact region layers comprising the first semiconductor material, and (ii) second contact region layers comprising the second semiconductor material layer. The first and second contact region layers are alternatingly arranged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2022
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Inventors: Edward H. Aifer, Jerry R. Meyer, Chadwick Lawrence Canedy, Igor Vurgaftman, Jill A. Nolde
  • Patent number: 11404591
    Abstract: An infrared detector and a method for forming it are provided. The detector includes absorber, barrier, and contact regions. The absorber region includes a first semiconductor material, with a first lattice constant, that produces charge carriers in response to infrared light. The barrier region is disposed on the absorber region and comprises a superlatice that includes (i) first barrier region layers comprising the first semiconductor material, and (ii) second barrier region layers comprising a second semiconductor material, different from, but lattice matched to, the first semiconductor material. The first and second barrier region layers are alternatingly arranged. The contact region is disposed on the barrier region and comprises a superlattice that includes (i) first contact region layers comprising the first semiconductor material, and (ii) second contact region layers comprising the second semiconductor material layer. The first and second contact region layers are alternatingly arranged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Edward H. Aifer, Jerry R. Meyer, Chadwick Lawrence Canedy, Igor Vurgaftman, Jill A. Nolde
  • Publication number: 20210296524
    Abstract: A method of growing fully relaxed SiGeSn buffer layers on Si substrates to produce virtual substrates for the epitaxial growth of high quality GeSn films suitable for high performance infrared (IR) optoelectronic device technology directly integrated on silicon. Growing the SiGeSn virtual substrate uses a precisely decreasing growth temperature and Si flux and a precisely increasing Ge and Sn flux. The virtual substrates may have a slightly larger lattice constant than that of the target GeSn alloy to impose a precise degree of tensile strain resulting in a direct band gap for the target GeSn alloy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2021
    Publication date: September 23, 2021
    Inventors: Glenn G. Jernigan, Mark E. Twigg, Nadeemullah A. Mahadik, Jill A. Nolde
  • Patent number: 11085830
    Abstract: Bolometers and methods of forming the same are provided. A bolometer that includes a substrate, a support structure comprising at least one SiGe layer and at least one Si layer, an absorber comprising reduced graphene oxide, and a thermistor comprising partially reduced graphene oxide are described. Also described are methods for forming bolometers and the parts contained therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Edward Aifer, Erin Cleveland, Glenn Jernigan, Jill Nolde
  • Publication number: 20200191659
    Abstract: Bolometers and methods of forming the same are provided. A bolometer that includes a substrate, a support structure comprising at least one SiGe layer and at least one Si layer, an absorber comprising reduced graphene oxide, and a thermistor comprising partially reduced graphene oxide are described. Also described are methods for forming bolometers and the parts contained therein.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Inventors: Edward Aifer, Erin Cleveland, Glenn Jernigan, Jill Nolde
  • Patent number: 10644114
    Abstract: A device including an absorber layer that can be deposited on top of a bottom contact layer. Furthermore, a semi-intrinsic layer with an energy gap wider than that of the absorber layer can be deposited on top of the absorber layer. A top contact layer can be deposited on top of the semi-intrinsic layer. A conduction band and a valence band energy alignment can be positioned between the absorber layer and the top contact layer, and configured to allow photoexcited minority carriers to be collected while the flow of majority carriers from the absorber are blocked. At least one mesa can be formed by processing and removing layered materials to a depth at least near the bottom of the absorber layer. Finally, a shoulder can be formed in the at least one mesa within the semi-intrinsic layer by processing and removing the layered materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Edward H. Aifer, Igor Vurgaftman, Jill A. Nolde, Eric M. Jackson, Jerry R. Meyer